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When: Wednesday, July
14th, 2010 - 6:30 PM
Who: John Henrikson
has co-owned this farm since 1987 with three other brothers, although he is
the only one who lives there. John and his brothers' aim is to have a working farm with many developed markets using
the "extended" family model (neighbors and friends) to help pull
that off. Value-added lumber production, hosting workshops on
forestry and landscape management, renting out the facility as an
"eco-retreat" are among the diverse sources of income that keep
the farm financially viable. As a software developer, John has created
several programs that track his trees from live standing inventory in the
forest through to finished lumber production, along with an analysis of
costs and profitability along the way.
What: If you have visited this farm in
a previous tour, there are many new developments to see, especially with
the lumber business. There are several new climate-controlled rooms for
lumber storage and sales. The lumber milling and curing process has been
refined and expanded and there are lots of tips to share with those who are
curious about the possibilities for producing their own lumber.
Some innovative land management approaches include:
Carbon farming - modifying the Forest Stewardship Plan to simultaneously
maximize carbon sequestration, biodiversity, timber volume and quality.
Pemaculture/Agroforestry -
integrating forestry with agriculture in complex, multi-story
designed landscapes with nut and fruit bearing trees and shrubs - greatly
expanded in the past few years.
Riparian restoration on a 5.5 acre creek bottom - now in its tenth year -
see the success (and failures!) of planting trees in old pasture.
WHERE: South of Oakville in
eastern Grays Harbor. Those
wishing to carpool will meet at the Park and Ride on the East side
of I-5 exit # 88 for departure at 6 PM sharp. For those driving
directly to the Farm: FROM CENTER OF OAKVILLE: Go south
at the Post Office on State Street in Oakville; zero your odometer; at 1.8
miles (over bridge) turn left on Garrard Creek Rd; at 3.0 miles turn left
on Mattson Rd; at 3.5 miles (over small
bridge) turn right at 72 Mattson Rd into the Wild Thyme farm.
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