ESSENTIAL EDGE
THE
NEWS OF THE WORLD LEADER IN ESSENTIAL OILS
Volume 4.9 | September 2014
Northern Lights Founder’s Message IN EARLY AUGUST Mary and I were able to spend a few days with our growing force of leaders at the Silver Retreat. I love this time because I am able to share the excitement with so many members who are seeing our St. Maries farm for the first time, where our Seed to Seal foundation began. Surely, they will carry home a burning torch that will light a fire within so many. What a wonderful time to be together. However, our time was too short and it was tough to say good-bye. But something truly amazing was on the horizon: the new Young Living Northern Lights Aromatic Farm in British Columbia. The location is breathtaking, as thousands of trees cover the hills and mountains like a rolling turf that never ends. The groundbreaking is just beginning, and the work is intense with the pressure to get the forms up and cement poured before winter. But the results: Black Spruce, a critical oil that we are all waiting for with great excitement. Immense work lies ahead and I am thrilled with the response of so many who want to help. It will take a mighty working team to beat the harsh winter in time to be ready to distil. I look forward to seeing many of you there. My commitment is to provide you with the best essential oils on the planet—even if it means buying the land and developing an entire farm and distillery dedicated solely to that purpose. With a new distillery and more than 400 acres of property dense with black spruce trees, we won’t have any shortage of oil because of our Northern Lights Farm. Sincerely,
Young Living’s Newest Farm THE EXCITEMENT IS mounting as word of our new Young Living Northern Lights Aromatic Farm in British Columbia spreads. Gary broke ground in July and now it’s a race to get the building up to be able to work during the cold winter months to bring together all the components that will put the distillery into operation. In addition to the distillery, the fabulous plans include building a drying plant for the distilled chips to make pellets for wood burning stoves, which are in great demand (a most unique facet of the operation); a conference and education centre with about 20 guest rooms; a visitor centre, campground, and RV park; and, naturally, our spectacular floral water spa that you can experience only at a Young Living farm. Just imagine settling down into the spa water filled with micro molecules of oil from the distillation and enjoying the dancing show of the northern lights. Nowhere in the world but here! It is a huge undertaking, but Gary has drawn the plans; so the future holds a lot of excitement for our Canadian members and all those who come to visit. But first things first, and that is to produce oil—Black Spruce oil—and everything else comes after that. Black Spruce is a conifer oil of untold power and strength that adds much to several blends and other products that only Young Living produces. The story is unique as only Gary Young can tell it.
In His Own Words In early June 2014, I set out to find black spruce trees. Our members were quickly outbuying our supply, and that meant it was time for me to focus on the trees of the great northern Canadian territories and build a new distillery. We flew to many areas as I looked for the trees and the “right” place to build. I was drawn to Fort Nelson, British Columbia, because of the time that I drove the Alcan (AlaskaCanadian) Highway when I was logging and drove through this small town. I thought I would find black spruce trees there, so I was anxious to go exploring. When we landed, I was told that about 286 acres of land might be for sale about 7 miles northwest of Fort Nelson, with potential farming land to cultivate ledum, conyza (fleabane), and goldenrod, as well as yarrow, which is growing naturally all over, along with acres of black spruce. The land is beautiful with several different streams that we can divert into the reservoir for all of our water needs. I was told that government officials were hard to work with and did not like approving building permits. I chose to see no obstacles; and after a very friendly meeting, we negotiated a contract that closed this month. However, I was given the go-ahead to start work immediately, as they also understood the weather constraint.
Another possible obstacle came when the Forest Service told me my biggest challenge was to get approval from the First Nations, comprised of a large number of tribal council members. So I called them and drove out to meet with the chief and his council. The chief and I started talking about plants and natural medicine, and he told me about how his grandfather used to take him in the woods to get plants for medicine when he was young. It seemed like we had always been friends. He was so excited and thrilled with our project and said, “Mr. Young, you just tell me what you need, and our whole tribe will be there to help.” A blessing? A miracle? “My friend” knows we need Black Spruce oil. When we had all the approvals, the government officials had one more request. They asked us if we would farm and cultivate an additional 100 plus acres of the frontage along the roadsides of the land to the farm to keep them from being unsightly with tree regrowth, since the long 18-hour summer days accelerate the tree growth, weeds, and all of the plants. Another blessing. Jim Powell, Chip Kouwe, and Scott Schuler came to my rescue and flew up with me after Silver Club. Our pilot, Marc Harris, also wanted to help and discovered a new talent for farming and operated the big excavator like a natural. Marc was on one excavator; Scott was on the big loader, loading trucks and moving dirt; I was on the D-6 dozer, clearing land and building roads; and Chip was on the 330 Cat excavator, digging the reservoir and basement for the distillery. Jacob and Chip often traded jobs when I was surveying. Josef was on the compactor and when he wasn’t on that gigantic machine (so it seemed to him), he helped Dad with the surveying. Jim drove the big dump truck, moved a lot of dirt, and hauled the shale for the distillery base and other needed areas from a nearby mountain that had a steep road that would scare a mountain goat, but not Jim. He even ate lunch in the truck while he was being loaded to keep everything moving. Mary brought lunch and dinner, ran around town doing paperwork, found a big house to rent, opened a bank account, and helped Josef and Dad survey. Northern Lights, continued on page 2
Aerial photo showing the original 286 acres at the Northern Lights Farm in British Columbia, Canada. page 1