Special Sections - Clallam County Farm Tour

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 • 1

19th Annual Clallam County Farm Tour Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visit 7 Great Farms on the Tour!

Lazy J Tree Farm • Freedom Farm Jardin du Soleil • Dungeness Valley Creamery Nash’s Organic Produce • Five Acre School Agnew Grocery & Feed Hayrides, demonstrations, great food, live music and fun for the whole family!

Event Sponsored by

2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

Welcome... to the

19th Annual Clallam County Farm Tour WSU Clallam County Extension, the North Olympic Land Trust and our farm sponsors are excited to showcase a range of diverse stops on the tour this year, including organic lavender, vegetable and raw milk dairy farms, as well as a cattle farm and riding school, organic orchard and tree farm, a school with a budding farm program and a local independent farm store. There will be fun for adults and children alike: farm-fresh food, live music and lots of family activities at just $10 per carload.

The stops on the tour represent just a sampling of the incredible diversity the farm community in Clallam County has to offer. Join us on the 2015 Farm Tour to explore the rich farming heritage and amazing landscapes that make this area so unique.

WSU Clallam County Extension has been a proud sponsor and co-organizer of the Farm Tour for the past 19 years. Through our Small Farms Program, we work with community members to foster profitable family farms, promote land and water stewardship and improve access to healthy food for all residents of Clallam County. In addition to our work with farmers, we offer a wide variety of resources on gardening, health and wellness, community and economic development and more, including:

who need it. Last year, volunteers with our Gleaning program collected over 30,000 pounds of produce for our local food banks.

4-H Youth Development Program We help youths develop leadership skills through activities such as arts and crafts, robotics or a variety of animal science projects.

Come visit our Extension office in the Clallam County Courthouse, on the web at clallam.wsu. edu, or stop by our Farm Tour booth at Jardin du Soleil to find out more about our many Extension programs.

And join us on Farm Tour day to enjoy the fun activities, rich flavors and the diverse agricultural experiences our county has to offer — see you on the farms!

Master Gardener Program We help local area gardeners learn about sustainable gardening practices.

Sustainability and Waste Reduction Program

We work to reduce our county’s waste stream and get food into the hands of people

Clea Rome, WSU Clallam County Extension Director

Quality, Fresh Food for Better Health!

From Apples to Zucchini, specializing in hot crops; tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and melons ... picked at their peak!

Farm Store open 10-5 Mon. - Sat. 1046 Heuhslein Rd., Port Angeles (360) 452-1936

591415795

JOHNSTON FARMS

Ask about our “Certificate Program”

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Farm Fresh Hand-picked Naturally Grown Chemical Free

Community Supported Agriculture

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 • 3

Keep Farmland for Farming

By Tom Sanford

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Driving or biking across the Dungeness prairie and delta, I always am awed by the open and beautiful farmlands, historical barns, rolling landscape and wildlife habitat. It’s impressive — peaceful, calming and idyllic. I silently give thanks that somehow, as if by magic, the wonderful rural character of this place remains intact. Since working with North Olympic Land Trust, I’ve learned that this beautiful rural landscape has not been preserved by magic, but by the purposeful and hard work of a community of passionate local citizens, landowners, farmers, nonprofits and government agencies including groups like WSU Extension and North Olympic Land Trust.

In 1995, John Willits took his “Quacker Farm” in the midst of the Lower Dungeness basin and entered a land preservation agreement with North Olympic Land Trust. This agreement states that these 42 acres will be managed solely as prime waterfowl habitat into perpetuity — forever. With this first land preservation agreement, or conservation easement, John also began to form a vision for the lower Dungeness that would ensure that the lands best suited for farming would remain as farmland, those best suited for wildlife would be left for the wildlife and that all of this area would retain the rural character that is so valued by our community.

Since, thanks to the vision shared by John and many others, over 1,200 acres of land north of U.S. Highway 101 between Sequim Bay and Siebert Creek have been conserved for farmland and wildlife habitat by local landowners, agencies and nonprofit organizations, much of it by the Land Trust. Across Clallam County, that tally exceeds 3,100 acres.

On Oct. 3, you can experience the magic of the Dungeness Prairie and our wonderful agricultural landscape. The Farm Tour is an excellent way to celebrate the harvest with family and friends.

While out on the farms, you’ll discover that four of the farms in this year’s Farm Tour have been permanently protected as farmland through private land conservation.

Dungeness Valley Creamery is one of the two remaining dairies in Sequim. The 38-acre creamery with its herd of Jersey cows are protected by a North Olympic Land Trust conservation agreement finalized in 2009.

Freedom Farm, in Agnew, features a 44-acre agricultural easement with the Land Trust that is bisected by the Olympic Discovery Trail. This farm is a perennial favorite on Farm Tour for its pony rides and equestrian demonstrations.

Lazy J Tree Farm, renowned for its Christmas trees and produce, includes a 19-acre Land Trust land preservation agreement along Siebert Creek that helps protect salmon habitat and is a connecting link in a wildlife corridor that stretches several miles upstream from the mouth of the creek.

Of the over 700 acres Nash’s Organic Produce actively farms, over 200 are permanently protected by a variety of groups including PCC Farmland Trust and North Olympic Land Trust. In 2013, Nash began farming on the 24-Carrot Farm immediately following a community effort to purchase an agricultural easement through the Land Trust.

Yet another Farm Tour site, Jardin du Soleil is a wonderful location to look north upon Habitat Farms and its 250 acres of prime farmland and pristine waterfowl habitat conserved by North Olympic Land Trust and private landowners over the past two decades.

Though great strides have been made, the work conserving the remaining rural landscape from Agnew to Sequim Bay is not yet complete. Since 1950, Clallam County has lost over 75 percent of its farmland. Thousands of acres of rich fertile soils and critical habitat remain unprotected. The Land Trust is proud to be a part of a community that values its land base and that realizes that if we work together to conserve the farms, fish and forests of this land, it will pay back direct dividends to our own quality of life.

Tom Sanford is executive director of North Olympic Land Trust. To date, the Land Trust has conserved over 450 acres of working farmland, over 11.5 miles of river and stream habitat and over 1,800 acres of forests, 450 of which are working forests.

4 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

Farm Profiles

2015

See demonstrations of the distillation of fragrant essential oil of lavender at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Children will have fun finding hidden treasure, running in the maze and making farm crafts to take home. Annie’s Flower Farm, a flower farm and florist in Sequim, will have bouquets for sale, flower displays, a seed-saving display and an ongoing children’s activity making Victorian nosegays. WSU Clallam County Extension Master Gardeners and Master Composters will have resource booths to explore. Pacific Pantry will be onsite serving up amazing soups and sausages made with farm fresh local ingredients. Come join us for farm fun at one of the jewels of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley!

Lazy J Tree Farm

225 Gehrke Road, Agnew Steve Johnson In 1955, Steve’s parents George and Eloise Johnson bought 20 acres and started a berry farm on Gehrke Road in the Agnew area. More acreage was added and in 1960 the family changed the focus of the farm from berries to Christmas trees and Lazy J Tree Farm was born. Steve took over management of the farm at age 16 after the death of his father and has built Lazy J Tree farm into the diversified operation it is today. While the primary enterprise on this farm remains Christmas trees, the farm also features a certified organic apple and pear orchard and organic potatoes and garlic. In 2007, the farm expanded into a composting operation which receives yard waste and other organic materials, and now sells finished compost and other side products.

Children will love the large grinding machine and excavators that move the compost piles around, as well as a hayride through the beautiful apple and pear orchards and rows of Christmas trees. Members of the North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers Association will be on-hand to demonstrate how to keep bees and harvest honey, and there will be a display of cider-making equipment for fruit harvested from the farm’s certified organic orchard of various apple varieties.

Local musicians will play through the day: Bill and Rudy from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., then a surprise musician from 1-3 p.m. Lunch prepared

by Steve McCabe from several Lazy J Tree Farm products will be available for purchase. Enjoy your lunch while listening to music and watching the kids play in a giant sand pile with buckets and trucks and of course shovels to dig with!

The Farm Store will be open featuring Lazy J organic vegetables, garlic, potatoes, apples and apple cider. Other products will be available, too: local honey and jams, handmade soap and gifts.

Take a stroll down to Siebert Creek and see some of the projects that the farm and the Lower Elwha and Jamestown S’Klallam tribes have worked on to restore this part of the creek for salmon. This portion of the creek and part of Steve’s farm are protected by conservation easements by the North Olympic Land Trust, preserving the creek for salmon habitat and a section of the farm for agriculture in perpetuity.

cows and the creamery building which also houses their lovely gift shop. Jeff and Debbie’s son-in-law and daughter, Ryan and Sarah McCarthey now own and run the dairy and creamery. This, along with the preservation of the land through a conservation easement with the North Olympic Land Trust, ensures fresh dairy products and more from Dungeness Valley Creamery for years to come!

In 2006, the farm became a certified raw milk dairy. The milk and cream from cows grazing on pastures in the Dungeness Valley was famous for its high butterfat content ever since the European-Americans recognized the Sequim Valley as a rich agricultural region back in the 1800s. The McCartheys’ cows are grazing on some of the best and most abundant grasses in Dungeness where they spend seven months of the year. During the winter, they are fed alfalfa hay and treated to a small amount of corn and soy-free grain when they are milked. Each cow is named and registered through the American Jersey Cattle Association. Their milk and type performance records are carefully kept and the milking facility is immaculately clean. No rBST or any growth hormones are used.

Farm Tour day at the creamery buzzes with fun and activities. Guided hayrides visit the farm’s pastures and grazing milk herd. Feel free to tour the barn, see the calves and milking parlor where the creamery’s delicious raw milk is produced. Interactive classes including butter-making and yogurt-making will be given throughout the day as well food vending from Curbside Bistro and Viking Ice Cream. Don’t forget to visit the petting zoo, a favorite of youths of all ages. Lots of fun and learning to be had by the whole family awaits. The McCartheys welcome you!

Jardin Du Soleil Lavender Farm

Dungeness Valley Creamery

1915 Towne Road, Dungeness Ryan and Sarah McCarthey Jeff and Debbie Brown started their first dairy in 1971 here in their home town of Sequim. In 1973, they moved to Whatcom County where they farmed for 16 years. Homesick, they came back to the area in 1989 and built their current dairy farm and home from the ground up. The farm is home to 38 acres of lush pasture, 60 milking Jersey

3932 Sequim-Dungeness Way, Dungeness Jordan and Paul Schiefen Sequim prides itself on being the “Lavender Capital of North America” and Jardin du Soleil is one of the most beautiful lavender farms in the area. The certified organic lavender farm was planted in 1999 on land that was part of a dairy farm established in the 1880s.

Thousands of lavender plants on 10-plus acres create a wonderfully fragrant vista at the farm. Join owners Jordan and Paul Schiefen for a tour of the farm, including its Victorian gardens, ponds, fruit trees and fields of lavender.

Learn all about how to care for, harvest and process the lavender.

Nash’s Organic Produce

1865 E. Anderson Road, Dungeness Nash Huber and Patty McManus-Huber Since 1979, Nash Huber and his crew have cultivated delicious, fresh, organic produce in the fertile Sequim-Dungeness Valley and brought it to the local community via farmers markets and Nash’s Farm Store. Over the years, new products, like organic grain, pastured pork, eggs, organic seed and dried beans and peas have been added and the acreage has increased to 650. The farm also mills its own flours and cornmeal, and rolls its own oats and barley. Nash’s Farm Store in Dungeness (4681 Sequim-Dungeness Way) features the finest organic and local produce on the peninsula, an extensive line of organic and GMO-free grocery items, local wine and beer, bulk items, gluten-free items and household products.

This year, the farm will offer three tours (10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.) of the packing shed, greenhouses and fields of the Dungeness Farm.

There also will be milling demonstrations at the Farm Store, open 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. PLEASE NOTE: There will be no children’s activities, live music or lunch served on the farm this year. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Don’t miss the community potluck at 6 p.m. and a foot-stomping barn dance at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy the music of Stringology and Blue Rooster. Wine and beer served by the North Olympic Land Trust.

No outside alcohol, please.

Freedom Farm

493 Spring Road, Agnew Jerry Schmidt and Mary Gallagher Once a dairy farm, Jerry Schmidt and Mary Gallagher have turned this 120-acre commercial dairy into a diversified operation that raises beef cattle and hay. The herd frequently can be seen from Old Olympic Highway, grazing on the rich grassy fields just south of the Agnew store. In 2004, Mary and her husband Jerry protected 44 acres of that field for agriculture through a conservation easement with

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 • 5

Agnew Grocery and Feed 2863 Old Olympic Hwy.

Freedom Farm - 493 Spring Road * Pony rides, horse skits, riding demos, horse tail

decorating, saddle and bridle exhibits and more!

Visit student agricultural projects, a natural playscape, arts and crafts, and paths through the preserved wetland.

Future farmers in action!

Olympic

Discovery

Find more Farm Tour info at: NorthOlympicLandTrust.org

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Featuring a farmland conservation project in partnership with the North Olympic Land Trust

Please leave your dogs at home !

North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival 175 W. Cedar St., Sequim

Stop by the Fiber Festival and Museum & Arts Center in downtown Sequim to see fiber artisans in action.

The fiber festival runs Fri-Sun.

Saturday October 3rd

10 AM to 4 PM

Simply go to whichever farm you want to visit first. At that farm, you’ll pay $10 per carload and receive a ticket to place on your windshield.

Then proceed at your own pace to whichever farms you want to visit that day. Its that simple!

Hayrides, games, great food, live music, and fun for the whole family!

Lazy J Tree Farm Agnew Grocery & Feed Freedom Farm 5 Acre School

Dungeness Valley Creamery 1915 Towne Road.

Come visit a raw milk dairy

Hayrides around the farm, tours of the milking parlors, butter and yogurt making demos, and a petting zoo!

Great Food and fun demos!

Dungeness Creamery Hi g

5 Acre School

515 Lotzgesell Road

Enjoy a scenic lavender farm!

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See all sizes and shapes of horses, from minature horses to giant draft horses!

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Jardin Du Soleil Fiber Arts Festival

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Farm Goods For Sale Kids Activities

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Organic Produce * Nash’s 1865 E. Anderson Road

Tours of the beautiful lavender fields, lavender processing and distillation demos, treasure hunts, kids’ flower fun, food by Pacific Pantry.

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Classic farm store built in 1926!

Gehrke Rd

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Anderson Rd

Antique tractor display, petting zoo, live music, u-pick pumpkin patches!

Carlsborg Rd

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2863 Old Olympic Highway Chris Frankfurth We’re excited to have made the map for this year’s farm tour!

The Agnew store is one of the oldest operating businesses in Clallam County, playing an important role in local agriculture since 1926.

For years, hay truck operators stopped here to weigh their crops while their children grabbed an ice cream; the scale, no longer in use, remains on display. The cold storage building was in use until 1984 for families to rent freezer space. The building had to be torn down because of fire damage but there are still customers that remember their locker number; some of these locker doors decorate the store. Stop by and see how we’re trying to keep a bit of history in everything we do!

There will be antique tractors on display, a small petting zoo, live music from local artists, a U-pick pumpkin patch and lots of local goods and drinks including sandwiches from Olympic Bagel Company. Neighboring Johnston Farms also will have a fresh produce stand.

Tour greenhouses and fields, watch fresh milling demos, and come to the evening Barn Dance and Potulck! Note: no kid’s activities or music this year.

Visit the area’s largest organic farm!

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Live music & great food!

FARM TOUR

Towne Rd

Hayrides, bee-keeping demonstrations,

plus a giant sand pile for kids of all ages!

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Clallam Co .

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Lazy J Tree Farm * 225 Gehrke Road

515 Lotzgesell Road, Dungeness Brian Walsh and Autumn Piontek-Walsh Five Acre School is an independent school, serving students preK through grade 6, located on five acres adjacent to the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge in Washington’s first commercial straw bale building. We pride ourselves on our child-centered approach to education focusing on the whole person with an emphasis on the outdoors, community stewardship and sustainability. Created and founded by Bill Jevne and Juanita Ramsey-Jevne in 1994, Five Acre School is celebrating its 21st year with new owners Brian Walsh and Autumn Piontek-Walsh.

We invite you to visit our beautiful school grounds. Take short walks through the Wildlife Refuge led by our student naturalists.

See our elementary agricultural projects in action. Experience our playground and preserved wetland. On farm tour day, enjoy arts and crafts and a community bake sale.

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Five Acre School

Agnew Grocery & Feed

A M d is o hi n’t s

be horses of all sizes, shapes and colors to see — everything from tiny miniature horses to donkeys to giant draft horses. They also will be hosting Olympic Peninsula Equine Network (OPEN), the horse rescue organization for Clallam County whose mission is to rescue and rehabilitate abandoned or neglected horses and find them new adoptive homes or foster homes. So, if you’re a horse lover, or just want to learn more about horses and how they interact with their human friends, make sure to visit Freedom Farm!

the North Olympic Land Trust, ensuring it would remain farmland forever.

Mary and Jerry also have developed an amazing equestrian center at Freedom Farm.

They believe that horses should live in as natural environment as possible so all 60 horses on the farm live in herds and work barefoot. Mary is the primary instructor for dozens of youth and adults who come to Freedom Farm to learn everything from basic riding skills to dressage, jumping, bareback riding and Western riding. The farm hosts many clinics, shows, summer camps, parties and horse play days for children.

During this year’s Farm Tour there will be pony rides for youths, carrot pieces to feed the horses and you’ll also have the chance to decorate the tails of some of the farms’ horses and ponies. The Freedom Farm Riding Team will perform some “horse skits” and also will feature several other fun demonstrations of horsemanship and various games on horseback. Some of the farm’s many beef cows and calves will be in a special exhibit area, and of course there will

6 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

Conserving Precious Water in the Dungeness Valley

By Joe E. Holtrop, Clallam Conservation Executive Director Summer is always dry in the Dungeness Valley, but 2015 shattered records for low stream flows.

Early settlers also struggled to eke out a living on the arid Sequim Prairie; that is until D.R. “Crazy” Callen convinced a handful of his neighbors to join in on a venture to deliver Dungeness River water to their dusty fields. Throughout the winter of 1895-1896, ditches were dug and wooden flumes were built to get water to seemingly flow uphill from the river to the prairie.

Their hard work paid off when the first irrigation ditch was completed in the spring of 1896.

Their success inspired the formation of numerous other irrigation companies and districts, eventually delivering irrigation water to about 11,000 acres of farmland throughout the valley.

DON’T MISS YOUR

Flood irrigation was the only means of irrigating until the arrival of electricity for pumping following World War II. Flood irrigation is most conducive to the growing of pasture and hay, which combined with the mild, dry climate helped the Dungeness Valley develop into a world class dairy region. By 1950, about 7,000 cows were being milked on about 700 dairy farms in the Dungeness Valley.

Inefficient and environmentally costly flood irrigation eventually gave way to sprinkler irrigation.

Stray salmon in the ditches — a common occurrence — was eliminated with fish screens at the canal head gates. Yet as recently as the 1980s, irrigators were taking as much as 80 percent of Dungeness River flows.

The 1999 listing of salmon as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act brought with it both legal requirements

to cutback water withdrawals and funding for water conservation projects. Piping leaky ditches was identified as the most effective way to conserve water. Since 1999, over 60 miles of ditch have been piped, reducing Dungeness River water withdrawals by about 50 percent.

The Clallam Conservation District contributed essential technical and financial assistance for the vast majority of the ditch piping.

These projects address two of the Conservation District’s top priorities: water conservation and water quality. The water savings from ditch piping is obvious, but piping also eliminates the potential for contaminants to get into the irrigation water delivery system. In fact, many of the piping projects have resulted in significant reductions in fecal coliform bacteria loading to Dungeness Bay. In addition, improving irrigation efficiencies often results in a more reliable water supply and

Celebrating our 10th Year!

OPPORTUNITY

FALL 2015

TO BE IN OUR

“MADE ON THE PENINSULA” FEATURE IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

DECEMBER ISSUE We highlight the diversity and creative ingenuity of Olympic Peninsula products made right here at home. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your product or service.

DECEMBER 30 2015 Talk to your advertising representative about reserving your space.

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Advertising Deadline: Monday, November 23, 2015

In Port Angeles call

360-452-2345 In Sequim/Jefferson County, call

360-683-3311

581395096

PUBLISHING SOON!

less energy required for pumping — a benefit to farmers and energy suppliers. These benefits in turn foster more viable agriculture, thus helping to maintain farmland —another of the Conservation District’s resource conservation priorities.

Climate change projections suggest years like this will be the norm. Gambling on snowpack for water storage is no longer prudent.

Fortunately, like “Crazy” Callen more than a century ago, a few visionary irrigators and others are developing plans for an off-channel reservoir and are working on projects to divert high river flows to recharge the shallow aquifer. A reservoir would store water for late summer irrigation, while recharging the aquifer helps maintain late summer stream flows. These new efforts will keep water for salmon in the river and help sustain viable agriculture in the Dungeness Valley.

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 • 7

North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival

We are excited to be celebrating the 10th Annual North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival in Sequim — always the first weekend in October!

Join us for this interactive fiber arts event with activities such as a museum exhibition, workshops, educational demonstrations of fiber processes, hands-on projects with children and adults, Fiber Arts Market of local artists’ work and fiber supplies, lecture and information about local fiber activities, groups, businesses and instructional resources Oct. 2-4.

“Fostered Fiber — Remembrance, Remnants & Mentors” is the theme for the 2015 North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival Juried Exhibition at the Museum & Arts Center, 175 W. Cedar St., in downtown Sequim. This year the exhibition theme is about expressing the dedication to cloth, cherished memories and mentorship with gifts of knowledge and kindness, while cultivating interest in generations to come in the practice of fiber arts creation

and sharing of abundance.

From first attempts to work with thread, yarn and fleece to refined finished objects of art, the fiber works that tell stories of fostering learning and living are desired. All skill levels are welcome to enter and inspire the next generation of fiber artists.

The “Fostered Fiber” exhibition starts as the highlight on the First Friday Art Walk in Sequim on Oct. 2 (running through Nov. 28) and ends with a Small Business Saturday Show and Sale by the exhibiting artists. The festival exhibition has a unique, accessible theme each year to inspire artists to create new works or bring out older works that they haven’t had occasions to share. Some artists collaborate on artworks emphasizing the communal nature of fiber media. The idea of enriching mentorship, welcoming support and leading by example comes with responsibility and output of any fiber artist.

Working with fiber and in the fiber arts community is about advancement and sharing to bring people up, not tearing them down. Always encouraging genuine growth, artistic integrity and teachable moments, the fiber arts exhibition at the MAC is an opportunity to experience positive inclusion, creative expression and economic enterprise in art.

If you are thinking ahead, the theme for 2016 is “Material Measurement — Magnitude, Meaning & Makers.”

Each year on Saturday

from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., we have an action-packed Fiber Arts Extravaganza full of free educational demonstrations, handson engagement for all ages and Fiber Arts Market. We are thrilled to be at the brand new City of Sequim Civic Center Plaza on the northwest corner of Cedar Street and Sequim Avenue. Visitors will have the opportunity to shop for items from fleece to finished products including apparel, household goods and supplies to create your

own fiber works. Demonstrations vary from spinning yarn, felting, knitting, hooking, weaving and hand-stitching.

Learn more about local artists and fiber-related groups to join our growing and supportive community. Bring your friends and family to discover the many forms of fiber arts and make some new friends, too.

Also on Saturday from noon-3 p.m. come to the “Fostered Fi-

ber” artists’ reception at MAC where you can meet exhibiting artists from near and far who may reveal the stories behind their elaborate work.

On Sunday, we have workshops by local artists who teach various fiber methods that might include quilting, dyeing, spinning, felting, knitting and creating custom fabrics. These workshops are a great way to try out different fiber arts and discover your talent for color and craft. Visit the website for workshops and locations.

This ongoing annual interactive fiber arts community event is made possible with the assistance of several local fiber arts groups, artists, fiber-friendly businesses and our many community partners including the Clallam County Farm Tour, Sequim Farmers Market and the MAC. It is produced and sponsored by Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond/unique as you with cosponsor North Olympic Shuttle & Spindle Guild, our local spinning and weaving guild.

Excellent volunteers make this community event possible and we are grateful for their fostering natures and fiber arts talents.

Visit our website for more details and how you can participate at FiberArtsFestival.org Renne Emiko BrockRichmond, director of the North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival

2015 Events Friday, Oct. 2

■ First Friday Art Walk Sequim “Fostered Fiber — Remembrance, Remnants & Mentors” Fiber Arts Exhibition 5-8 p.m. Museum & Arts Center at 175 W. Cedar St.

Saturday, Oct. 3

■ Fiber Arts Extravaganza at the City of Sequim Civic Center Plaza at 152 W. Cedar St. Open 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

■ Demonstrations of fiber processes in action.

■ North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival Fiber Arts Market with locally produced fiber goods.

■ Fiber Arts Exhibition “Fostered Fiber — Remembrance, Remnants & Mentors” 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Museum & Arts Center at 175 W. Cedar St. ■ Artists’ Opening Reception noon-3 p.m. at Museum & Arts Center at 175 W. Cedar St. ■ 19th Annual Clallam County Farm Tour, 10 a.m.4 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 4

■ Instructional Fiber Arts workshops at Museum & Arts Center at 175 W. Cedar St. and various locations.

■ Fiber Arts Exhibition “Fostered Fiber — Remembrance, Remnants & Mentors” 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Museum & Arts Center at 175 W. Cedar St.

Enjoy Farm Day! We invite you to learn about farming in Clallam County as you experience the great local family farms on tour. We’re in our fourth generation and still committed to farming.

HAY • LOGGING SERVICES • SANDBLASTING • NATURAL BEEF

BEKKEVAR FAMILY FARMS

273054 Hwy 101 7 miles East of Sequim

360-683-3655

8 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

HARVEST CELEBRATION 2015

Working together for cleaner waters Bob Simmons, Olympic Region Water Resources Specialist WSU Jefferson and Clallam County Extensions Here on the North Olympic Peninsula we are blessed with beautiful rivers and streams running off the Olympic Mountains on their way to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These waters feed an abundance of wetlands, salt marshes and bays which in turn support a wide range of fish, birds and wildlife. Everything from people, elk and marmots to salmon, oysters and kingfishers depend on clean water and call this place home. These waters also supply us with some of the best drinking water in the world and are the lifeblood for our many local farms.

Over the years in the Dungeness Valley some of this water has been harnessed from the rivers and streams and put to use on our farms, supporting everything from cows and carrots, horses to our beloved lavender. Indeed the bucolic nature of our farming valleys, with beautiful mountains in the background and incredible waterways make this a special place to live. These qualities attract many tourists, as well as an abundance of new households and businesses. All of this use of the landscape has taken some toll on the waters we depend on.

Contaminants from failing septic systems, inadequately maintained livestock (cows and horses), pet waste and wildlife caused the Washington State Department of Ecology to add the Dungeness River and Matriotti Creek to its list of polluted waters due to high levels of fecal coliforms in 1996. Fecal coliform bacteria measurements are used as an indicator that there is fecal matter from people, livestock or wildlife in the water. Fecal matter can carry a host of viruses,

parasites, bacteria and other pathogens. In 2000, the Washington State Department of Health reported increased levels of fecal coliform bacteria in Dungeness Bay near the mouth of the Dungeness River and closed 300 intertidal acres of Dungeness Bay to commercial shellfish harvesting (i.e. oysters and clams) due to fecal coliform bacteria levels exceeding the standard for safe human consumption.

The closure area was expanded by 100 acres in 2001 and again in 2003. These closures not only affect those who harvest shellfish for a living, but also the quality of life for rest of us who depend on and appreciate healthy landscapes and ecosystems.

There are a number of organizations, local governments, tribes and citizen groups dedicated to preserving and improving the health of our landscapes. However, the reality is that it takes all of us taking personal responsibility to do right by the land and our waters. For those of us using septic systems, the county offers free septic system maintenance classes, both in person and online. Farmers can depend on the Clallam Conservation District for advice on how to best manage their landscape for productivity and water quality protection. In some cases the Conservation District can offer a portion of the money needed put some of the recommendations into practice, including septic system repairs. WSU Extension has been in Clallam County since 1915, supporting local agriculture, offering workshops, classes and assistance to farmers and landowners to improve productivity in sustainable ways. For homeowners, one of WSU’s best resources is the Shore Stewards program which provides online guidance for lighter pressure on the landscape, which can be found at shorestewards.wsu. edu. With all of us working together, we can ensure that we have healthy landscapes for us and future generations.

local • wood fired • organic Available

a lder wood bistro

• Apples (many varieties) • Asian Pears • Potatoes & Garlic • Mixed Vegetables • Certified Organic

where where foodies, foodies, farmers, farmers, families families & & friends friends love love to to dine dine

local local fresh fresh seafood, seafood, steak steak & & pizza pizza gluten-free & vegetarian options gluten-free & vegetarian options local local beer beer & & extensive extensive wine wine list list

Selling compost, mulch and topsoil too!

U-Cut Christmas Trees Christmas Greenery Boughs and Wreaths

reservations: 360.683.4321 reservations: 360.683.4321 Thursday through Saturday Tuesday thru Sat for dinner 4:30 to 9 Tuesday thru Sat for dinner4:30 4:30 9 Lunch 11:30 to 3:00 & Dinner to to 8:30

Thanksgiving through Christmas

139 139 West West Alder Alder St, St, Sequim Sequim

225 Gehrke Rd., Port Angeles 591415796

online online at at alderwoodbistro.com alderwoodbistro.com & AlderWoodBistro & AlderWoodBistro

STEVEN JOHNSON

(360) 457-5950

Direct Farm Sales

Farm open to the public during regular business hours