Meet the team!
Dietrich Swanenberg
Epp Schmidt
Dietrich is an agro-ecologist (and all around soil nerd) who connects with nature through his belly. He likes to grow blueberries, kiwi-berry and aspires to grow hazelnuts, pecans and truffles. He especially loves it when his farming helps the landscape to recover and thrive.
Audrey Swanenberg
Epp Schmidt
Audrey, originally from outside Chicago, has now called the Chesapeake watershed home for nearly 20 years. She has worked across the food system: from farming small-scale organic vegetables, to crop transitions in international development, to co-founding Chesapeake Farm to Table, a local food hub. From Johns Hopkins University, she received both a bachelors in Sociology & Environmental Studies and a masters degree in Environmental Health & Engineering.
Audrey is the primary force behind Sweet Potomac Studio. Audrey splits her time between Hyattsville, Maryland & Seneca Rocks, West Virginia, where she runs Sweet Potomac Farm with her husband. Audrey’s work is inspired by playfulness and nature - and one of the best parts of creating art is the mindful meditation of collecting new material directly from the natural environment. Audrey has extensive professional experience with for-profits, non-profits, and academia working to create networks of organizations that support climate, the environment, and agriculture.
Seed saving is an ecological art to Audrey - preserving our region’s native plant and tree seeds to expland the diversity of regionally adapted genetics that can be grown into the future for all to propser from.
Audrey is a proud member of the Red Dirt Studio community!
Shagbark’s Hickory, AKA: Kory
Kory started fetching tennis balls at 8 weeks old. Since then he has graduated on to lacrosse balls. He is happy romping in the woods, and monitoring the fields. As long as all his humans are in sight, life is good. (he’s a bit older now …)
Mama, AKA: MAMA
Mama is the original farmer. She cultivates special sun spots in the grass, because even when it’s hot out the sun always makes things better.