The 2026 cohort comprised of 12 new storytellers and 2 experienced storytellers who used multiple formats of storytelling to share their land stewardship work. See here for a sampling of their work.

Leslie Cooperband

Leslie Cooperband, based in Champaign, IL recently retired from owning/operating Illinois' first farmstead goat dairy creamery, Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery. She now lives on the farm next door with her husband and they are in the process of restoring their land to native prairie, wetlands and woodlands, attempting to recreate the diverse mix of habitats that thrived here before European colonization. Leslie documents her land stewardship on her substack: "Leslie's Farming with Nature". A few posts are highlighed here.  

Rami Aburomia

Rami Aburomia runs Atoms to Apples, an organic apple orchard and thriving farm business that grows 65 varieties of apples, pears, and peaches. They sell everything within 25 miles of the farm. In addition, they are hard at work restoring th 15 acres of prairie and oak savanna on their property. 

Rami has hosted community gatherings for customers and was invited to participate on a radio show on WORT-fm that was hosted by Fairshare CSA.

Rachel Beglin

Rachel Beglin, works to break down the barrier between "agricultural land" and "conservation land" and blend the two to create the kind of agroecological systems that allow humans and fauna to flourish. 

Rachel blogs about her work on her 17+ acres to demonstrate how what she does can be done by others. 

Vanessa Oniboni & Oliver Luker

Vanessa Oniboni and Oliver Luker purchased 121 acres of degraded wetlands n McHenry County witih a vision to shift viewing land through the lens of climate change to focusing on water health as a primary indicator of regeneration. 

This program celebrates the many forms storytelling takes. 2025 storytellers hosted people on their farms, taught classes, wrote, spent time with state and federal policymakers, and spoke at community events. They were also featured in the media - here's a sampling:

Jim Chamberlin wrote about the Climate on the Farm event he hosted for community members.

"By healing the soil we can restore the water, chemical, and biological cycles, slowing them down, creating positive feedback loops, and promoting abundant landscapes."

Leanna Goose was featured in Modern Farmer, Mother Earth News, and Prism talking about the cultural significance of manoomin (wild rice), the plant's relationship to water quality and healthy ecosystems, and the need to protect manoomin for future generations.

"If we care for the water, it will care for us. If we care for the land, it will care for us."

Bonnie Haugen told her story on the Farm Aid stage and wrote in the Rochester Post Bulletin about the connections between soil health, water quality, and farmer economics.

"We need more programs that help mitigate economic losses while a farmer is going through the experimental stage and adjusting the variables, so they can stick with [soil health] practices long enough to change their bottom line in a good way."

Paul Mairet was featured on the Farm Aid blog, Edible Minnesota, and Public News Service talking about hazelnut cultivation and healthy ecosystems.

"They [hazelnuts] require very little and give so much. This is true of other perennial crops too. Establishing trees and shrubs is one of the best things you can do to mitigate climate change."

Chrystal A. Odin wrote about a community's process of reconnecting to land for LILPOH.

"Know that when I use the word land, I am including us in the definition of the word land. Yes, all the complex and complicated parts of us. We don’t need to be reconnected necessarily, we only need to remember we have been connected all along. We are the land, and the land is us."

Teresa Peterson was a guest on the Native Lights podcast: Loving the land that Cares for Us All

"Ceremonies happen seasonally. Often, there’s passing down of traditions ... during ceremony, people gather and feed each other, there’s lessons, there’s hard work. It’s an opportunity for anybody and everybody to participate in some ways ... to live in that way of life that nourishes us, and then, in turn, we nourish and support the land."

Katie Ross wrote a poem, Boundaries, for The Nature of Our Times poetry anthology and started a Substack.

"Roughly four times more carbon is stored below ground in living systems, than in all terrestrial biomass (Evans, 2022). When this thriving soil microbial soup is eating, excreting, moving, procreating and decomposing, it is building a latticework for life. Water and air move through this biologically created lattice, or ‘soil sponge’, to sustain the greenery above."

Seth Watkins wrote in the Des Moines Register about conservation support through the Farm Bill and the need for Iowa farmers to lead on water quality and was featured as a Hydro20 Honoree.

"I’m grateful to do what I love, and I know this is possible thanks to the support of taxpayers. Your investment helps keep family farms like mine going. In return, you should expect safe food, clean water, and a healthy landscape.”

2024 storytellers shared their stories in their communities and in the press. Check out some of their work!

2024 storytellers hosted folks on their farms, spent time with state and federal policymakers, and spoke at community events. They were also featured in the media:

Hooking listeners with a story about goats, farmer Bryan Simon gets journalists talking about perennial agriculture in this Minnesota Now radio segment.

How are young people feeling about their connections to place, nature, culture and family? A community mural project led by Annie Humphrey with young people from the Leech Lake Reservation and nearby rural communities creates space for these conversations.

Adam Griebie wants to see competitive Soil and Water Conservation District races on the November ballot, so he used this Letter to the Editor to share a compelling story about farmer-SWCD partnerships through federal conservation programs.

"Is what I'm doing going to help the next generations have a livable world?" Leanna Goose speaks powerfully about the significance of manoomin and the role of Indigenous wisdom in addressing climate change.

Leslie Knaup talks storytelling alongside labor and climate in a conversation with Workday Magazine.

Funwi Tita makes compelling connections between land access and climate change in this guest commentary for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

"Where's Griebie Lake?" Adam Griebie has an answer for his neighbors when they ask why his fields don't flood anymore.

Congratulations to Fire In the Village on their official launch and start of their fall tour, which was featured on Minnesota Public Radio.

Leanna Goose was a guest on the Indigenous Speaker Series, sharing Wisdom of the Ancestors: Indigenous Approaches to Climate Justice.

Sustaining woodlands for the next generation feels attainable with federal conservation funding, writes Kyle McClure in this Letter to the Editor in The Star Post.

2023 storytelling took many shapes and forms, including:

Community dinners featuring local farmers with conversations about climate change

Recording community elders sharing ecological histories of sacred sites

Collecting audio "seed stories" from elders and other communities members

Presentations to faith communities about land stewardship and conservation practices

County fair conversations about regenerative agriculture practices

Teaching local students about traditional food knowledge and practices and the impacts of climate change

Community radio interviews with local farmers and climatologists

Local press, including on Minnesota Public Radio and in Northfield News

Presenting on the Indigenous Speaker Series (here's a write-up)

Guest blogging

Sharing stories on personal social media (thank you, Naima Dhore, for sharing this example).