Gratitude

Gardens are such a ripe metaphor for the Thanksgiving season; the cornucopia of the harvest reminding us all of the abundance we can experience through a garden harvest, a bountiful feast and the loving relationships of family and friends.

On this Thanksgiving, all of us at Guidestone would like to extend our gratitude to our volunteers, participants, partners and this community that values healthy local food.  Best wishes for an abundant and thank-filled holiday!

Land Link - Sustainablility and Resilience

written by Andrea Earley Coen
Education & Outreach Director, Guidestone

Just after Hurricane Sandy swept up the East Coast,  a friend shared a link to a New York Times article (included below) about the ideas of sustainability and resilience.  The article got me thinking more about those ideas in regards to Guidestone's work, and this blog is based on those musings...

There is an interesting conversation that is currently taking place across many sectors of society, discussing the differences between sustainability and resilience, and the necessity of both to ensure communities thrive within unpredictably changing environmental conditions.

Resilience implies the short-term ability to respond effectively to dynamic, unforeseen, potentially catastrophic situations.  Sustainability on the other hand addresses the causes of these potentially unforeseen situations and works toward solutions.  For example, from an Ecology perspective, resilience would be the ability to assist a prey animal species to adapt and rebound from overhunting by an overpopulation of it’s primary predator.  Sustainability in this same scenario would focus on the factors that led to overpopulation of that predator and work towards ecological balance in this predator-prey dynamic. 

When applied to the idea of food systems, resilience refers to the ability to manage different parts of the food supply chain during a limited-time event (i.e. major storm) while sustainability addresses the larger-scale needs of ensuring a local food system that can cope with changing environmental conditions.

For an informative article recently published in the New York Times, post-hurricane Sandy, in regards to the paring of these ideas, click here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/opinion/forget-sustainability-its-about-resilience.html?pagewanted=all

For a more in-depth look at sustainability and resilience in food systems, click here to read an article on the University of Vermont’s Food Feed blog.
http://learn.uvm.edu/foodsystemsblog/2012/10/22/resilience-and-sustainability-in-the-food-system/

Guidestone and the Central Colorado Land Link Initiative 

Within Guidestone, sustainability and resilience are two sides of the coin that Land Link is working to address in regards to land access and local food production. 

Resilience comes by helping bolster the local food economy on many levels. The Central Colorado Land Link Initiative (CCLLI) increases opportunities in farming and ranching by connecting retiring farmers, ranchers and landowners with next generation farmers and helping to create equitable, secure, and affordable access to agricultural land through various management and lease agreement structures. 

Guidestone’s sustainability comes through it’s demonstrated commitment to organizational strength through building the capacity of our staff and volunteers, developing a diverse funding strategy, and establishing strategic partnerships.  In regards to the CCLLI, this includes the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas and CSU Extension.

Land Link Currently:

We have had an incredible outpouring of interest on our Land Link database with over 100+ registered users from across the country, over 40 of which have also submitted farmer applications and are inspired and enthusiastic to begin new or move existing agricultural operations to the Arkansas Valley region and throughout Colorado.  There is a high demand for land opportunities to accompany this burgeoning group of aspiring farmers!

Please contact andrea@guidestonecolorado.org to learn more about the Land Link program and how you could get involved or visit www.guidestonecolorado.org/Land-Link to submit a land listing.


And if you would like to join us in this conversation of land link and local food systems...

 

Land Link Forum - Save the Date!  

March 8-9, 2013

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs

Please join Guidestone in this forum on land link, local foods and agriculture.  The 2-day event will include a keynote speaker, presentations, discussion and networking opportunities, delicious meals highlighting local foods of our area and a Friday evening social event, all held at the beautiful Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort.  More details to come!

For info on the Mt. Princeton Resort, go to www.mtprinceton.com

Pumpkin Patch Thank You!

 On behalf of Guidestone’s Board of Directors and staff, we would like to extend a resounding thank you to everyone in the community who participated in our 6th Annual Pumpkin Patch Festival, this year held at the Hutchinson Ranch.  It was a wonderful weekend of festivities, and we are grateful to all the attendees, volunteers, sponsors and partners that helped make the weekend a success!

Abby & Wendell "Hutch" Hutchinson

We would like to specifically thank the following individuals, organizations and animals for helping make the Pumpkin Patch such a great event: Art & Abby Hutchinson and the staff and animals of the Hutchinson Ranch, Ralph Ogden of Arkansas Valley Trail Rides and his team of wranglers, draft horses and ponies, Dennis Fischer and his John Deere tractor, Weathervane Farm for providing pumpkins, Colorado Grown Distribution Center, GARNA and all of our hard-working and positive volunteers: Deb Bass, Shannon Bevington, Michael Blazewicz, Ruby Brown, Leslie Champ, Charis Cheeseman, Travis & Ann Colbert, Cecilia & Tess Darracott, Tami Deal, Christi Lee Delaney, Karen Fortier, Michael Hayes and students from Horizons Exploratory Academy, Nancy Hunt, Angie Jensen, Emily Karls, Karen Lacy, Elizabeth Laesecke, Samantha Lane, Karen & Kelsey Lundberg, David Lynch, Claudia Mann, Melissa McKenna, Amy McMillan, Dee Miller, Anne Oliver, Mesa & Lily Pinto, Danielle Riggio, Seth, Caitlin & Juniper Roberts, Joan & Randy Roberts, Beth Sather, Claire Shepard, Susan Skye, Kristine Smock, Faith Spino, Isaac Stackonis, Betsy Steinberg & Family, Josh & Sam Visitacion, Mark Zander. 

Linda, Jack, Steve & Greg

Thanks as well to the following musicians for sharing their talent and creating such a festive atmosphere!  Pierce Gresham, Sam Pankratz, Carl Meinecke, Drew Murzda, Elisha McArthur, Dave Tipton, Greg Walters, Linda Lovell, Jack Chivvis and Stephen Smalzell.

We also would like to thank the following businesses for their sponsorships or in-kind donations: Arkansas Valley Trail Rides, LiveWell Chaffee County, The Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery, Erin’s Organics Geothermal Greenhouse, Simple Foods, Izze, The Chip Peddler, Ploughboy, Scanga’s, Hutchinson Ranch Grass-Fed Beef, Mountain Phoenix Coffee Roasters, City On A Hill Roastery and Sweetie’s Bakery.

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

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!

Tom Pokorny & Jen Visitacion at the welcome table!

Warm regards,
Guidestone Staff: Jennifer Tucker Visitacion, Andrea Earley Coen and Margaret Fitch
Guidestone Board: Brian England, Tom Pokorny, Judie Anders, Erin Oliver, Paul Houser and Derald Brady.

Pumpkin Patch crowd in the barn

Watching apples go through the cider press!

Making corn husk dolls

Chip & Dale waiting for a wagon load of kids to head out to the pumpkin patch

Joan & Randy Roberts ready to sell pumpkins and gourds

Busy hands at the craft table

Simpler Times Bluegrass Band taking advantage of late afternoon sunlight on Friday evening

Getting ready for a pony ride

Art & Wendell "Hutch" Hutchinson enjoying the festivities

Dennis Fischer and his hard-working John Deere tractor delivering folks to the barn

Angie Jensen working the cider press with some enthusiastic helpers

Guidestone's 6th Annual Pumpkin Patch Festival

 

October 26 - 28, 2012

 

 

Friday 1pm to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm 

 

New Location! The Hutchinson Ranch, Salida

on Hwy 50 between Salida and Poncha Springs

 


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 Guidestone’s 6th Annual Pumpkin Patch Festival at the Hutchinson Ranch in Salida. The Pumpkin Patch Festival is a 3-day celebration open to the public, which offers a variety of activities and fun for the whole family. 

You can join in on a horse-drawn wagon ride pulled by one of Arkansas Valley Trail Rides’ team of horses out to the pumpkin patch where you can pick the perfect pumpkin for Halloween.  Other engaging activities will include pony rides, an apple-cider press, crafts for the children, face painting, farm games, storytelling, and playing chicken bingo! Enjoy a barbecue meal with hot-apple cider and homemade baked goods.   We are proud to be serving meals featuring foods that are locally-sourced, raised, grown, roasted and made!

New this year includes Friday evening in the Pumpkin Patch!  Stay for dinner, listen to the music of the Simpler Times Stringband, hang out around the bonfire, and stroll the twinkle-lit path to the pumpkin patch.  Experience the magic of the ranch after dark!

Also new this year is a Special Group Rate for school groups and youth organizations to visit the pumpkin patch on Friday morning before it opens to the public.  Reservations required!  For more info and to register, click HERE!

Admission is $5 in advance - click HERE to purchase tickets! and $7 at the door.  Children 2 and under are free!  The cost of admission and the proceeds from the barbeque and baked goods will support Farmhands, Guidestone's education program.

Guidestone is a Salida-based non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the local food economy through the preservation of agricultural resources and education. Guidestone’s Farmhands Education Program provides hands-on farm and ranch education opportunities for children, school groups and families.

Come Join In The Fun!
 


Special thanks to Arkansas Valley Trail Rides, LiveWell Chaffee County, Colorado Grown, Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy and the Hutchinson Family for hosting and ongoing support!

For more information go to www.guidestonecolorado.org or contact andrea@guidestonecolorado.org


The Salida School Gardens Program Under Way!

This summer we’ve been breaking ground and getting the The Salida School Gardens-Garden to Cafeteria Program under way! The program is a collaborative effort between LiveWell Chaffee County, Salida School District, Guidestone and the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) to support the growing and eating of local, healthy foods in district cafeterias. Working in partnership with the established Salida Middle School Garden, this program will supply fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for the school meal program and utilize the garden as a context and location for environmental and agricultural education.

With the immense help of many community hands during four volunteer days and two SCC service days we now have a quarter acre garden on school property on Holman Ave; complete with ten straw bale raised garden beds, ten fruit trees, a pumpkin patch, eight in ground beds, a gourd tunnel and winding pea trellises throughout the site. School district staff will receive and process the harvest and use it this fall in the school meal program. Produce will also be sold through local and youth farmer’s markets to help sustain the operations and management of the garden program, and partners will continue to raise funds to expand the project beyond the current site for future years.

In addition to garden development Guidestone is working closely with the Salida School District to create an education program that will integrate the garden and garden-based lesson plans into curriculum grades pre-k- 12. Guidestone has conducted the first teacher professional development training and is working on additional opportunities for teachers in the fall.

Perhaps as thrilling as the garden itself is the energy, generosity and collaboration from the community and partners to make this garden program a reality. It would not be the same without such comprehensive effort from such a wide variety of supporters. We are all excited to watch the garden grow and to see many more community faces enjoying fresh produce and building a healthy food program for the school district.

For more information about future volunteer opportunities or questions in general about the program, please contact Margaret at Margaret@guidestonecolorado.org.

Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty?

Guidestone Board Member Judie Anders shared these insights after teaching one of our Junior Rancher classes...

A friend passed this article to me that was published this week in the NYTimes. I feel it gets to the root of why the Farmhands Program is such an important part of Guidestone's work.

Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty? - NYTimes.co​m

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/are-we-living-in-sensory-overload-or-sensory-poverty/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120611

I want to share my reply to my friend with you:

"The further we distance ourselves from the spell of the present, explored by our senses, the harder it will be to understand and protect nature’s precarious balance, let alone the balance of our own human nature."

I had the opportunity to teach a Farmhands Class yesterday to 16 youngsters age 7 - 10 at Hutchinson Homestead, an historic 1800's homestead and 7th generation working Ranch located in Salida, CO. I taught Communication with Ranch Animals - Knowing how to take care of the animals on a ranch is one of the most important skills a rancher needs to have! Spend the day with Judie Anders (aka Farmer Judie) learning how animals communicate...

We hiked through irrigated fields to observe cows and their calves grazing, getting wet and muddy in the process along with seeing the diversity of plant life and wild flowers in the meadow. We observed a bird nest with eggs in it hidden in the tall meadow grass; we drew pictures of a Mama Cow ready to give birth and discussed how to tell if she is really close or not, getting manure on our shoes and clothes as we wrote and drew in Observation Journals we created in the morning. We played, ate, and sat under the shade of an old apple tree enjoying each other.

"learning about the world... experiencing it up close, right here, right now, in all its messy, majestic, riotous detail."

Ahhh, the sometimes uncomfortable and smelly richness in which life thrives.

Protected Growing Spaces Seminar

Interested in growing fresh, healthy food year-round? Join Ed Berg of Salida Grown and Marc Plinke of Boulder-based Ceres Growing Systems for this skill-focused exploration of indoor growing spaces designed for our high-altitude, semi-arid climate. Whether you have a small backyard space or are in production on an acre or more, this seminar is for you!

Saturday, May 19 / 10am-2pm / $15 per person

Seminar Details:

During the first part of the day, a presentation by Ed & Marc will provide:

• An agricultural history of where Chaffee County was, 100 years ago, what happened to our food culture, and how it is being rejuvenated.
• An overview of what the County's local food economy looks like now; who are the contributors from plow to Ploughboy Market to paired wine & food tastings.
• An understanding of how to moderate our climatic conditions for vegetable growing all year round.
• Examples on how much it would cost to start a protected garden space to contribute to your own table and to a shared food economy.

The afternoon will be dedicated to addressing specific case scenarios. Come prepared to share your own growing conditions, yard space and orientation, etc, and have the presenters and fellow participants discuss ways to get your garden producing.

Pre-registration is requested for this seminar. Location, directions and additional details will be provided upon registration.

To register, click here!