Grow it Right:
Pollution Prevention in Agriculture and
Landscaping

Speaker: Jean Koch
Presidio Trust's Compost and Regeneration Program - The use of compost and compost tea in landscape and turf management to reduce reduce or eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizer and pesticides by providing a beneficial alternative. Use of compost will also reduce irrigation need and increase soil biodiversity and health.

Jean Koch has been working with the Compost and Regeneration Program in the Presidio of San Francisco for the past 3 years. Recently she has taken over management of the program and runs a mid-scale compost facility, education and volunteer programs, coordinates research and finds innovative ways to use compost within the Park. Working closely with the Integrated Pest Management Coordinator, the program has decreased the need for pesticide and fertilizer use and created healthier soils and happier plants. She graduated from Rutgers, Cook College in 1997 with a degree in Natural Resource Management, worked in habitat restoration before getting hooked on composting.

Speaker: Craig Macmillan
Central Coast Vineyard Team's Biologically Integrated Farming System
(BIFS) project with wine grape growers, highlighting the benefits of grower partnership to promote "self-assessment" and voluntary adoption of reduced risk practices.

Craig Macmillan, BIFS Project Coordinator for the Central Coast Vineyard Team.
Mr. Macmillan was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa before attending the University of Iowa where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Music Composition. After a successful and (youthful) career as a bass player in a variety of jazz and Latin bands he decided that philosophy was a more fulfilling way of earning a living. While attending graduate school, he started working in the wine industry. In April, 2002 Craig was named BIFS Project Coordinator for the Central Coast Vineyard Team where he continues his work promoting sustainable farming practices in vineyards along the Central Coast of California.