Backyard Barnyard Summit Speakers and Schedule
Expand your idea of what it means to grow food… consider waking up every day and walking into your backyard to collect your eggs for breakfast. If you already have chickens, take this a step further and imagine wowing your friends and neighbors with a cheese board made from fresh cheese from your own goats.
The Backyard Barnyard Summit is truly for ALL urban growers, no matter how large or small your space is, and no matter how much or little experience you have. This Summit is going to be informative, powerful, and life-changing. If you’re a little curious about how animals (including insects) can enhance your fruit & veggie production, help you become more self-sufficient, and what it takes to raise them, this is your prime opportunity to uncover what you need to know to get started or take your journey further!
If you haven’t signed up yet, click here to reserve your spot.
Dates: Monday, June 15th through Wednesday, June 17th. Presentations run from 3pm-6pm Pacific daily.
Location: Online. Links to attend will be sent to your inbox each day of the summit (after you sign up)
Speakers at a Glance
Kari Spencer
3 Urban Animals Classes
Daily at 4:15pm PDT
Greg Peterson
Chicken Housing
June 17th at 3pm PDT
Chloe Lieberman
Small-Scale Dairy Production
June 16th at 3pm PDT
Mystery Guest
Our mystery guest will learn how to get their first chickens on-air
June 15th at 3pm PDT
This isn't your average online summit...
Each day of the summit, after the guest presentation, Kari will teach a new module of Urban Animals: How to Raise Chickens, Goats and More in Your Yard. So you’ll be getting to absorb the information from 3 modules of this course for free during the Summit. This means that in addition to the amazing guest presentations, you’ll also get taken on a step-by-step journey through the process of beginning incorporate animals into your farm or garden plan.
Your Host:
Kari Spencer
Kari Spencer is the creator of the comprehensive online course Urban Animals: How to Raise Chickens, Goats and More in Your Backyard, plus one of your hosts for the Backyard Barnyard Summit. Each day, she will be presenting a new module of the course for free, plus be online for live Q&As!
More about Kari: Kari is a popular local gardening & homesteading speaker, and author of the book City Farming: A How-To Guide to Growing Crops and Raising Livestock in Urban Spaces. Both a Master Gardener and a Master Farmer, Kari enjoys sharing her passion for growing and raising food with others. In addition to teaching classes all over the city of Phoenix, she is a talented instructor and curriculum writer in the Urban Farming department at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Her family operates The Micro Farm Project, a small farm in North Phoenix, where gardens and livestock animals provide her family with fun and food. She loves to experiment with new ways to create a healthier, more self-reliant and sustainable lifestyle, and invites others to join her on the journey.
Your Host:
Greg Peterson
Greg Peterson is the creator and one of your hosts for the Backyard Barnyard Summit. You will find him introducing each speaker, plus jumping online for live Q&As daily. Greg will also be presenting “Chicken Housing: How to Build Your Chicken Coop” on June 17th at 3pm PDT.
About Greg Peterson: Greg has been digging his toes into the earth, listening to the plants, and experimenting wih progressive permaculture techniques in his yard for over 40 years. His 1/3-acre home in Phoenix, AZ has been converted into an entirely edible landscape open to the community for tours and classes, and his fruit tree program has resuted in the planting of over 10,000 fruit trees. Greg’s mission is to show others that they too can realize the power, joy and deliciousness of urban farming! Greg received his Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University, and has since taught at a trade school and even returned to his alma mater to teach Sustainable Food and Farms. He started UrbanFarm.org to build a community for urban farmers and home gardeners around the world to come for inspiration, education, and advice. His podcast, The Urban Farm Podcast, plus his previous summit the Edible Backyard Summit, have been so fun and successful that he has decided to expand his reach by creating a new Summit, the Backyard Barnyard Summit.
Daily Schedule
Monday, June 15th
3pm PDT: A Beginner’s Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your First Chickens
We will kick off the Summit with a walkthrough in which Greg will get on the phone with someone and walk them through getting chickens from start to finish. After this presentation, you’ll know exactly what you need to do to get your first chickens. As a bonus, All Access Passholders will get a worksheet to go with the presentation.
4:15pm PDT: Urban Animals: An Introduction (from Urban Animals course) with Kari Spencer
Wondering where to start with incorporating backyard farm animals? We will explore the exhaustive list of animals and insects that can be a great addition to your urban farm, plus the many ways they can contribute. And if you have no room for fish, chickens or goats, we’ll explore options for obtaining the benefits without raising them yourself.
5:30pm PDT: Live Q&As
Get your pressing garden questions answered LIVE by Kari and Greg
Tuesday, June 16th
3pm PDT: Small-Scale Dairy Production: Goats & Cows with Chloe Lieberman
Learn about small scale dairy production, including how to care for dairy animals, milk processing and storage, fencing options, feeding, breeding, raw milk roadblocks, and suggestions about how to make use of all that dairy! We’ll cover goats and cows, and discuss the pros and cons of each species, and of different breeds within those species. All Access Passholders will also get a milking demo from Chloe!
4:15pm PDT: Designing a Productive System with Farm Animals (from Urban Animals course) with Kari Spencer
Before bringing animals home to the farm, it is important to think through the ecological design of your system to ensure that it will be productive, sustainable, and regenerative. This week, we will find out how to analyze and design urban farms that are increasingly abundant over time, saving you time and money, yielding healthy food, and benefiting the environment. All Access Passholders will get a worksheet to go with this presentation.
5:30pm PDT: Live Q&As
Get your pressing garden questions answered LIVE by Kari and Greg.
Wednesday, June 17th
3pm PDT: Chicken Housing: How to Build Your Chicken Coop with Greg Peterson
Learn how to house your chickens from chicks to laying hens (and keep them safe and sound)! Learn about different chicken coop styles, how much room chickens need, making your coop predator-proof, supplies needed, how to protect chickens from summer heat, and more. This class will empower you to know exactly what you need to do to build your chickens’ dream coop that perfectly fits into your vision for your yard.
4:15pm PDT: Designing a Productive System with Chickens (from Urban Animals course) with Kari Spencer
Discover how poultry fits into a good ecological design and their many functions on an urban farm. Learn about their basic needs and ways to make them profitable financially and ecologically. By the end of this class, you’ll feel more empowered to design your farm, plus you’ll have the inside scoop on raising poultry, from chickens to ducks and turkeys and quail. All Access Passholders will get a worksheet to go with this presentation.
5:30pm PST: Live Q&As
Get your pressing garden questions answered LIVE by Kari and Greg.
Additional Speaker Details
Speaker Spotlight:
Chloe Lieberman
Chloe Lieberman has been milking (almost every morning) for the past 10 years. She and her partner co-manage a homestead in the southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, near Asheville. They currently have one Jersey cow and 4 Alpine cross goats, and operate a micro-dairy that provides raw milk and yogurt to a group of friends and neighbors. Chloe also writes and teaches for Wild Abundance, a school of homesteading, permaculture, and natural building.
