Virtual Farm Tour & Panel Discussion  

July 11, 2023 
ZOOM WEBINAR
6:00PM - 7:30PM

Get an up close and personal look at two urban farms in Tarrant County: Mind Your Garden owned and operated by Steven and Ursula Nunez and F.A.R.M.'s flagship location in Ft. Worth operated by James Jeffers and Hyiat El-Jundi.  Each farmer takes you on a guided, virtual tour for a peek into each farm's day-to-day operations. 

Following the virtual tour, join all three growers for a panel discussion to hear what motivates each of them to transform the land in an effort to improve the lives of others.  The panelists will answer audience questions. To ensure your question is answered, submit questions to helen@grownorthtexas.org by July 10th. 

Mind Your Garden: Steven Nuñez, a first-generation college student and veteran, has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.  He is an alumnus of the Archi’s Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, a certified permaculture designer, serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs at UT Arlington and is also a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.  

Ursula Nunez is a Fort Worth Native. first-generation college student, mother of two, and is passionate about nature and wellness. She earned a Master of Science in Sustainability from UT Arlington, a Bachelor of Arts in Bilingual Education from Texas Wesleyan University and is a certified permaculture designer. Currently, she is a graduate student at Texas Christian University studying Precision Agriculture through the College of Science and Engineering.

F.A.R.M.: James Jeffers is a U.S. Army combat Veteran who served nine years as an infantryman. He has been farming and teaching for 12 years as a way to provide mission and purpose to save the lives of Veterans. Jeffers witnessed many traumatic events during and post his military service and after hearing reports that 22 Veterans a day commit suicide, he decided something had to be done.  Together, with some solid senior leadership from his old unit and his longtime buddy Steve Smith, (whom he served with in 1-9 CAV) he started an organization for Veterans: Farmers Assisting Returning Military (F.A.R.M.).  Realizing the importance of sustainable agriculture and the therapeutic affects farming provided him (like regular recreation and being surrounded by other veterans), he wanted to pay it forward to all of those who served. 

Virtual tour host, Helen Dulac spent 17 years with the City of Dallas in various roles within the water utility and sustainability. During her time in the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, she hosted and moderated numerous virtual programs with the Dallas Public Library to help people live greener, conserve water, garden in the space they had and learn about local food systems. In her capacity as the Public Education Manager for the North Texas Municipal Water District, she managed the water conservation program and started a virtual lunch and learn series. She holds an MS in Environmental Science and is a graduate from the Certified Public Communicator® Program at TCU. She currently enjoys working for Grow North Texas on their numerous programs to assist urban farmers and improve the local food system.