The monthly work weekends will continue in 2017 (come one day or both, or a half day). Volunteers are welcome almost any time, but these dates will focus on doing farm and land care.
SUMMER:
- Building a wood stockade fence
to keep deer out of the orchard.
It won’t look quite like the photos, which were from sassafras. Ours will be from buckthorn and box elder.
- general garden work – watering, weeding, and applying soil nutrients
- Pick and eat strawberries (just starting to ripen now)
- And there’s always buckthorn…
If you’d like to take it slow and just make lunch, water plants, mow, or something, that would be great.
- For the stockade fence, we have to haul poles from here and there around the land (by truck mostly) and/or cut some more – then build. This is the exciting project, and big. Only happens if we have a crowd.
- I want to explore using calcium to discourage quackgrass, and vinegar to discourage poison ivy. Nutrition is key to discouraging weeds, and I’m learning.
- We like strawberries. I think they’ll be abundant.
- We took buckthorn out of about 1.5 acres last year, and need to tend it to prevent it from coming back.
Chainsaw lovers, there are projects. Tell me in advance, and we’ll make a plan. For instance, you could be a key part of making the stockade fence.
Directions:
16922 Cabot Ave, Faribault, MN.
From Northfield or Faribault: take Hwy 3 to CR 29, turn east 1.2 miles, after curve go south on Cabot, a gravel road. In 0.8 miles turn right into my driveway and head for the barn – which is my house.
From Twin Cities: South on I-35 to exit for Dundas/Montgomery. Go west to the roundabout, south on Bagley to CR 9, east to Hwy 3, south a half mile to CR 29, then see the directions in blue above.
Wear appropriate clothes. I have bug stuff of several kinds (hasn’t been needed yet, but we never know).
July 8-9 We’ll start at 10 am with a 2-hour presentation on permaculture. Then get to work – after lunch.
July 17&26 A student group will be working here 9-5. Your company is welcome.
August 5-6 Biochar workshop. Maybe more stockade fence, or more orchard work. Definitely take home squash, tomatoes, whatever’s ripe.
Sept 9-10 same as August, except the biochar.
Oct 14-15 Definitely harvest.
Nov 11-12 Late harvest and closing down for the season.
If you want to be on the volunteer email list, with full information, last-minute notices, carpooling help, and all that, email me at shodo.spring (at) gmail.com.
- Special skills: If you have skills in farming, gardening, land conservation, permaculture, construction, stonemasonry, woodworking, or preserving food, I will be particularly appreciative. Cooking help is always welcome.
- If you would like to bring a volunteer group, let me know. We can set something up that works with your group’s interests and abilities.
Other volunteering: There’s quite a list of things people could do to help, most of them from any location. If any of these calls to you, get in touch with me for more information and a no-pressure conversation.
- Communications: Announcements about things happening here. Sometimes that’s by blog post and email, sometimes facebook (event pages anyone?). Some events could get posters, newspaper listings, or other announcements.
- Volunteer coordinator (could be combined with Communications, or not): Answer questions, find out who’s coming to things, help carpooling, keep in touch with interested people, things like that. Could be a small or large job, depending on your preference.
- Office help: Could be a small job or as large as you like. I can give more details.
- Accounting help: no comment needed, I think.
- Website: It would be nice to get into a real website, with a calendar and all that. Help would be great.
- Fundraising/development: What can I say? I’m terrible at asking for money. Yet it seems like there is a lot of enthusiasm for the vision. Somebody could guide me through the process, or take on certain parts of it.
Your creativity and skills are welcome here. Become a co-creator, turning the Mountains and Waters vision into reality. And receiving vast gratitude.
Warmly,
Shodo
Mountains & Waters Alliance 