Edward B. Brogdon
[email protected]
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Ed Brogdon is the Founder/Owner of Back To Eden, LLC in Columbia, SC. BTE’s Mission Statement is to Inform, Educate, Inspire, Empower and Coach (IEIEC) people how to live a healthier, and more wholesome lifestyle primarily through the practice of Year-Round Gardening.
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Reared on a small farm in Clarendon County South Carolina,
Ed helped grew almost everything his family ate. Then, over the course of two
professional careers in a short 38 years, Ed was fortune to have traveled
throughout 48 states, and has lived in 5 regions of the US where he continued the
family tradition of growing most of the vegetables his immediate family ate,
while also generously sharing his home-grown produce with others throughout the
community. Ed now pursues this passion for year-round vegetable gardening through
his business practice.
Over the past 19 years, Ed has nearly perfected the art of “year-round” gardening through the practice of “companion planting”, “intensive planting“ “succession planting”, and “timed-harvesting” techniques that significantly increase plant yield—an important process for addressing the serious concern of access to fresh vegetables and food security in under-served communities. At the community level, Ed enjoys working with people to address social and physical determinants which are paramount for achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. Year-round gardening increases access & consumption of fresh produce which in turn can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. At the corporate level, Ed’s tailored-approach provides an opportunity for organizations to move its Wellness Program beyond a white-paper status by engaging employees in intellectual & practical activities which increase their interest, understanding, and participation in vegetable gardening programs on their own for better health as well as economic benefits. The IEIEC Mission Statement is achievable through Informative & Educational Healthy Lifestyle Seminars; Inspiring & Empowering Vegetable Gardening Workshops; and Inter-personal Coaching Sessions with the potential of transforming mind-sets and cultivating life-learned practical skill-sets that promote Healthy Eating as the “new norm” for both the current and the next generation. Ed is a United States Air Force Veteran; a retired founding Associate and Senior Manager at CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc.; an Advisory Committee member of the Center For Community and Family Transitions in Columbia, SC; an Adult Advisory Board Member for EatSmartMoveMoreSC’s “Healthy Young People Empowerment Project”; a Sub-contractor for Grant recipients; a Community Gardening Workshop Facilitator for the City of Columbia Parks and Recreations’ Community Gardens; a Founding Partner and Sponsor of The Food Park, North Columbia’s newest Community Farmer’s Market; a Community Gardening Presenter for the Richland County Neighborhood Improvement Program; a Prostate Cancer Awareness Facilitator with USC Cancer Prevent and Control Program; a Community Garden Custom-Designer and Installer; a Healthy Lifestyle Presenter and Year-Round Vegetable Gardening Workshop Facilitator at USDA Small Farmer and Gardener Cooperatives throughout South Carolina; a Health Cabinet Member, and Healthy Lifestyle Adult/Youth Mentor at Zion Canaan Baptist Church in Columbia, SC. |