Michael Thompson, Director of Inspiration
Principal Architect of Ecosystems Design Inc., beer brewer, bread baker, tree whisperer, and gardener. Michael has led the establishment of the Heritage Fruit Tree Project and since 2009 has documented hundreds of trees in the Roaring Fork Valley and pruning many of them. Known by every locovore in the area he is a pillar of the local food movement and an inspiration to many.
Jerome Osentowski, The Tree Sage
After building a permaculture demonstration site for 30 years at 7,600ft in Basalt, CO Jerome knows how to build soil and grow food at high elevation. The Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (CRMPI) boasts 4 off the grid greenhouses growing everything from figs to flowers. He has been successfully grafting heritage fruit trees from this area for years and CRMPI is one of the Heritage Fruit Tree Project's sources for planting trees.
Vanessa Harmony, Tree Propagator/Green Thumb
Vanessa is owner-operator of Colorado Edible Forest in Glenwood Springs, a nursery specializing in heritage fruit trees, berry bushes, and other edible perennial plants for Colorado. Vanessa's passion is empowering Coloradans to grow perennial food plants, build soil, and nurture the natural world that surrounds them along with their own connection to nature. With Heritage Fruit Tree Project, Vanessa oversees mapping, propagating, and preserving heritage fruit trees around the Roaring Fork Valley and Western Slope. Colorado Edible Forest offers clones of heritage fruit trees for sale so customers can celebrate and perpetuate our region’s fruit-growing history.
Amber “Stormy” Kennedy, Documentarian/Map Whiz
Currently a student at Colorado Mountain College, Stormy is a stalwart teammate in documenting, mapping, pruning, and gleaning heritage fruit trees. As someone who is striving to be more self-sufficient and community focused, she envisions more small scaled, sustainable localities where consumers have access to nutrient rich foods and are supported by their community to learn to build soil and grow their own. Stormy is also involved with CRMPI as a volunteer and a student of the Design School for Regenerating Earth.
Jimmy Dula, Fundraising Manager/Fungal enthusiast
Founder of Colorado Soil Systems, LLC, graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and always chasing some snow. Jimmy established a fungal library at Aspen High School and provides organic landscape management services and consulting through Colorado Soil Systems. As the cherry's biggest fan, he is working to support and grow local food economies every change he gets.