Be an all-weather supporter
This article was originally published in August 2007
PCC Farmland Trust news and happenings
Mark your calendar!
The PCC Farmland Trust will be hosting a farm tour at Ames Creek Farm as part of the King County Harvest Tour on September 22 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Take a field trip out to the farm in Carnation to meet the farmers. Enjoy PCC Cooks demonstrations, hayrides and kids activities; and buy fresh, organic produce grown in the soil that we’ve successfully preserved.
New communications and development director
Please welcome Kelly Sanderbeck as the trust’s new director of communications and development. With a master’s degree in nonprofit administration, Kelly’s skills will be invaluable in helping us keep local land in agriculture. “I’m not a farmer” says Kelly, “but I love dirt!”
Be an all-weather supporter
by Alicia Guy
As August’s summer heat sets in, local farmers are out there under the beating rays of the sun — working hard to provide consumers with fresh, organic produce for refreshing summer salads to partake of with a tall, cool glass of iced tea in the shade. Enduring heat and getting enough water to keep plants and stock healthy are just some of the many challenges farmers face as the seasons progress.
On a larger scale, we as a society face great challenges to ensure that there’s still good agricultural soil for those farmers willing to cultivate in future generations.
Last month you read about the $20,000 challenge grant announced by the PCC Farmland Trust board members and eight other major supporters. From now to November 1, every dollar donated will be matched by 50 cents.
This is a good opportunity for people who want to save farmland and leverage their donations for even greater impact. Many people don’t plan their financial giving during the summertime, but it’s important in all seasons.
So, when you’re savoring an irresistible piece of sun-ripened fruit, please pause to think of all that went into its growth and make a donation, whatever you can afford, to the PCC Farmland Trust. It’s easy to donate online at pccfarmlandtrust.org or send in a check with the remittance slip to the right.
A letter about Ames Creek Farm
A few months ago I read about the restoration of the stream at Ames Creek Farm. I was thrilled by the efforts to protect salmon and the restoration of this landscape. But I never heard anything about it afterwards. How did it go? How’s the farm doing?
— Natty
Kathryn Gardow, executive director of the PCC Farmland Trust, replies: In April, 30 volunteers ranging from kids to grandparents planted 175 trees along Ames Creek, where Michaele Blakely has leased the land for her Growing Things Farm. She’s joyously harvesting vegetables and raising pigs, chickens and a couple of cows.