2023 News

In February, results of grant applications to the American Farmland Trust and SARE will be awarded (fingers crossed). If we are lucky, this will provide partial funding for attorney fees for succession/non-profit planning, and the salary for a food forest assistant.

Dalia Fabs-Soto (intern 2022) is returning from February to May to assist with the food forest including helping to coordinate education days and the planting of 270 new plants using the Akira Miyawaki method of re-wilding and community building.

Goats are due to kid beginning February 6th. Kidding season will last through March 10th.  After this season, the plan is to review how best to proceed with the goat herd.

The landscape at the new offices at 622 Eighth St. will begin to be converted to an urban food forest with Elyse Perruchon, owner of Leaf and Lily Gardens, co-leader of Blue Rock Station’s Farm Advisory Board, and a professional garden designer providing a plan that will create an urban version of Blue Rock Station, as well as an outdoor classroom for classes and tours. A solar array will be added in early 2023.

Other Goals

The list seems endless but here are some of the brainstormed ideas:

622 Eighth St. - replace rotted boards in various places, scrape/paint house, install attic roof insulation, design second and third story bathrooms, install solar array, begin food forest, host classes on plant propagation/planting food forests.

Warmke Farm - Increase fencing for pasture rotation, explore humane certification for livestock, sell plants (on site, produce auction, Paw Paw festival), continue to work on the Tiny House, host tours, host monthly dinners, gain one ¾ time employee, expand the food forest project into the existing 33 acres of woodlands, experiment with growing pecan trees, and plant out the West Field food forest. Overall, the plan includes creating enough business activity to begin to put together a revenue stream to sustain the project.

Blue Rock Station - grow the solar education business to $150,000 for 2023, increase consulting opportunities, update textbooks, finish putting the solar installer/design level II book online, add automation to online classes, add an employee (graphic designer), add a legal class to the solar installer curriculum, gain non-profit tax status and lease parts of BRS to the non-profit.

Overall Goal - more down time to be with the dogs (Annie) and for riding a bike plus golf (Jay).

Updates as of January 5th:

• With the purchase of the 622 Eighth Street house in Marietta, the need to move Blue Rock Station into a non-profit status increases.

• Sent email to get an appointment with attorney Tim Kelley to discuss the non-profit process and succession planning.

• Wrote a grant to American Farmland Trust to secure some funding for the non-profit/succession planning.

• Scheduled a meeting with Diane Vaughan, co-president with me of the Women's Peacepower Foundation, to discuss Blue Rock Station taking over the non-profit status. She is in favor of this but nothing has been defined.

• Plan to advertise the two-story wooden playhouse at 622 to see if it's possible to gain some cash from that sale to support the proposed urban food forest project.

• Plans are underway to host a couple of open houses at 622 and a planting day for some of the forest. The dates will be dependent on the trench that is needed for electrical to the proposed solar array at the alley. The first open house will unveil the design created by Elyse under her business, Leaf and Lily Garden Design.

• The money award from the Voinovich Center/LIGHTS project was used to purchase 270 new trees and bushes that will be divided up between the Warmke Farm site and 622. Other items purchased include $2,700 worth of compost.

• The new worker has moved on to South Dakota to work on an oil rig. That's devastating to me, but the universe will provide another kind soul with skill sets that are much needed.

• Dahlia Fabb-Soto (intern 2022) will begin working on the food forest and other projects the first of February.

• Mid-March will be the first tree/bush planting dates.