2023 - Year in Review
It's OCTOBER already??!!
Well, 2023 has been a fast-paced series of activities, events and exciting news. Check in out. 👇
Kids Pasta Project dinner at ShadeScapes Event Center
Back in February we were honored to be the featured nonprofit for the Kids Pasta Project dinner at ShadeScapes Americas’ lovely event space in Hotchkiss - and grateful for a full house of community members who were able to get a sneak peek of the year ahead
That included the first look at our climate report: Gunnison Basin-Ground Zero in a Climate Emergency that was released at the end of that month. We are deeply grateful to Joe Cooper for the design work and layout as well as to Catch a Fire and Patagonia Action Works for connecting us with Joe’s top-quality professional services.
WESTERN COLORADO CLIMATE REPORT
The Gunnison Basin: Ground Zero in the Climate Emergency
Our report is available online at www.colofarmfood.org/groundzero
Listen to a podcast from Citizens for a Healthy Community with Colorado Farm & Food Alliance director Pete Kolbenschlag about this report here.
In March we kicked off our effort to put what we learned from doing research for our climate report into action by growing rural based climate action. In this case, we gathered with interested community-members for a weekend of conversation about wetland and watershed restoration - and the powerful role that beaver can play acting as “environmental engineers” to help restore watersheds, and requiring we humans to think differently about land, habitat and water security.
All About Beaver Weekend
Paonia Books hosted us for a book-signing with Ben Goldfarb, author of Eager as part of our All About Beaver Weekend.
At the end of March we led, along with the Western Slope Conservation Center, our annual trip to Washington DC, bringing community leaders from western Colorado to meet with peers and policymakers.
Building Rural Power
Each year the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance helps to lead a trip from Colorado’s North Fork Valley to Washington, DC with our partners at eh Western Slope Conservation Center and Valley Organic Growers Association.
Mirasol Agrivoltaic Project
We are helping to lead a locally driven effort to pair farming and community-solar that will help power farms and households and return a clean energy benefit to member-subscribers.
In May, we were thrilled to learn that an effort we are helping lead was the recipient of a major national community solar prize. This farm-based, community-owned agrivoltaic project will provide enough power for about 70 small family farms, farm-workers and their families, and farm- and food-related businesses and organizations. This project aligns with our work highlighting rural climate solutions.
North Fork River Fest & Community Fair
In June we joined The Learning Council and the Conservation Center in combining two great events into one eventful Community Fair and River Fest at Paonia River Park. The Fest included a workshop on riparian restoration techniques, as well as live music, local food trucks, a silent auction and other forms of fun.
In July, we checked back in with the community on beaver, with a Beaver & Brews event hosted by our friends at Chrysalis Barrel Aged Beer. We then teamed up with WSCC to hold another hands-on LTPBR (low-tech process-based restoration) project and workshop. Located at a ranch in Crawford, participants put some of the lessons learned from beaver into practice, building an off channel water catchment and beaver startup dam at a ranch in Crawford.
If all goes to plan, this area will become a multi-terraced pond system that will provide habitat for breeding trout, migratory birds, beaver (of course!), butterflies, dragonflies and so many other species. As another aspect of systems thinking, the landowner will be able to pull water from these reserves during the lean times during the irrigation season. Many hands truly make light work and we are so grateful for everyone who gave their time, sweat and stories towards this awesome build.
At the end of July, our Just Good Food manager, Elizabeth Agee represented CO Farm and Food Alliance at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s annual meeting in Boulder, making great contacts and bringing back some exciting ideas. August was a busy month, as we began preparing for fall and winter activity and organizing.
In September we joined UpRoot at Big B’s Delicious Orchards on September 8th as their featured nonprofits. We LOVE that Big B’s hosts local nonprofits each Friday every summer.
Learning from Practitioners
We held two workshops in September to learn about Low- to No-Till Farming Practices at Rock N Roots Farm. And at Night Owl Food Food Forest to learn about ways to slow, spread and sink water on the land using natural water catchment basins with spillways, hugel bed terraces and infiltration basins.
Our director Pete Kolbenschlag represented the organization in Washington DC at a meeting convened by EDF for its Summer of Action partners, and in Santa Fe on a grassroots grants review committee for the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN).
October 25th will see the return of our annual Farm Dinner. This anticipated event brings together our supporters, to enjoy a delicious dinner by the Forage Sisters, featuring local foods and wines from Qutori, raising funds to support our work growing the practice of conservation-oriented and climate-adaptive farming and land use strategies.
And of course we are simultaneously thinking ahead, to the projects, activities and events we will be working on and rolling out in 2024. So, watch this space, our emails and follow us on all social media @colofarmfood for a full list of fall and winter activities and updates on the year ahead.
