Online Registration

Instructor Information


NameBio
Michael Forman

Michael Forman is an Organic farm designer and farm manager that is passionate about creating sustainable farms and teaching people and communities how to build a movement around their gardens and/or farms.

 

Board Member Treasure Valley Gardens Cooperative May 2020 - Present

Work in partnership with community gardens in the Treasure Valley to expand the number of community gardens that exist in the area and provide key resources and tools to community gardens in the area.

 

Founder Pure Love Sustainability Inc. 2018 - Present Boise, ID

Create landscape designs and gardens from scratch for Ada and Canyon County homeowners

 

Farm Designer Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary 2014 - 2015 High Falls, NY

Designed and oversaw the creation of a 3-acre organic vegetable farm.

 

Farm Director Pure Love Organic Farms 2012 - 2016 Bronx, NY

Started and ran an urban organic flower farm and community-composting site on a former illegal garbage dumpsite in the Bronx.

 

Michael Forman is a New York City native who moved with his fiancée to Boise in January 2018. He has always had a passion for helping people to succeed. He will always remember his mom coming home from a parent-teacher conference in elementary school where his teacher was so surprised and amazed that he had taken the time to make sure that his fellow classmates knew the subject material as well as he did.

He carried his desire to help others succeed to the work world where he has spent the last 14 years of his career helping businesses get past the barriers that are stopping them from reaching their goals. Along the way, he realized that communicating your values, and what you bring to the table in a way that speaks to your audience, is one of the keys to being able to successfully engage with your customers and clients. He is excited to teach you how to do the same.


 

Ben Trieu My name is Ben Trieu, and I thought I was going to be a scientist for my entire life. While I did become an engineer
at Micron, my real area of research has been gardening and ecology in my free time! I have spent almost my
entire weekend at farms and community gardens for the past 5 years, read several tomes on farming, soil, biology,
ecology, permaculture, and the such. I definitely don't know everything, but I am excited to share what I have
gleaned from research and hands on experience as we learn together about this fundamental and beautiful act of
gardening.
Mary Johnson Mary K Johnson is a multimedia designer with 20 years experience beginning in commercial arts, small business
development, and community development projects with multiple stake-holders and a lot of moving parts! Along with core communications services she likes to develop:
• Adaptable and educational social media content for events or programs
• Skill-sharing and method development for younger learners
Co-founded Treasure Valley Community Gardens Cooperative (TVCGCoop.org) with Ben Trieu
Contributing Commissioner for the Cooperative Gardens Commission CoopGardens.com

Community building activities include:
Outreach and Communications for The Organic Farm at Evergreen 2014-2016
Communications for the South Sound Food System Network 2014-2016
Communications Strategist and Hub Development GRuB Victory Farmers 2016
Volunteer Nisqually Paddle 2016
Contributing community member Indigenous Idaho Alliance 2019-present