Roots to Renewal
Roots to Renewal
Hawthorne Valley
Situated on a 900-acre Biodynamic farm in upstate New York, Hawthorne Valley has spent the last half a century working to foster social and cultural renewal through the integration of agriculture, education, and the arts. As we mark our 50th anniversary we want to share not just our story, but also the stories of our friends and contemporaries from across the globe who dedicate their lives in purposeful pursuit of meeting the ecological, social, and spiritual needs or our time. In an oft-quoted passage from one of our founders, Karl Ege, he suggests that the work that we are undertaking together at Hawthorne Valley “will create a place in which it is possible, in a true sense, to become a full human being.” At its core this work is about the future. Every day as our farmers tend to the soil and care for animals, our educators teach students to engage more deeply with themselves and the world around them, and we work together to try to create a structure for social equity, we aim to foster the conditions that will allow the future to emerge in its most life affirming manifestation. We invite you to join us!
Season Three, Episode One: Judith Enck and The Problem with Plastic
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re joined by environmental policy expert Judith Enck, co-author of The Problem with Plastic and president of Beyond Plastics, for a frank conversation about why plastic recycling has largely failed—and why that failure wasn’t an accident. Judith unpacks how the plastics industry has known for decades that recycling doesn’t work, while spending millions convincing the public otherwise. We also explore the human and environmental costs of plastic production,...
Feb 6
23 min
Season Two, Episode Eleven: Conservation Visionary Spencer Beebe on Salmon Nation and the Future of Community-Based Environmentalism
Send us Fan Mail In this illuminating episode of Roots to Renewal, host Martin Ping engages with Spencer Beebe, a pioneering conservation leader who founded influential organizations including Salmon Nation, Conservation International and EcoTrust. Spencer shares his remarkable journey and the development of his visionary concept "Salmon Nation," which reimagines conservation through the lens of bioregional identity and community empowerment. Throughout the conversation, Spencer illustrates h...
Mar 13, 2025
49 min
Season Two, Episode Ten: Post Humanist Thinker Bayo Akomolafe on Embracing Uncertainty
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Hawthorne Valley's Roots to Renewal podcast, we are honored to welcome Dr. Bayo Akomolafe. Post humanist thinker, poet, teacher, essayist, and author. Together, he and our host, Martin Ping share a thought provoking conversation exploring a rich tapestry of ideas, beginning with Bayo’s inspiring fellowship at the Schumacher Center for New Economics. The conversation delves into the concept of drifting and its relevance in our current times, the value ...
Jul 25, 2024
45 min
Season Two, Episode Nine: Dawn Breeze on Fostering Positive Change in our Local Communities
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Roots to Renewal, Hawthorne Valley's executive director Martin Ping sits down with Artist and Co-founder of Place Corps Dawn Breeze. They discuss the origins and goals of Place Corps a gap year fellowship program that aims to help young people discover their calling and develop a sense of belonging in their communities. Let's listen in as they discuss the importance of creativity, community engagement, and regenerative practices, and fostering personal grow...
Jun 26, 2024
36 min
Season Two, Episode Eight: Micah Blumenthal on the Deep-Rooted Cultural Issues Surrounding Work, Money, and Time
Send us Fan Mail We recently had the great fortune of welcoming Micah Blumenthal into conversation. Micah is a worker trustee at the Good Work Institute, a workshop leader of the Kingston based TMI project, serves on the board of Radio Kingston, and is co-host of The Breathing Room and host of Hip Hop 101 on Radio Kingston. In this episode, Micah and our host Martin Ping reflect on the phenomenon of time, the importance of being rooted in place, the nature of work, our complicated relationshi...
Mar 12, 2024
36 min
Season Two, Episode Seven: Cycle to Farms documents regenerative farmers' realities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Aisha Hassan and Lukas Paltanavičius, the founders of Cycle to Farms, an advocacy project with the goal of documenting regenerative agriculture practices in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa by cycling from farm to farm. They began their cycling journey in the Netherlands, ultimately visiting over 20 farms in 15 countries. The couple's initial goal was to explore regenerative agriculture and learn its true meaning from f...
Oct 3, 2023
23 min
Season Two, Episode Six: Helmy Abouleish on Sekem's Sustainable Vision for Egypt
Send us Fan Mail We are back after a bit of a hiatus with a very special guest, Helmy Abouleish, CEO of SEKEM Group, based outside of Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1977 by Helmy’s father, Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, the vision for Sekem is “sustainable development towards a future where every human being can unfold his or her individual potential; where humankind is living together in social forms reflecting human dignity; and where all economic activity is conducted in accordance with ecological and e...
Jul 17, 2023
38 min
Season Two, Episode Five: Eliot Livingston Wilson on Regenerative Housing Solutions
Send us Fan Mail This episode features Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School Class of 2005 alumnus Eliot Livingston Wilson, the founder and design lead for FUTUR, a firm developing regenerative affordable housing solutions. Hawthorne Valley's Executive Director, Martin Ping, chatted with Eliot about his exciting venture to find solutions to the interconnected housing and climate crises. They also talked about his family's deeply rooted history in the Hudson Valley and the impact of that history and...
Mar 22, 2023
33 min
Season Two, Episode Four: Conrad Vispo and Claudia Knab Vispo on the work of Hawthorne Valley's Farmscape Ecology Program
Send us Fan Mail Thank you for joining us for Episode 4 of Season 2, highlighting the work of Hawthorne Valley’s Farmscape Ecology Program. Their mission is to foster informed, active compassion for the ecological and cultural landscape of Columbia County, New York through participatory research and outreach. In this episode Hawthorne Valley’s Executive Director, Martin Ping, sits down with two of the founders of the Farmscape Ecology Program – wildlife ecologist, Conrad Vispo and field...
Jan 13, 2023
48 min
Season Two, Episode Three: Cornelius Pietzner on his Time at the Goetheanum, the Camphill Movement, and the Beauty of Stewardship without Ownership
Send us Fan Mail Sponsored by Tierra Farm; Music by Aaron Dessner In this episode Martin Ping, Hawthorne Valley’s Executive Director, welcomes Cornelius Pietzner, who served as the Director of Camphill Communities of North America, and whose father Carlo brought the Camphill movement to the US, including founding Camphill Copake. Hawthorne Valley’s origin story is closely tied to Camphill Copake as our Waldorf school was, in part, founded to accommodate the children of the Camphill Copake co...
Nov 3, 2022
32 min
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