Red Osier Dogwood in the foreground Hi Friends! As we head ever closer to winter, I want to share something I found which could help many of us to be more resilient in our lives. As most of you know by now, we practice permaculture principles here at the Sanctuary, which involves finding ways to live more sustainably. woodland trail For quite a few years I have been interested in ...
I recently realized that I haven't posted a picture of the finished bridge for those of you who haven't made it out yet this summer. We are still hoping to put some finishing touches on it to pretty it up some, but it is a good sturdy bridge that has been working well for us. Bridge over the Swan Creek Bridges are a way of getting from one place to another, and are ...
A unique aspect of Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary and Farm is that we incorporate our spiritual practices with the day to day aspects of caring for the land and creating resilient systems. Sometimes it feels like a lot of balls in the air to juggle community building, ecosystem reparations, seasonal celebrations, and farm work. The mission of our nonprofit is extensive to be sure.To that end, the degree to which we can develop each of these aspects of ...
There are a few things I've been working on over the last few months. One has been to continue my education on how to run a nonprofit, through my own research and reading. Along with that, I put in an application to a mentorship program offered by the Wallace Center’s Food Systems Leadership Network. This is a program for those working in nonprofits dealing with Community Food Systems specifically, but covers topics that are helpful for any ...
I thought, just for fun, you might like to see the very first announcement we put out about Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary. Doug Pierce invited me to share his vending table at the Ann Arbor Pagan Pride Day in 2018, and I handed out these flyers to folks. Doug had already agreed to be on the CHFS board with the Cavanaughs if we thought there would be enough interest from the community. I also gathered contact ...
Crossing Hedgerows Farm is the Cavanaugh family farm which is adjacent to the Sanctuary land. It is currently also being shared with the community as part of the nonprofit mission. So sometimes you will see us refer to "Crossing Hedgerows Farm and Sanctuary". One of the aspects of the farm is the hoop house. It is a 30'x72' structure that we use for year-round growing and we keep some of our chickens in it during the winter ...
Back in November of 2019, we celebrated the official beginning of Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary as a nonprofit. In the year prior, the board members had gone through a course on Effective Collaboration together which helped us craft our vision and mission statements, as well as learn how to work together as a group. It gave us a firm foundation for going forward, and we made the leap to go through the process of becoming a nonprofit. We ...