Chaffee County Building Farmers Program

Applications are currently being accepted for the inaugural Chaffee County Building Farmer’s Program to be offered in Salida.

The Colorado Building Farmers program builds farm community and farmer capacity through classroom and experiential learning for beginning farmers (0 – 10 yrs exp). The course is a series of 8 evening classes designed to help New Farmers/Ranchers explore farming as a business and provide Intermediate and Experienced Farmers/Ranchers with tools and ideas to refine and enhance their business management, production, and marketing skills.

Classes include Strategic Business Planning, Introduction to holistic management, agriculture modalities, market analysis, land acquisition/leasing, marketing/distribution, financial planning/business organization, budgeting, food safety and other risk management, production Q & A, and presentations of student-created business plans. A variety of local growers and academic specialists make up the cadre of speakers for this eight-week course.

When: Tuesday Evenings, January 31 - March 20, 5:30 pm - 8:30

Where: Chaffee County Fairgrounds, 10165 County Road 120, Salida

Cost: Costs for the course are $200 for new farmers/ranchers, $140 for intermediate farmers/ranchers, and $100 for experienced farmers/ranchers. Course fees include all tuition, expenses, and evening meals each week.

Application Process: Applicants will complete a short questionnaire about their experience and desires for the course, and a local advisory committee will screen applications to determine eligibility.

This course is open to new, intermediate and experienced farmers. Intermediate and Experienced farmers fuel the learning environment. Dinner provides time for socializing and networking. Sessions explore content useful to all levels of experience. New farmers learn in this community of farmer students and teachers.

For more information or an application, contact Kurt Jones at 719-539-6447.

The Colorado Building Farmers program is based upon work supported by NIFA under Award Number 2009-49400-05877 from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

Free and Easy Ways to Support Guidestone Every Day

We’ve just made it easier for you to support Guidestone!

We registered Guidestone (Salida - CO) with GoodSearch.com, a company that helps non-profits like ours raise funds through the everyday actions of our supporters.

Here is how you can help:

• Use GoodSearch when you search the interent – they will donate a penny to us every time you do.
• Use GoodShop.com when you shop online – they work with more than 2,500 major brands, have over 100,000 coupons and donate a percentage of every purchase you make to us.
• Enroll in the GoodDining.com they will donate up to 6% of every dollar you spend when you eat at one of 10,000 participating restaurants.

Please join our community on GoodSearch.com and help us raise money for our mission. Get started by clicking the “Become a Supporter” button on our profile page here!

Check out this video to learn more about how GoodSearch works.

Pumpkin Patch Thank You

On behalf of Guidestone’s Board of Trustees and staff, I would like to extend a resounding thank you to everyone in the community that participated in our 5^th Annual Pumpkin Patch at Cottonwood Meadows. Thanks to gorgeous fall weather and such a supportive community, this was our most successful event yet. We are delighted at this year’s turnout, with more than 1700 people in attendance over the two weekends’ festivities!

All of the proceeds from the Pumpkin Patch go to support Guidestone’s Farmhands Education Program, which provides hands-on, experiential farm & nature-based education programs to school groups, children and families. Guidestone is a Chaffee County-based non-profit dedicated to strengthening the local food economy through preserving agricultural resources and educating

We would like to specifically thank the following individuals, organizations and animals for helping make the Pumpkin Patch such a great event: Weathervane Farm & Cottonwood Creek Dairy staff and family of farm animals, John Cogswell, Colorado Grown Distribution Center, Ralph Ogden and his team of wranglers, draft horses and ponies from Arkansas Valley Trail Rides, Dennis Fischer and his mule team, the Chaffee County Fire Protection District, and all of our hard-working and positive volunteers: Angie Jensen, Ashley Blazer, Ben Walker, Bev Palm, Bill Earley, Chrissy Supples, Danielle Riggio, Jane Lambard, Jessica Adamson, Jessica Pettee, Joan & Randy Roberts, Josh Visitacion, Karen & Will Berry, Katrina Clark, Kira Cunningham, Kristine Smock, Maude Perschbacher, Naomi Allen, Paul Hauser, Rebecca Owens, Sarah Mudge and Travis Colbert. for ecological literacy.

We also would like to thank the following businesses for their sponsorships or in-kind donations:

LiveWell Chaffee County, The Boathouse Cantina, Landmark Surveying and Mapping, Arlie Dale’s Jug Liquors, Arrowpoint Cattle Company, Brady’s West, Buena Vista Roastery, The Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery, Erin’s Organics Geothermal Greenhouse, The Evergreen Café, GOTO Guide, Headwaters Outdoor Equipment, Heart of Colorado Vacations, Kaleidoscope Toys, The Maverick Potter, The Mixing Bowl, Moonstone Ventures, Mother’s Bistro, Natural Habitats, Nature’s Pantry, Susan Dempsey Hughes (Pinon Realty), Rebound Physical Therapy, Rise and Shine Bakery, Salida Bread Company, Salida Mountain Sports, Simple Foods and Southwest Conservation Corps.

Community support is invaluable to the success of these programs, and we are grateful to be part of such an enthusiastic community that supports local food and local agriculture. Thanks again, and best wishes for a cozy winter. We hope to see you on the farm again soon!

Best regards,

Andrea Earley Coen

Guidestone Education Director

Check Out This Weekend's Pumpkin Patch & Community Events!

Guidestone's Fifth Annual Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, October 22, 10 to 4 and Sunday, October 23, 12 to 4
Location: The Meadows, 15264 Crossman Ave. (CR 350), Buena Vista (Look for the pumpkin signs!)

Join us for hayrides, petting zoo, face painting, pumpkin picking, pony rides, and hot apple cider and lunch, and more!

Admission for adults and children three and over is $5; children two and under are free. All proceeds support Farmhands, Guidestone's Educational Program.

Special thanks to our hosts and sponsors!

Colorado Grown, Cottonwood Creek Dairy, Arkansas Valley Trail Rides, and Cottonwood Creek Dairy

Articipate's 3rd Annual "FUN-Raiser!"

Salida Steamplant Event Center, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Workshops from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Silent Auction 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.; Live Entertainment 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Visit the website for more information

Living Green 2011 Home Event

Visit 10 environmental homes throughout Chaffee County

Saturday, October 22, 2011
9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Tickets and information at GARNA.org or call 719-539-5106

Creating Miracles for Sustainable Living

Publish Post

Join us for a Fundraiser

for

Guidestone and partners Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy,

and Colorado Grown Co-Op Market!

Hosted by Karen Lacy of Alternative Choices Wellness Center and Eddie Sandoval of Asian Palate.

When: Saturday, September 10, 2011 from 5:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Where: The State Hwy. Theater, Buena Vista

Cost: Entrance Fee (Donation) $5 Adults (13 and up); $3 Kids (5-12)

What: Come for dancing and live entertainment, silent auction, raffle drawing for prizes, and healthy food to eat! All money spent is tax deductible.

Guidestone is dedicated to strengthening the local food economy through preserving agricultural resources and educating for ecological literacy. Guidestone serves farmers, landowners, educators, youth, and community members in the Upper Arkansas River Valley by providing farm based education programs and by supporting and growing the capacity of agricultural resources to help ensure a secure agricultural future for the region. Two Buena Vista farms, Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy, and Colorado Grown Co-op Market currently work with Guidestone and benefit from their work in the community.

Technologies and Sustainable Education

Check out this very interesting TEDx Talk on Technologies and Sustainable Education with Karen Brown, creative director of the Center for Ecoliteracy. Brown is an award-winning designer who has lectured throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan on the human and environmental consequences of design. Enjoy!

Ecological Literacy

Guidestone is dedicated to strengthening the local food economy through preserving agricultural resources and educating for ecological literacy.

The Upper Arkansas River Valley is a remarkable place in which to live! Within its awe inspiring landscape of mountains, canyons and river valleys, a number of meaningful organizations have taken root. These thriving organizations enhance the quality of life here and nourish us in countless ways through their work.

Recently I attended presentations put on by one such organization, The Collegiate Peaks Forum Series, whose mission is: “to facilitate the intellectual enrichment of The Upper Arkansas Valley residents and their visitors by sponsoring events featuring nationally recognized persons schooled in philosophy, religion or science and hosting other community discussion activities”.

Great work! And a big thank you goes to them for the quality speakers we are continually treated to through their Lecture Series. Temple Grandin, one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, spoke in two separate presentations: Animal Behavior and Autism (a condition Temple has lived with all her life). Last week Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow spoke at the SteamPlant Theater in Salida. Michael’s most recent book is Thank God for Evolution, and Connie’s book The Ghosts of Evolution was on the list of Amazon’s top recommended science books for a number of months.

I had the opportunity to spend time with Michael and Connie in beautiful Chalk Creek Canyon discussing ecological wonders such as the Chalk Cliffs, moraines in the valley, our natural hot springs, bats and local fauna and flora. It was their first time to visit this area. Their enjoyment and enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious, and through their study and understanding of nature and science, they share a link with Guidestone in this appreciation of ecological literacy.

To be ecologically literate is to understand the basic languages "spoken" by Earth, which are easy to see in natural settings. And it requires more than intellectual understanding. It is to become aware at the deepest level of your consciousness that we share the same story. And, since Earth's story is one chapter in the universe story, you learn to experience yourself in the unfolding drama of the universe. Ecological literacy focuses on process and story and its curriculum is transdisciplinary and experiential. Thomas Berry, earth scholar, author and teacher, devoted much of his life to understanding our place as humans in the whole of the Universe Story, which for him became a mythic and mystical, as well as scientific, narrative. He asserts that, “Earth’s story is our story. We are a product of the universe and in us the universe is becoming conscious of itself…” The Sacred Universe, Thomas Berry.

One of my favorite quotes by Berry is "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects." Farmers, and those who live close to the land, understand this and know that human economy is inseparable from earth’s own economy. To be truly successful at any endeavor is to live in this larger context.

By Judie Anders, Guidestone Board Member

Showing of Inspiring Film

"The Greenhorns"

Thursday, August 25

Salida SteamPlant Theater

6 pm Appetizers and Drinks

7 pm Film and Discussion

Food and Water Watch, in partnership with Central Colorado Foodshed Alliance, Chaffee Citizens for Sustainability, and Guidestone, is hosting a film screening of The Greenhorns to raise awareness of the 2012 Farm Bill. The event is part of the Fair Farm Bill Road Trip - a month of activities across 20 states to educate consumers about how the federal Farm Bill impacts us all.

From low-income families who need food stamps to survive, to midsized family farmers struggling to stay in business, to shoppers who deserve healthier food choices, everyone has the right to safe, healthy, affordable food that supports independent farmers and producers. But to restore this balance, "voting with our forks" is not enough. We need a fair Farm Bill.

The event will take place on Thursday, August 25 at the Salida SteamPlant Theater starting at 6 pm with "local food" appetizers catered by Michelle Gapp and a cash bar followed by the film screening at 7 pm. "The Greenhorns" is an inspiring documentary about a new generation of farmers. Director and activist Severine von Tscharner Fleming takes her audience on a journey across the United States visiting farms and nurseries urban and rural. Some are operated by children taking over their family businesses and others are start ups by young people attracted to a simpler, more honest way of life. The evening will conclude with a presentation about the Farm Bill by Food and Water Watch senior organizer, Sam Schabacker. This event is free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated.

Join Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas for a showing of Green Fire

Join the Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas as they present a new feature length documentary on Aldo Leopold. The film, Green Fire, explores Aldo Leopold's life in the early part of the twentieth century and the many ways his land ethic idea continues to be applied all over the world today. Join the Land Trust to watch the film and learn about Leopold's influential ideas and how it relates to our conservation work in the region.

· Salida - July 14th, 7pm, Salida Community Center, 305 F Street

· Buena Vista - July 21st, 7pm, State Highway Building Roadhouse, 402 East Main Street

· August 11th - Leadville, 7pm, Climax Room, Colorado Mountain College - Timberline Campus

· August 24th - Canon City, 7pm, Benedict Room, The Abby Event Center

$3 per person; under 12 free

Please pass this email on to other individuals that might be interested in Aldo Leopold's life and legacy!

Guiding for Conservation

Show your support for land and water conservation in central Colorado by booking a fly fishing, whitewater rafting or mountain biking trip in the Upper Arkansas River valley through the Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas on August 15, 2011, the second annual Guiding For Conservation day. Guides from several local fishing, rafting and biking outfitters will donate their guide fee to LTUA in recognition of the conservation work the Trust undertakes to protect riparian habitat, wildlife habitat, water quality, open space and to enhance access to the river and existing trail systems. In a show of support, participating outfitters will match their guides' contribution.

The Upper Arkansas River, from its headwaters near Leadville to the Pueblo Reservoir, has played an important part in the natural and cultural history of the State of Colorado. The River is the lifeblood of the area, important for agricultural water needs, public recreation, biological diversity, and tourism. As one of the major river systems in the State, the Arkansas is the focus of cooperative efforts to promote public recreation and conservation.

Starting in the early 1990's, various interest groups and organizations joined together out of cooperation and mutual respect to reach a balance in the various water needs and uses on the Arkansas, thus providing additional recreational opportunities. That spirit of cooperation lives on, and is embodied in the second annual Guiding For Conservation day on August 15, 2011.

The event is the brainchild of Greg Felt, owner of ArkAnglers Guide Service in Salida, and Hayden Mellsop, guide and board president of the Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas.

"The really great thing about this event is that it is guide driven. These guides are committed to protecting the resource that sustains them. They recognize the importance of nurturing the goose that lays the golden egg" said Mellsop. Added Felt, "From an outfitter's perspective, it makes sound business sense for us to be supporting what the Land Trust does. Our goals for a healthy, sustainable river are very much aligned with theirs."

The event is a fun way for people to get out and show their support, both for these guides and owners who care so much, for the communities along the river that depend on it for their economic and social well-being, and for the important work the Land Trust undertakes to help protect this fragile resource.

This is your opportunity to have a fanatic guided trip while contributing to conservation. We need you to book your trip for August 15th and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Here is a list of current companies participating in Guiding For Conservation. For an up-to-date list, click here.

When making your reservation make sure to mention Guiding for Conservation.

• ArkAnglers, www.arkanglers.com, 719-539-4223
• Absolute Bikes Adventures, www.absolutebikes.com, 719-539-9295
• The Adventure Company, www.theadventurecompany.com, 1-800-497-RAFT (7238)
• Canyon Marine Whitewater Expeditions, www.canyonmarine.com, 1-800-539-4447
• Echo Canyon River Expeditions, www.raftecho.com, 1-800-755-ECHO (3246)
• Kokopelli Rafting Adventures, www.kracolorado.com, 1-800-879-9035
• Raft Masters, www.raftmasters.com, 1-800-568-7238
• Rock-N-Row, www.rocknrow.com, 719-942-4125 or 1-877-487-2494
• Royal Gorge Anglers, www.royalgorgeanglers.com, 1-888-994-6743

Urban Agriculture on the Rise

It’s great to see changes taking place supporting local food production and marketing opportunities for producers within the city limits of urban populations. Wheat Ridge City Council approved changes to the City Code that support and encourage urban agricultural uses and activities in the City. The code changes updated the City’s regulations and established three main uses for urban agriculture: community gardens, farmers’ markets, and produce stands which are now allowed in any zone district. A summary of the three uses permitted in each zone district may be found on the City Website at this link.

“We’ve seen increased interest in urban agriculture by our residents,” said Mayor Jerry DiTullio. “Wheat Ridge was founded on an agricultural past and it is exciting to see the renewed interest by so many of our residents in a favorite pastime coupled with their desire to access locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m pleased that the amended ordinance creates a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for a resident or business to grow and sell fresh fruits and vegetables with no review fees or oversight by the City.”

“LiveWell Wheat Ridge congratulates the City of Wheat Ridge on making these important changes to the zoning code,” states Molly Hansen, LiveWell Wheat Ridge Coordinator. “Increasing access to locally grown food is a vital step in promoting healthy food options, creating resilient neighborhoods and supporting our local economy. It is exciting to see support from the community and City Council on creating a policy framework that supports these important principles.”

Guidestone salutes efforts to promote urban agriculture in communities. Wheat Ridge is now among the leading municipalities in the State and nation connecting urban dwellers to fresh, healthy food. Cities across the country that have been recognized for adopting zoning codes that support urban agricultural activities are Seattle, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Kansas City.

It is clear that urban agriculture promotes economic and community development, environmental sustainability, and connects people to fresh, healthy food.

Judie Anders, Guidestone

YOGA Charity Fundraiser for

GUIDESTONE

July 1, 2011

Be the Change and Support Local Food!

Please join Kenny Graham and JalaBlu kick off a weekend of Anusara Yoga bliss in Buena Vista, CO with a charity fundraiser benefitting Guidestone.

Guidestone is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the local food economy. Guidestone serves farmers, landowners, educators, youth, and community members in the Upper Arkansas River Valley by providing farm based education programs and by supporting and growing the capacity of agricultural resources to help ensure a secure agricultural future for the region. Two Buena Vista farms - Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy - currently work with Guidestone and benefit from their work in the community.

"When Kenny Graham suggested doing a charity fundraiser with JalaBlu here in Buena Vista, CO, my heart gravitated towards wanting to do what I could to support my friends at Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy in their efforts to continue to serve the community with fresh local food," said Jenna Pfingston, owner of JalaBlu.

By helping to build the capacity of organizations like Guidestone, the important work of farmland preservation will be possible in our community and our farmers will root to rise and find long term stability on farmland. Please help support an amazing cause full of organic extension. Say YES to Local Food and Guidestone and help this vision happen!

Where: Buena Vista High School Gym, 559 Railroad Street

$10 Suggested Donation

When: July 1, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

This Yoga workshop will continue July 2 and 3. Please contact jalaBlu for information or visit www.jalabluyoga.com

Initiative Launched to Advance Sustainable Food and Agriculture Policies Worldwide

Earth’s population is expected to pass nine billion by 2050. The availability of food and water is dwindling. Because of this, eight leading foundations, have announced the launch of an initiative designed to address these concerns.

AGree, this collaborative effort, comes at a pivotal moment. Over the next four decades the global population will increase, swelling the ranks of the 925 million people worldwide who currently suffer from under-nutrition or hunger. What's more, the challenges associated with feeding all those people are likely to be exacerbated by limited arable land, increasing pressures on fresh water, and accelerating environmental degradation. AGree will commission research and facilitate discussion among a diverse set of stakeholders, including conventional and organic farmers, ranchers, nutritionists, energy experts, environmentalists, financiers, international aid veterans, and public health specialists.

"AGree will elevate the agriculture and food policy conversation," said Dan Glickman, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We will make it clear to leaders and policy makers that, while difficult, solving food and agriculture issues is of utmost importance and can help solve other pressing problems including public health and the need for economic growth."

Read the press release here.

Judie Anders, Guidestone Board Member

"Economics of Happiness" Film Showing May 17th 7pm

Join Chaffee County Citizens for Sustainability for the showing of the Economics of Happiness.

Tuesday May 17 at Salida SteamPlant Theater 7PM

Following the film there will be a discussion on “WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY”

1. Community Updates:
A. Chris Martin – solar gardens
B. Jon Fitz – LiveWell projects
C. Dave & Suzanne Ward – Farmers Markets,
CSAs, Poncha Springs initiatives.
D. Michele Riggio – Federal Farm Bill
E. Dave Bowers – local ‘cottage industry’ food bill
F. David Lynch – food sovereignty

2. Open Mic … What are you doing and how do you
envision the future of our region?
Share your wisdom and ideas of how to
transition to a healthier, more
unified, vital and resilient community.

About "Economics of Happiness"

Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment. There are personal costs too. For the majority of people on the planet life is becoming increasingly stressful. We have less time for friends and family and we face mounting pressures at work.

‘The Economics of Happiness’ describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re‐regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re‐build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

We hear from a chorus of voices from six continents including Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Juliet Schor, Zac Goldsmith and Samdhong Rinpoche ‐ the Prime Minister of Tibetʹs government in exile. They tell us that climate change and peak oil give us little choice: we need to localize, to bring the economy home. The good news is that as we move in this direction we will begin not only to heal the earth but also to restore our own sense of well‐being. ‘The Economics of Happiness’ restores our faith in humanity and challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world.

Support "Local Foods" Bill Today!!

Greetings,

The 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11 - 258) has passed the Senate but your help is needed to help it pass through the State House! Your support and action is needed as soon as possible to pass SB11-258 and increase consumer access to local, value-added goods, boost local economies, and increase the physical health of the people of Colorado while bringing communities together.

You can help by calling & emailing your Representatives, and encouraging friends and family to do the same. The process is quick & easy!

1) Find your state rep and their contact information by entering your address on this website: http://comaps.org/allsearch_old.html

2) What you can say when you call & email (please feel free to personalize the message)

Hello, my name is ______ and I am from ______. I am calling to support the 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11-258) that will be coming up for a vote shortly.

This bill will:

• Support entrepreneurs and encourage job growth
• Allow consumers the freedom to purchase products made with quality ingredients grown by local farmers
• Promote Colorado agritourism
• Allow local growers to be more profitable by utilizing surplus production

Please support for this bill when it comes up for your vote.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

More information on this bill:

This bill makes it easier for local food growers to sell baked goods, jams and jellies, spices, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables to Colorado families. It also boosts entrepreneurial opportunities and increases the availability of fresh, nutritious foods.

While expanding access to local foods, Senate Bill 11-258 also maintains important safety standards such as extensive labeling regulations and requiring products to be sold by growers directly to consumers on farms, at farmers markets, or through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organizations.

To read a copy of the bill, Click Here or paste http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2011A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/F8D6BE2D5D5766528725780100604D0D?Open&file=258_01.pdfinto your browser

Bill McKibben’s new book “Eaarth” just came out in paperback. I read the hardcopy from the library and was so inspired that I bought two copies in paperback: one to lend and one to give away. It comes with this pronouncement on the front cover which made me pick it up.

"READ IT, PLEASE. STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE END. WHATEVER ELSE YOU WERE PLANNING TO DO NEXT, NOTHING COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT." —BARBARA KINGSOLVER

This book, after reviewing the FACTS of what has occurred on Earth in the environment over the last twenty or so years – not the projections of what COULD happen due to climate change but what HAS happened – truly shook me. I think of myself as being up on current events, but the details outlined were astounding.

The good news…and there is some, I want to share here. One very important step in the process of living on Eaarth, this new planet we inhabit since the old one doesn’t really exist anymore, is that LOCAL AGRICULTURE is a key in the days ahead, and for lots of reasons. Bill McKibben points out, “…local farmers’ markets are the fastest-growing part of the food economy, with sales up 10 to 15 percent a year, and the number of markets doubling and then doubling again in the last decade.” Here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley we can see the evidence of this trend through the efforts of the Foodshed Alliance and others. We have local farmers’ markets in Salida, Buena Vista, Canon City and Westcliffe, and local growers - a real accomplishment in the altitude range of 8,000 ft.

In the final section of the book, “Lightly, Carefully, Gracefully”, a smaller diversified agriculture is promoted as a solution for reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere along with an “uptick of neighboring” among other things. I think we are right on track.

I encourage you to seek out Eaarth. It’s a great read and I have a copy to lend!

Guidestone is a non-profit organization dedicated to the integrity of the agricultural resources of the Upper Arkansas River region by fostering a local food economy, stewarding agricultural lands in production, educating for ecological literacy, and supporting sustainable development.

Book Report by Judie Anders, Guidestone

The Muse's Market - Saturday, April 2nd

Upcoming Event!

Come check out The Muse's Market on Saturday, April 2nd.

The Muse's Market intermixes Gabrielle Louise's social commentary folk music with the avant-acoustic music of David Rynhart, the poetry of Panama Soweto, the journalistic photography of Sebastião Salgado, and the fine art of Jimmy Danko and Laurie Maves.

Learn more...

Now Hiring... Farmhands Program Assistant

Guidestone’s Farmhands Education Program provides hands-on, experiential farm and nature-based educational opportunities to school groups, custom contract groups, children and families. Farmhands curriculum focuses on nature appreciation, ecological understanding, traditional arts, sustainable agriculture and human health and nutrition. Teaching sites include The Hutchinson Homestead in Salida and Weathervane Farm in Buena Vista.

Responsibilities:

Teach non-residential, outdoor farm & nature education programs for children ages 5-12 and to school groups grades Pre-K – 12. Develop and document lessons and create teaching materials to support Farmhands’ programs. Assist in some administrative duties.

Qualifications:

Educational background in the natural sciences, environmental education, sustainable agriculture, or related field; interested and enthusiastic about environmental education & farming; self-motivated and a sincere interest in the environment; experience working in a farm setting with children. First aid and CPR certification. A reliable car and valid driver’s license is required.

Compensation:

This is a 7-month contract position, ending Nov. 1, 2011, averaging 10 hours/week for $600/month.

Application deadline: April 1, 2011

Please send cover letter, resume and references to:

Andrea Earley Coen

Guidestone Education Director

PO Box 1056

Salida, CO 81201

For more information, go to our website www.guidestonecolorado.org, or feel free to contact Andrea at (970)309-3175 or farmhandsed@gmail.com