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• Save the Date: Annual Alumni Weekend, Open House, and Fundraiser Set for May 25
• Rundown of Recent Events
• Seeking Instructors for Summer Programming
• Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities
Hello, Friends of Better Farm!
The groundhog blew it this year. So much for the early Spring we were
all hoping for! The season may be buried under several inches of snow
right now, but we're determined to find it in the coming weeks. BetterArts
has already started the season off right by partnering with the North
Country Goes Green Irish Festival last weekend to help to raise money
for various charities (more about that below). As we wait for the snow
outside to melt, we're busy setting up programming for the Spring and
Summer—and as we continue to expand and grow, so do the projects! To
meet the growing demand for fresh organic produce, quality programming,
and creative and cultural events in the North Country, we're busy as
ever preparing for our best season yet.
Our seeds have arrived amidst all this wintry weather, and we've been overwhelmed by applicants for the betterArts Residency Program and Better Farm Sustainability Education Program.
Our volunteer roster sheet has exploded, as well—a good thing, since
our gardens are doubling in size yet again, we're adding a fruit and nut
orchard, and have several construction projects in our midst. This
newsletter will cover the winter projects behind us, spring and summer
projects ahead of us, all the information we've got regarding the big
open house and fundraiser May 25, and ways you can get on board with all
things Better.
If you're in the North Country this April 4, please consider stopping in
at a lecture I'll be offering out of the North Country Arts Council
Space in Watertown, called "Where Sustainability and Art Intersect." Click here to learn more and register.
Please contact us to schedule a visit or tour, swing through our open house and fundraiser May 25, or visit www.betterfarm.org to find out more about what we're doing.
Until next time, better be.
Nicole Caldwell
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Better Farm
Save the Date: Annual Alumni Weekend, Open House, and Fundraiser Saturday, May 25
Our annual betterArts fundraiser, Better Farm open house, and alumni weekend is scheduled from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, May 25, 2013,
at Better Farm in Redwood, N.Y. This event will be in conjunction with
the second annual Artists' Studio Tour. All money raised at the event
will directly fund art- and sustainability-related community outreach
initiatives in and around Redwood.
The day-long festival will feature live performances by local and
regional bands, a gallery showcasing artwork by painters, sculptors,
photographers, and more, booths featuring art and handmade items for
sale, tours of the Better Farm campus, information about Better Farm and
betterArts summer 2013 programming, arts 'n' crafts for kids (and
adults!), freshly prepared food, a refreshments tent, and more!
Overnight accommodations are available as follows:
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Camping (porta potties available) $10/night/person
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Bunk in shared room $20/night/person
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Private room $42/night
Vacancy is limited, so please reserve your spot early by e-mailing info@betterfarm.org. We are offering accommodations Friday through Monday, or any night therein.
We are currently seeking vendors, volunteers, artists, performers, and
sponsors for this event. If you are interested in partnering with us for
any of the following opportunities, please e-mail info@betterarts.org:
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VENDORS: We are looking for
vendors who would like to set up a table at this event for informational
purposes or to sell goods. A one-day vendor's pass is $15.
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VOLUNTEERS: We need people's help setting up, breaking down, running
the refreshments tent, cooking, working in the gallery, and more.
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ARTISTS: Individuals who would like to put their artwork up in the
gallery for sale are encouraged to contact us for the appropriate
paperwork. There is no fee to hang your pieces, but betterArts does
reserve the right to a 15-percent commission on all sold art.
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PERFORMERS: Bands, singer-songwriters, storytellers, and other
performers are invited to participate in the festivities. We have a
small stage in the Art Barn's gallery space and a larger outdoor stage
on the second-floor deck overlooking a natural amphitheater.
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SPONSORS: Sponsors will have their names or business logos included in
all press materials and prominently displayed at the event. Sponsorship
levels begin at $50.
Better Farm is located at 31060 Cottage Hill Road, Redwood NY, 13679. For more information visit www.betterfarm.org.
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Rundown of Recent Events
We've stayed busy this winter! Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to in the North Country:
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BetterArts Nets >$2k for Irish Festival — In its first year running the first-floor children's room at the North Country Goes Green Irish Festival in Watertown, betterArts netted more then $2,000 for various charities at the event. Arts 'n' crafts and seed-planting projects in the children's room were available free-of-charge, but tickets were sold for all games and face-painting. Proceeds from those sales benefit “Project Children North”, which brings kids from Ireland to the United States, where they stay for 6 weeks with host families. Proceeds from the festival also go to scholarships and other charities such as Wounded Warrior, USO, Credo Foundation, Urban Mission and food pantries within the tri-county area. On first count, betterArts raised $2,147 throughout the weekend. Click here for photos from the event and more information.
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 Better Farm to be Featured in 'Possible' Documentary — Possible is filmmaker Olivier Asselin's documentary project that goes throughout the Northeast visiting with people working on a more sustainable lifestyle. The filmmaker paid Better Farm a visit in February
to see how we do things, and will be returning when the weather's
warmer to check out the summertime set-up. The first cut of our role in
the documentary is available by visiting www.possible.org.
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Autumn/Winter Construction Projects Completed — To take advantage of a reduction in numbers during the dead of winter, we got busy inside. Follow these links to see the new master bath, renovated downstairs bath, DIY wainscotting project, and new kitchen backsplash.
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Mandala Garden Installation — Mandala gardens are
perfect representations of permaculture in their layout and circular
design. Our fall intern, Jackson Pittman, laid the groundwork for a
mandala garden within Better Farm's larger garden. Click here for information on that process; and stay tuned to see how we fill it this summer!
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BetterArts Partners with Hospice — BetterArts on Dec. 8 teamed up with Survivor Outreach Services of Fort Drum and Hospice of Jefferson County to present "A Time of Holiday Remembrance" holiday party for children ages 6 to 12 who lost loved ones. The event,
held at Hospice of Jefferson County in Watertown, featured arts 'n'
crafts, a lunch, and cookie decorating. BetterArts participated by
inviting families to join in the making of a photo frame collage in
honor of their loved ones for the last hour of the event. Children and
their family members were encouraged to bring in photos for that
activity. Funding for the collage supplies was made possible through a
donation from Watertown Evening Rotary. Click here for photos from the event and more information.
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Art Class Draws on Our Adopted Fawn — An art teacher in Fayetteville, N.Y., brought something a little bit "Better" into the classroom this school year when she did an applied project with the students drawing on inspiration from our summer foster doe, Star Wars. Named "Star Wars" by the little boy who found her, we had the fawn in-house until one day she took off to be free (making several visits back to let us know she was okay). Joan Applebaum is an art teacher at the YMCA in Fayetteville (and a totally amazing artist herself),
and read all about Star Wars on our blog. She shared the story and
photos with her kindergarten students, who fell in love with Star Wars.
So Joan came up with a "Nest for Star Wars" project...
"The students are all 5 years old and we were working with the idea of
drawing and cutting out a few simple shapes to help us form the body of
the deer," Joan told us. "After the students glued all the parts to the
paper, they added the white spots on the baby deer's back, a white
cotton puff for the tail, and then used natural items such as twigs and
leaves to create the nest. The project turned out great!"
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Seeking Instructors for Summer Programming
Do you have a special skill you'd like to share? We're looking for
instructors for everything from outdoor survival to bead-making. Whether
it's the arts or gardening that you're an expert at, we'd love to hear
from you! Arts instructors should visit www.betterarts.org/teach-for-us to download an instructor's form. Those interested in sustainability-related education, please email info@betterfarm.org for more information.
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Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities
We're just getting started on Spring projects, and we need your help!
Peruse this list of upcoming volunteer opportunities and North Country
events to see where you'd like to get involved. To get on board with any
of these activities, please e-mail info@betterfarm.org.
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Better Orchard — Better Farm is getting a small fruit and nut orchard this Spring! In addition to our Dwarf Reliance Peaches
and apple trees already on the property, we will be planting almost two
dozen more trees both inside and outside. The list includes: 3-in-1
citrus tree (indoors), Banana Plant (2 indoors), Brown Turkey Fig (2), Carpathian Walnut (2), Chandler Blueberries, Goji Berry, Kiwi Collection (2 females, 1 male), Manchurian Apricot (2), and Paw Paw Tree (3). The planting will happen in May (exact date determined by arrival of immature trees).
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Lecture Set April 4 — BetterArts President Nicole Caldwell will present a lecture, "Where Sustainability and Art Intersect", at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the North Country Arts Council gallery space in Watertown's Public Square. The lecture is part of the arts council's "Lucky Seven Lecture Series",
a seven-part installment featuring different takes on the arts. The
lectures are slated for seven Thursdays at 7 p.m., costing $7 each.
Caldwell's lecture will address the intersection between sustainability,
art, and social responsibility. Sustainability issues are steeped in
science and fact; but the science of sustainability also involves
values-based questions, which may be best answered creatively. Caldwell
will share examples of this intersection from several specific projects
she has been involved with in her non-profit organization betterArts and and offer insights on how art can provoke people to consider their perceptions of sustainability.
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Partnership with School Seedling Program Enters Second Year — Better Farm is entering its second year of a partnership with the Department of Environmental Conservation's School Seedling Program, which seeks to encourage young people to learn about the natural world and the value of trees in it.
We will invite local youngsters this spring to join us for a morning of
planting 50 white spruce seedlings on our property, our mission being
to provide visitors to Better Farm with the knowledge of how beneficial
trees are to the environment. Those interested in participating or
volunteering can contact Better Farm.
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Better Farm to Host International Students This Summer — As part of its 2013 programming, Better Farm is partnering with Cultural Homestay International to host two college students from abroad on the Better Farm campus May through September while they work at Bonnie Castle in Alexandria Bay. Cultural Homestay International
(CHI) is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1980 to
promote international understanding and goodwill through
people-to-people exchanges. The belief of CHI's founders was this: The
best way to build bridges of friendship and trust among people is to
experience directly each others' customs, languages and values. To live,
study or work together leads to a transformational experience of
acceptance and genuine affection. To that end, Better Farm will house
two college students from May through Labor Day while they work in
Alexandria Bay at Bonnie Castle. The students, who are studying
hospitality overseas, will be part of the more than 250,000 students and
young adults from over 100 countries who have participated in CHI's
program in the last 30 years
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Future Volunteer Opportunities — We have many
projects coming up (dates to be determined) that we are seeking help
with. Get in touch with us if any of the following interest you: hobbit
house or earth ship construction, planting seeds in the greenhouse,
readying the grounds and gardens, compost bin construction, chicken coop
repair and construction, drip irrigation, rainwater catchment, sauna
construction, exterior painting, basic carpentry/construction, sign
creation.
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Contact Us:
Better Farm
31060 Cottage Hill Road
Redwood, NY 13679
315-482-2536
info@betterfarm.org
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