Videos

Craig Morell discusses famed horticulturalist Dr. David Fairchild and his home The Kampong. The Kampong was bought as a winter home by Dr. David Fairchild  in 1916. For many years he managed the Department of Plant Introduction program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., searching the world for plants that could be useful and successfully introduced into the United States. Fairchild introduced around 30,000 plant species and varietals into the U.S. Fairchild created a garden that contained many of the plants that he obtained throughout his trips. Today the Kampong's living collections include tropical fruits including pomelo, 23 cultivars of avocado, and 65 varieties of mango, palms, flowering trees, ficus, aroids, and bamboo.

James Farwell @ BSTFC.org. James talks about Plinias and Myrciarias (Jaboticaba and its close relatives). His hobby became a small business in 2018 and Farwell Fruit Farm, LLC has been growing since then. Farwell Fruit Farm currently grows 450+ species and cultivars of subtropical and tropical fruit and sells the seeds at www.farwellfruitfarm.com. His plan is to plant out an additional 20 acre parcel in south Fort Myers for a total of 25 acres comprising one of the most diverse fruit tree collections in the United States.

Craig Morell discusses many different propagation methods for plants. Craig's backround: Overseeing all aspects of public garden management, including landscape development, plant selection, nursery operations, public education, writing, public speaking and strategic facility planning.

Dr. Noris Ledesma is a renowned horticulturist specializing in tropical fruits. Her work experience includes throughout Latin America, Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, India, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. She is a courtesy professor at the University of Florida, Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead FL. Currently works as a consultant with mango industry in Peru, USA, Mexico, and the Middle East.

Emanuel Bisarello @BSTFC.org. Emanuel was Born in Argentina and has been working in the field of wellness for 15 years focused on the relationship between spirituality, health, ecology, emotional/trauma release and raw foods. That led to the study of Syntropic Agroforestry.

Rick Burnette @BSTFC.org, Having over three decades of international experience in small-scale food production, Rick Burnette is a co-founder of Cultivate Abundance, a nonprofit addressing food and nutrient insecurity faced by migrant farmworkers in SWFL.

Berto Silva @BSTFC.org. Berto specializes in growing rare and unusual fruit trees. He grew up in the northeast portion of Brazil where he was exposed to diverse types of fruits available in that region.

Russell Hollander's presentation @BSTFC.org covers the life cycle of fungus some biology and gardening with inter planting of edible mushrooms.