🔊 The Institute’s Roots: 10th Anniversary Conversation with Keefe Keeley and Kevin Wolz
Kevin Wolz was part of the network of researchers and farmers who founded the Savanna Institute back in 2013, and served as the first chair of the institute’s board of directors. From 2017 to 2022, he served as co-executive director of the organization. He is currently CEO of Canopy Farm Management.
Keefe Keeley was Savanna Institute’s first official staff person. He has served as executive director since he was hired in 2014.
Beginning in 2017, Keefe and Kevin worked together for five years as co-executive directors of the Savanna Institute. During those five years, the organization went from being a scrappy startup (with three part-time employees collectively doing the work of one full-time staff person) to being a thriving nonprofit with over twenty employees, purchasing land in southern Wisconsin to establish a home farm, and launching a spinoff business, Canopy Farm Management, to increase tree planting and perennial farm management services in the Midwest.
In the episode, Keefe and Kevin talk about how Savanna Institute has always had a vision for transformational change, and how, as Keefe says, “we’re not going to achieve that by doing some nice projects on the margins.”
You can hear the full conversation with Keefe and Kevin on the Perennial AF podcast or on our YouTube channel:
Learn more about our first ten years in the most recent Perennial Report!
More from Perennial AF
Indigenous Food Advocate Chef Sean Sherman to deliver keynote at 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering
The Sioux Chef founder will speak at the Monona Terrace in Madison on October 7th
A Letter from Canopy Farm Management
As Canopy enters its third year of providing tree planting and management services in the Midwest, the transformative impact of trees and the revitalization of our farms are becoming increasingly apparent.
Our Latest Perennial Report
Each year, we release a Perennial Report packed with stories from our community, hopeful milestones toward our vision, and organizational financial reporting. Read the stories and think big picture with us in our latest Perennial Report.
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🔊 A Thorny Topic: Black Locust and Honey Locust for Agroforestry
🔊 “Spreadsheets on the Radio” – Farm Viability and the Fruit & Nut Compass with John Hendrickson
🔊 Getting Started with Forest Farming – Ingrid Daudert, Karam Sheban, and Robin Suggs
🔊 Agroforestry for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation – with Nate Lawrence and Monika Shea