CFI's Zach Melanson Took this Photo while Hiking at Whaelghinbran Farm
After launching the Pemba trees project with Mbarouk in Tanzania I came back to Canada and founded Community Forests International with Daimen, Zach and Estelle. At first we worked day and night to support the project in Pemba and our efforts were focused solely on helping the rural Tanzanians we’d come to care so much about. Although our work in Pemba was important, we realized that the change needed to be realized through Tanzanians and our first priority there was to assist Pembans in making their own change. Community Forests Pemba was born.
We wanted to do something positive in Canada. We knew we’d never give up our efforts in Pemba but we longed for a CFI project in the region that sparked our love for the forest in the first place – Atlantic Canada’s Acadian Forest. If Pembans could work to heal a degraded landscape and make a living through sustainable fruit and timber harvest why couldn’t Canadians make a sustainable living too? The more we talked with our mentors in the region, the more our ideas took form. Couldn’t we live and work in harmony with nature’s course? Couldn’t we function as responsible parts of a greater environment? Isn’t there a way for our time on this planet to improve rather then harm? We keep hearing it again and again – you’ve got to go talk to Clark and Sue at Whaelghinbran Farm.
- CFI’s Ecological Forestry Course Participants Walk the Woods at Whaelghinbran Farm
Clark and Sue have been living in harmony with their woodlot and farm in Kings County, New Brunswick since the early 70’s. Since then fields have been restored to forests and towering white pines and red spruce mark the landscape. Their farm is nestled in a valley and a sense of wonder fills you once you turn off the highway onto Cedar Camp Road. To go to Whaelghinbran Farm is to time travel. To go to Whaelghinbran Farm is to go back to a time when people moved a little slower, with a little more thought then we do in our internet charged and consumer driven age. To go to Whaelghinbran Farm is to go to a place where people care about their impact on the world and work to make the world a better place. Clark and Sue originally settled as organic farmers in the region and everything they touch bears the mark of master gardeners – even their woods. Clark and Sue weed out low value trees in order to let more valuable and majestic trees grow. They’ve managed to garden a landscape. I remember walking through their woods and watching as an owl flew from tree to tree in the canopy above.
Clark Leading a CFI Workshop out of Whaelghinbran Forest
Since then I’ve come to know Clark and Sue and they’ve become more than mentors for me and CFI. They’re like Grandma and Grandpa Sustainability. Clark and Sue have played a very important role in the organic agriculture movement and I’m sure more than a few people though their approach was “crazy” over the years. They were ahead of their time and struggled financially as “buy local” and “organic” markets were yet to develop. In the 80’s Clark and Sue watched as their house and barn burned to the ground and haven’t been on solid financial footing since.
Clark and Sue have been working with a local land trust in order to conserve their property and have asked the CFI team if we could carry their torch and continue their legacy. We are honoured that they thought us up to the task and have been working for over a year to make succession a reality. Now Clark and Sue are depending on CFI to help them retire and ensure their lifetime of work serves to teach other Canadians the importance of sustainability.
Sitting Across the Table From Clark
We’re all excited by the opportunity but have been faced with the challenge of a lifetime. In April of 2011, while I was in Tanzania I received word that Clark was in the hospital and I realized how real the need was. I felt helpless and lacked financial resources – their was nothing I could do. Luckily Clark recovered but health complications have made future farming for the couple out of the question. In order to make ends meet approximately 350 acres have already been divided and sold and it’s been heartbreaking. We need to work to make sure that we can work together to save the remaining 580 acres. To date we’ve raised over $50,000, which is more than our organization’s entire 2010 annual budget but we’ve got a long road ahead. Thanks to the support of a generous anonymous donor, all donations made up until December 25th will be matched. I urge you to make a contribution in order to conserve this property. I believe in Whaelghinbran Farm and I hope we can save this place so you can come to believe in Whaelghinbran too. For more information about how you can get involved please visit our save the farm campaign page.
- Jeff Schnurr, Executive Director for Community Forests International
Endangered Forests – Saving Whaelghinbran Farm from Community Forests International on Vimeo.
Every dollar donated up until December 25th will be matched by an Anonymous donor!
