Creston Energy Innovation Farm Tour

Join us on September 22nd for a full-day farm tour of two innovative Creston farms that have been working hard to reduce their carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of their farm infrastructure. This event will include a morning farm tour at Full Circle Farm, a potluck lunch, and an afternoon farm tour of Cartwheel Farm.

Full Circle Farm is a regenerative grain and root vegetable farm that has been in operation for 25 years. Farmers Drew and Joanne Gailius will take us on a wagon tour of their 40 acre farm, pulled by Max, their electric tractor. Full Circle powers the majority of their home and farm from large solar arrays that generate electricity in their fields, and they have adapted many of their motorized tools to run off electricity. We'll have the chance to learn from farmer-inventor, Drew, on how he uses old electric car batteries to create DIY electic motors that can power tractors, tillers, and other critical farm tools. After the tour we'll enjoy a potluck lunch in the shade of their 1.5 acre food forest.

In the afternoon we will visit Nigel and Laura at Cartwheel Farm, an organic market garden that has been growing for the Creston Valley since 2014. They have implemented many improvements to their farm over the past few years to reduce carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency, and adapt to changing growing conditions. On this tour, we'll learn about their new 96-panel agri-solar array that generates electricity for their farm and powers their new electric delivery van. We'll get to see their automated composter that helps close the loop on their farm waste and nutrient needs, and tour their increased cold storage facilities that help them feed more families through the winter. They have also recently installed two eco-high tunnels with retractable thermal blankets that help extend their growing season without heating, as well as converted their nursery greenhouse heat source from natural gas to electricity.

In addition to all these infrastructure innovations, both Full Circle Farm and Cartwheel Farm are dedicated to their soil's health, using low/no till methods to build and protect the carbon in their soil. This tour will be a rich learning opportunity with lots of discussion on how we can reduce fossil fuel use on farms, sequester more carbon in our soils, and adapt our farming practices for a changing climate.

WHEN: Sunday, September 22, 2024 • 9 am - 3:30 pm PST

LOCATION: Traditional territory of the Yaqan nuʔkiy peoples of the Ktunaxa Nation

9 AM at Full Circle Farm - 3510 Lloyd Rd, Canyon, BC. CLICK HERE FOR MAP DIRECTIONS

1 PM at Cartwheel Farm - 734 35 Ave N, Creston, BC, CLICK HERE FOR MAP DIRECTIONS

REGISTER: This event is free, but please register on Eventbrite as there is limited space.

ROUGH SCHEDULE:
9 AM - Meet at Full Circle Farm for Introductions and Opening Circle
9:30 - 11:30 - Wagon Farm Tour on Max the Electric Tractor
11:45 - 12:45 - Potluck Lunch at Full Circle Farm
1 PM - Meet at Cartwheel Farm
1:00 - 3:30 PM - Farm Tour at Cartwheel Farm

BRING: Water, appropriate clothes for the weather, potluck lunch item to share, plates/cutlery/cups for your own use, folding chair or picnic blanket.

RIDESHARING: To help reduce emissions getting to and from this event, please head over to the Facebook event page for this farm tour to post if you need or can offer a ride to others.

SHARE: Planning on joining us? Invite your friends and share the Facebook event

ACCESSIBILITY: If you have any accessibility needs, please get in touch with kim@youngagrarians.org.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• This event is free and open to everyone! Supervised children are welcome
• Please do not bring dogs on this event, as there are working livestock guardian dogs at Full Circle Farm that do not tolerate other dogs on the property. (Please contact kim@youngagrarians.org regarding service animals.)
• Please stay home if you have cold or flu symptoms
• Please wash your shoes before visiting the farm, especially if you work on or have visited a farm recently
• Please do not bring alcohol to this event

About Full Circle Farm

Welcome to Full Circle Farm! We are Drew and Joanne Gailius have been in the Creston Valley for 25 years where we've grown our farm and family. Our eccentricity/commitment is living the dream of, year by year, nudging our farm off fossil fuels. We grow/harvest/process and eat most of our food and sell grain, flour, root crops, tomatoes, various different things each year and have farm sharers (work on the farm for pay/food or just food). Our energy comes from the sun with solar panels in the field, solar panels on the etractor, a 2 wheeled walk behind etractor, many converted implements, human powered equipment and, soon, a micro hydro installation + more solar panels. We have gravity fed irrigation, a woodlot and curiosity blended with potential. Our challenge = aging and staging. Bring your ideas!

About Cartwheel Farm

We are Nigel and Laura Francis. Since 2O14, we have been tending organic vegetables, herbs, and fruit on our own land – Cartwheel Farm.​ We grow on a small-scale with joy and attention to detail. We farm to cultivate health, justice, freedom, beauty and contentment. We strive to grow delicious nutrient dense food with ecological integrity. Each year, we share our harvest with 150+ families in our area, and to local cafes and restaurants. We select the varieties we grow for taste, nutrition and beauty. We are embracing our potential to advance climate solutions. With support from regional, provincial, and federal programs we are making changes to how we farm through reducing our emissions and working hard to grow more food and sequester more carbon.

STAY IN TOUCH

• Join our Young Agrarians Columbia Basin (Kootenay) Facebook Group to stay up to date with all events in the region
• Sign up for our e-newsletter to get events and opportunities for your region delivered straight to your inbox
• Due to limited spots, we ask that you please give us as much notice as possible if you have to cancel, so we can give someone else the opportunity to join. You can do so through Eventbrite, through the link in your registration confirmation email, or by contacting kim@youngagrarians.org.
• Questions? Email Kim at kim@youngagrarians.org

The Columbia Basin event series is made possible with funding from Columbia Basin Trust.