The Woolwich Climate Action group is hosting a walking tour for farmers at an undisclosed farm location on August 25.
The day will be a chance for farmers to get together and talk about sustainability and climate actions on their farms, by talking to a farmer who has already done a lot of experimenting and implementing sustainability and climate actions on his property.
The event is called “Farmers Talking: Harvesting Nature’s Energy.” The day will cover geothermal energy, electric equipment, photovoltaics and windbreaks.
The walking tour begins at 10:30 a.m. and will last until approximately 12:30. At this point, lunch will be provided.
The event is free to attend. Those interested can register on the woolwich.ca website or by calling township customer service at 519-514-7000.
Sandra Bray is a volunteer with Woolwich Township Climate Action and helped organize the event. The group’s driving purpose is to help people reduce their carbon emissions and produce clean energy through all sectors of society.
“With those two goals in mind, we’re trying to appeal to the public here, our public, but also different sectors of our public like the business section, the farming section, agriculture, retail. So what I get to do, and Ann Roberts who I work with is just great, I get to dream up events,” said Bray.
This event is aimed at farmers, and is modeled after the group’s popular Talk to an Owner events, which give people thinking of adopting new technologies a chance to speak with others who have real-world experience to share.
Bray said a lot of the organization’s events take the form of giving the people a chance to speak directly with others who have already been making sustainability and climate-related changes, such as the previous Talk to an Owner event that gave people a chance to meet owners of electric vehicles and e-bikes, or another event that gave people the chance to take a tour of a home which the owners had transformed into a net-zero home. She says it’s a format that works well.
Bray says she and Roberts thought farmers might want a chance to meet with a farmer who has already tried multiple sustainable methods on his farm.
“Farmers might be interested to talk to someone who’s done it,” she said.
She hopes farmers will get together and share their ideas and visions for the future, because farmers’ jobs are already changing with the climate. Bray says predictions for this area include more erratic rainfall and increased heat, among other changes.
Bray says she’s really looking forward for the chance for the farming and non-farming communities to come together. “I think there is widespread appreciation and esteem for our local farming community than they might realize.”
