Today marks the halfway point of our Kickstarter Fundraiser; we have reached $5397.  Thanks to our 40 backers!  If you know someone that would be interested in supporting our project, please encourage them to help us by clicking here.  We need $3600 more to hit our goal of $9000 or else we receive nothing.  Please help and pass this on via email, word of mouth, Facebook, and any other way possible.  On April 24th, when we reach our goal, we will order everything we need and start breaking ground for the beds.  This project is designed to educate about sustainable agriculture, local food networks, and water conservation.  We will have WWOOFers, 1 intern from Prescott college, 2 interns from NAU, the Sustainability Club from ASU, the Sustainable Botany Class at NAU, and high school students from Northland Preparatory Academy and Upward Bound volunteering from April through June.  This project will help educate these students, promote a more sustainable way of living, and allow them to get hands on experience.  If you have any interest in visiting or helping please contact us at flagstaffecoranch@gmail.com.

You can also help the EcoRanch via our Intuit Fundraiser.  This fundraiser is separate from the Kickstarter and only requires a click to vote for us.  You can vote everyday or vote from multiple computers!  If we get this grant, we will be putting it towards STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) projects such as greenhouse design/building or bike powered energy.

Aside from our fundraisers, a lot has been happening on site.  We had the first two WWOOFers of the season, Nicole and Tianna, arrive last week.  They have been extremely helpful in digging swales in the front field.  These will slow water runoff so it infiltrates back into the ground.  They have planted bulbs, flowers, onions, got our starts going, and helped in finishing the fourth hugelkulture.  When it finally warms up and stops snowing, we will plant potatoes, lentils, and summer savory in that fourth hugelkulture.  We have 800 starts of vates kale and 200 of lettuce, thyme, chard, dill, and squash.  There is some lacinato kale planted in the hoop house and more trays are on their way so we can get peas, beans, more kale, and a bunch of herbs and medicinal plants started.  Because of the short growing season, we need to have as many plants ready to go at the end of May, beginning of June.

The golden mean beehive, made from Ponderosa Pine locally milled at AP Sawmill, is also ready to go; just finished today.  Despite the cold wind and my poor carpentry skills, it looks pretty good and I think next week when the bees arrive, they will be happy to have a home.  We are going to start them in Cottonwood or Camp Verde where it is warmer and they will have access to more pollen, then bring them up here in June or July.