Rooted in Community: Backyard Garden Forum
Join us for a one-day forum about successful growing techniques for your edible and community gardens!
Join Phipps, local experts and community members to learn about a variety of topics including tomato production, organic skin care and more. Plus, registrants will also receive a delicious catered lunch during the forum.
Topics Covered
- Diseases in the Vegetable Garden | Remi Ham, Penn State Extension
- Waste-Not Cooking from the Garden | Chef Mike Godlewski, EYV restaurant
- Close-Up on Tomato Production | Indira Ramirez, Eden Hall Farm
- Plants for Skin Care | Jodi Danyo, Cherry Valley Organics
- DIY Garden Fertilizers and Amendments | Jasen Bernthisel, Future Is Nuts and Grow Pittsburgh
- Backyard Berry Production | Allison Glick, Phipps Conservatory
Plus, Allegheny County Conservation District (ACCD) will be hosting a free Soil Lead Screening Pop-Up! Contaminants are common in urban soil and can be hazardous to health when ingested or inhaled. Soil testing is the first step to reduce your risk of exposure whether you are backyard gardening, urban farming, stewarding community green space or revitalizing vacant lots. No registration is required for this pop-up, but residents wishing to have their soil screened for lead must correctly collect and label their soil sample. Find instructions for how to prepare your soil samples here.
Phipps' Rooted in Community: Backyard Garden Forum will be held at Phipps' Special Events Hall. See ticket levels below:
- Standard – $55
- Supported – $25; Ideal for Museums for All participants, students or those with limited resources
- Pay It Forward – $85; Ideal for those eager to support access and equity for ecological gardening education
Attendees that register by April 1 at 8 p.m. will be entered into a raffle for a garden supply gift basket! Please contact jpope@phipps.conservatory.org if you have any questions. Click the button below to register!
Meet Our Speakers
Remi Ham
Remi Ham is a horticulture and urban agriculture educator with over 15 years of experience spanning academia, extension, landscape design, and community-based initiatives. She serves as an extension educator with a concentration in urban agriculture and horticulture at Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State Extension, Remi leads the development of research-based training and programs to strengthen Pittsburgh’s urban agriculture community. Her work includes partnering with local organizations and producers, providing hands-on training, developing programs, and creating educational resources for urban-scale growers.
Mike Godlewski
Mike Godlewski is the chef/owner of EYV Restaurant, a vegetable restaurant located in Pittsburgh's Deutschtown neighborhood focusing on making vegetables the center of the plate and utilizing the bounty of Western Pennsylvania and East Ohio farms whenever possible. EYV was chosen as one of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's and Pittsburgh Magazine's Best New Restaurants of 2023 and Eater DC's 38 Essential Pittsburgh Restaurants. Mike grew up in the Wilke-Barre/Scranton area and attended the culinary program at Luzerne County Community College. After graduating he worked in various establishments in Philadelphia and Northern Virginia/DC. He moved to Pittsburgh in 2009 to work at The Duquesne Club, where he was a sous chef for 10 years before opening EYV.
Indira Ortiz
Indira has been working at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Farm as a farm manager for six years, teaching and managing student employees in vegetable production, making sure GAP and organic standards are met, and leading the small maple syrup operation on campus. She also has experience teaching soil health and integrated pest management (IPM). Originally from Honduras, Indira holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental and socioeconomic development from Zamorano University in Honduras and a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture and agroforestry from CATIE (Tropical Agriculture Research and Education Center) in Costa Rica. Her master’s research was focused on evaluating different tomato and pepper varieties in Central America as a mechanism to adapt to climate change. She has experience working with family gardens and has worked as a food security extensionist building integrated farms and resilient and diverse backyards. Her experience also includes organic crop production, food security projects, food safety and experiential learning.
Jodi Danyo
Jodi Danyo is the founder of Cherry Valley Organics, an organic lifestyle brand devoted to crafting small-batch herbal products rooted in both science and soil. Under her leadership, the company produces a thoughtfully curated line of USDA-certified organic herbal teas, edible flowers and botanical skincare, all made with a deep respect for plant integrity and environmental stewardship. Her work is grounded in hands-on agricultural experience and a commitment to regenerative growing practices that prioritize soil health, biodiversity and transparency. Every formula begins in the field, where she carefully selects and cultivates the plants that become the foundation of Cherry Valley Organics’ products. With a bachelor of science in biology and a master of science in environmental science and management from Duquesne University, Jodi brings a scientific lens to herbalism. Her approach is equal parts practical and passionate, and she uses the items she creates in her own home and on her own skin.
Jasen Bernthisel
Jasen Bernthisel works throughout Allegheny County to support a network of urban agriculture projects including community gardens, collective orchards and urban farms. Interest in experimentation, peasant-led food sovereignty movements, tree crops and the future of agriculture drive his research and efforts. His Wilkinsburg-based tree nursery Future Is Nuts produces over a thousand fruit and nut trees per season including pawpaws, persimmons, hazelnuts and chestnuts, sourced from intriguing parent trees found in old orchards, breeding programs and forays into the forest. The nursery serves the wider community by making trees available at no cost to community-facing projects throughout the county, while also providing affordable options for residents interested in incorporating perennial food crops into their own yards. In Jasen's work with Grow Pittsburgh's Community Projects team he has worked with neighborhood groups to coordinate the development and long-term support of community food gardens by facilitating neighborhood partnerships, managing infrastructure projects and leading educational programming. He is currently developing Community Orchard School, a year-long, cohort-based pilot program in partnership with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture and Tree Pittsburgh's Giving Grove that aims to equip community orchardists with the skillsets to revitalize, sustain and build community around the region's existing orchard network.
Allison Glick
Allison has been working as the Homegrown garden installation coordinator at Phipps since 2017, helping backyard gardeners successfully grow their own food. She has been growing strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for over 10 years in various locations, including a commercial organic farm, a community garden and her backyard in Swissvale.
More Events You’ll Enjoy
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Ikebana International Exhibit
March 20 – April 28
In this partnership with the Ikebana International Pittsburgh Chapter, view gorgeous floral displays in our Welcome Center Gallery. -
Play Farmers’ Market
NOW OPEN
Come to Phipps' Play Farmers' Market where children can interact with toy food, shopping carts and cash registers!
