Tilth Conference

Conference Schedule

Conference Schedule

Cultivating Resilience for Ecological Distress: Train the Trainer

  • Date: Monday, November 16
  • Time: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  • Speakers: Teal Potter, Washington State University; Maud Powell, Oregon State University

Join us for a skill-building workshop on supporting farmers and ranchers as they navigate the challenges associated with ecological change. Many people are struggling with the consequences of environmental changes. Farmers, ranchers, and landowners have close relationships with places and landscapes and, as a result, are especially vulnerable to ecological loss. This program, presented by Oregon State University Extension Small Farm’s faculty Maud Powell as well as Ag resilience specialist Teal Potter, will introduce participants to strategies for increasing resiliency in the face of extreme weather events and a rapidly changing environment.

Who? This training is designed for agricultural educators who provide support to farmers and ranchers. Attendees may include Extension professionals, federal and state agency employees, private sector consultants, non-profit staff, and growers and producers.

Why Attend? Research indicates that providing opportunities to share emotions and mental health challenges about ecological change leads to greater resilience, increased connections within and between communities, and increased rates of positive/intentional action. If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive, this workshop is a prerequisite for our cohort that will launch in the spring of 2026.

What to Expect: During this three-hour training, agricultural educators will experience and learn how to deliver a 30-minute presentation on ecological stress and grief, and how to incorporate this work into one-on-one interactions with producers. Participants will receive a PowerPoint presentation along with notes and other resources on how to implement the presentation. Funded through WSARE: Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant.

About the Speakers

  • Teal Potter

    Washington State University

    Teal Potter is an agriculture resilience specialist at Washington State University’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. Teal’s primary areas of work include coordinating state-wide research on cover crops and trainings to facilitate climate adaptation in specialty crops nation-wide. Teal is committed to the long view of agriculture, seeking to build out scenarios to help agricultural stakeholders around the West envision a future where we can grow crops under even more challenging conditions later this century. Her past research examines how agricultural practices influence soil microbial communities and the consequences for agricultural crops and soil health. Teal received her PhD in Ecology from the University of Colorado and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin and Washington State University. She is based at the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee.

  • Maud Powell

    Oregon State University

    Maud Powell and her family own and operate Wolf Gulch Farm, a certified organic vegetable and seed farm in the Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon. Since 2005, she’s also worked as a faculty member with Oregon State University Extension’s Small Farms Program, where she focuses on farmer education, climate resilience, and sustainable production systems. She also serves as the Western SARE Coordinator for Oregon, supporting research and professional development in sustainable agriculture.