Guidestone's Land-Link Initiative

Want to learn more about Guidestone's Land-Link Initiative? Check out this informative video!

Pumpkin Patch Festival - October 16 & 17 and October 23 & 24, 2010

Autumn in the Upper Arkansas Valley is a wonderful time to celebrate with seasonal festivities around the abundant harvest. One great event for children and families will be the Fourth annual Pumpkin Patch Festival at Cottonwood Meadows in Buena Vista. The Pumpkin Patch Festival is a two-weekend celebration open to the public, which offers a variety of activities and amusements for the whole family.

You can join in on a horse-drawn wagon ride pulled by a local team of horses. The team will pull you out to the pumpkin patch where you can pick the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. Other engaging activities include winding through the hay-bale maze, playing chicken bingo, and enjoying a barbecue bratwurst or burger lunch with hot-apple cider and homemade pies and cookies. There will also be arts and crafts for the children, farm games, face-painting and a petting zoo. Enjoy the sights and sounds of life on a farm with your friends and neighbors while enjoying the fall colors of the cottonwoods and the views of Mt. Princeton. You can build a scarecrow. Watch local artisans share their skills and wares. Visit the fire trucks and learn about fire safety with the Chaffee County Fire Protection District. Take a walk back to the beautiful meadows along Cottonwood Creek. See the gardens where Weathervane Farm grows the vegetables provided to you through the CSA and markets all season long. Be sure to check out Cottonwood Creek Dairy and learn about old-fashioned raw milk production. And don't miss Colorado Grown, a distribution center specializing in locally grown and Colorado-based farm and specialty products.

Admission is $5 for adults and children three and over - the tiny tots are free! The cost of admission and the proceeds from the barbeque and baked goods will support Farmhands, Guidestone's educational programs. Guidestone is a non-profit organization that serves the Upper Arkansas River Valley by encouraging our local food economy and preserving our agricultural heritage with the Land-Link Initiative. The Farmhands Education Program, a Guidestone project, aims to join children with the hands-on learning experiences of small-scale local food production.

Come Join In The Fun!

The Pumpkin Patch hours:

Saturday 10am to 4pm, October 16th and 23rd

Sunday 12pm to 4pm, October 17th and 24th

Location: 15264 County Road 350 (look for the pumpkin signs!), Buena Vista. For more information go to www.guidestonecolorado.org.

Special thanks to John Cogswell of Cottonwood Meadows, Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy, and Colorado Grown for their ongoing support.

David Lynch of Guidestone was recently interviewed by NPR about our Land-Link program. Check out the interview here!

http://krccnetwork.org/news/2010/09/24/land-link-connects-farmers-with-property-owners/

Images From Gail Schwartz Roundtable Event

Thanks to all who joined in the roundtable discussions with Senator Gail Schwartz on May 27 at the Salida Steam Plant. Stay posted as we will be sharing our collective insights from the meeting with you all soon!

Farmhands Summer Season Begins June 8!

Hey all you parents and fun-loving kids out there! Our 2010 Farmhands summer season is about to kick off with Farm Camp, June 8-10, up in Buena Vista. Check out our schedule below for more details about programs happening all summer long both in BV and in Salida!

Join Farmhands Education staff for one or many of these fun, hands-on learning opportunities. Designed for children ages 5 and up, all programs are interactive, educational, and exciting opportunities to experience a working farm or ranch, meet the resident animals, assist with projects and explore the surrounding natural habitat. Teaching locations include Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy at The Meadows in Buena Vista and the historic Hutchinson Homestead in Salida.

Pre-registration is required for all programs. Please contact Farmhands Director Andrea Earley Coen at (970)309-3175 or email FarmhandsED@gmail.com to register or for more information.

The Meadows, Buena Vista:

Farm Camp

Ages: 5 and up Dates: June 8-10, July 6-8, July 27-29

Times: 9am-3pm each day

Cost: $120 per camp/ 10% discount if you register for all three
Join Farmhands for this unique and exceptionally fun 3-day program. Each day begins with farm chores and a snack. Then it really gets exciting! Days will be filled with teambuilding, nature exploration, aquatic ecology, farm projects, art, journaling, music and possibly even a hint of magic…. We will conclude the camp with a farm feast, harvested and prepared by the campers for their families.

The following programs meet from 9:00-12:00pm and cost $20 each. A farm-grown snack will be provided. Designed for ages 5 and up.

Nature Detectives

June 15 & July 22

Let’s put on our detective hats and go! Explore the woodlands and meadows surrounding Weathervane Farm to learn more about the wild animals that call this place home. Tracks, bones, eat marks and even scat will be our clues to unravel the mysteries of these animals’ homes and habits.

Junior Farmer

June 29

Don your overalls and come on out to the farm for a day of good-ole, down home farm work and fun. We will help work on some projects for Weathervane Farm, and the day will conclude with a special, tasty frozen treat thanks to the cows at Cottonwood Creek Dairy!

Diggin’ for Decomposers

July 20

Get ready to go hunting for the small and squirmy! Through exploration both on the farm and in the surrounding woodlands, learn how the creepiest, crawliest critters are the key to both a forest and our food.

Family Farm Days

Open to ALL ages - Great for families with children 4 and under!

Dates: June 26, July 10, July 24, Aug. 7 Times: 9-11:30am

Cost: $20 for a family of 4/$3 each additional person

Want to come to camp, too? Here’s your chance! Spend a morning on the farm with the whole family. Meet and feed the animals, tour the farm, assist in a farm project and create a farm-inspired craft to take home. A farm-grown snack will be provided, and you are invited to bring a picnic lunch and stay as long as you like!

Hutchinson Homestead, Salida:

Ranch Camp

Ages: 5 and up Dates: June 22-24, July 13-15, Aug. 3-5 Times: 9am-3pm each day

Cost: $120 per camp/ 10% discount if you register for all three
Spend three fun-filled days on a historic ranch! Each day will begin with ranch chores, and participants will get to assist in a variety of ranch projects, learn some animal husbandry skills, explore the pastures and creek, learn about the Hutchinson’s family and general ranching history and practice several traditional art skills, like spinning, candle making, butter making or making jam. There may even be a hint of magic that arises from the past…. The camp will conclude with a ranch-inspired feast and a square dance for campers and their families.

Sen. Schwartz attends agriculture roundtable

From The Mountain Mail:

"Sen. Gail Schwartz and assistant director of agriculture Bob Miller attended a roundtable discussion about farmland preservation, the land-link initiative and local food economy Thursday at the Salida SteamPlant.

Guidestone personnel hosted the public dialogue session.

Schwartz told The Mountain Mail the event was an opportunity for her to listen to small producers and take issues to the state level to better serve rural communities."

Read the entire article here.

Guidestone to Host Senator Schwartz for Roundtable Discussion

Guidestone has invited Senator Gail Schwartz to participate in a roundtable discussion on May 27th. Check out The Mountain Mail article below that gives all the details.

Schwartz solicits farmland feedback

By Arlene Shovald Special to The Mail
5/3/2010

Sen. Gail Schwartz will be in the Salida SteamPlant Annex from 1:30-4:30 p.m. May 27 for a public dialogue regarding farmland preservation, the Guidestone Land-Link Initiative and the local food economy.

Local organizations and businesses are invited to participate in a panel discussion outlining initiatives underway, barriers faced and solutions they envision toward fulfilling their ideas of a local food economy.

Planners said it is intended as a dynamic dialogue to inform state representatives and solicit their active support.

The meeting will be hosted by the Guidestone board. The organization is dedicated to preserving integrity of agricultural resources of the Upper Arkansas River region.

Intent is to foster a local food economy, stewardship of agricultural land in production, educating toward ecological literacy and supporting maintainable development.

The Guidestone Land Link Initiative partners farmers in need of space to grow food with land owners willing to lease or sell land for that purpose.

Schwartz is interested in advancing conservation efforts in central Colorado and developing land use policies contributing to maintaining rural communities.

She wants feedback about ways the Colorado Legislature can support goals of various organizations working toward those objectives. She said she plans to include Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp in discussions.

To prepare, the Guidestone board developed a survey to guide the program and provide Schwartz with an understanding of challenges in the Upper Arkansas River Valley.

The survey requests a description of food production such as dairying or farming done by the organization, how a group contributes to the local food economy, conservation efforts, barriers encountered and policy changes or financial strategies government might enact or support to help alleviate barriers.

Those interested in participating may get a copy of the survey at Natural Habitats, 202 N. F St., Unit B in The Palace Hotel or at www.guidstonecolorado.org and click on the "survey" icon.