Spring Newsletter

News and Updates – Spring 2012

Mountain Sprouts is going to repaint their classroom Moss Green and trundle into the summer season at near full enrollment (12 kids), five days a week. Mountain Sprouts will also be hosting a weekly summer camp program for 5-7 year olds. Photography – Geology Rocks – Landscapes, Water Color and Journaling – Garden Table living – each week has a unique theme and will spend all its time in the great outdoors here at Tierra. The kids made it to a snow free back yard and there’s talk of getting some play structure construction underway. Irrepressible like the spring flowers the growing body of kids are.

A condensed pottery studio is moving in next door to the Sprouts in the back corner room of the barn. Keep your eyes out for more on the different programs that might run through here – first task is to move some heavy items into the space.

May weekends will be full of activity – Tierra is hosting a Leavenworth Bird Fest 10nth anniversary event at the lodge and doing a tour – Birds of the Farm, Field, Pond and Woodland.

 Last year we had a great showing of warblers and knew where to find the white-headed woodpecker drilling into one of the cabin buildings. We’re hoping to lure some birders to stay on site and add to our growing list.

Biochar is still coming to Tierra. The Adam’s Retort build will commence May 19th and will be ready for demonstration the next week – we’re currently wrapping our brains around some brow furrowing plans showing the masonry stacks, chambers and chimneys – all in metric units while the supply list is English- although we’ve been assured that all measurements are approximate anyways! Adventure starts with some site prep – Biochar zone will be up canyon in the old gravel pit beyond retreat center parking lot.

May 20th will celebrate “ground breaking” for the new Tierra Village house. All are welcome to a noon event to learn more and play with excavators (or at least watch a ribbon being cut). A lot of good work has gone into the building design – we have Doug Fir logs from the site at a mill right now to be turned into trim and cabinet stock.

Tierra Garden has their fingers in just about everything – including the potting mixes with Biochar. Get ahold of them for a CSA share – Eron will be warming up the market booth during the Earth Day Fair in Leavenworth doing triple duty bringing all of Tierra to the table along with a seed start fundraiser for the preschool.

 

Behind the scenes we’re hard at work bringing the web site to a new level – making room for a lot more content and useful resources. We’re posting to facebook and sending offers and updates to e-mail lists – watch out (and thanks)!

Sam Switzer Eric Orteg Willy Stockman Eron Drew Shanda Holm Andrew Holm Julie Randall Naomi Bull Alex Roberts Gracie Close Chelsey Diamond Pavel McGlade Carly Swanson