Event Details
When:
-
-
Location:
Tours begin at Cloud Mountain Farm Center and Nursery in Everson.
Destinations:
Spring Time Farm
Broad Leaf Farm
Breckenridge Blueberries and Probably Shouldn't Distillery
Qihe Mushrooms
Price:
$80 PP
Brought to you by:
Sustainability Engagement Institute, WWU Alumni Office, Bike Northwest
Description
Get to know your local farmers and food system as we visit Everson’s finest growers and producers by bike on August 4th and August 11th! Tour includes private farmstead visits, meet and greets with local agriculturalists, and a farm-to-table dinner featuring hyper fresh + local ingredients from farms visited along our ride.
Trip Difficulty:
Intermediate
Mileage & Terrain:
15 miles across on rural roads with wide shoulders and relatively flat terrain
200 ft elevation gain
Age Range:
Adults and teens
Minors must be accompanied by a supervising adult
Trip Length:
6 hours
Our ride starts at Cloud Mountain Farm Center & Nursery. We’ll meet with the farm manager to learn about local food systems and innovation happening in our local farming sector. From there, we’ll pedal to Spring Time Farm to see the 15 acres of organic vegetables supplying the Community Co-op and a number of other local food hubs with fresh produce. Then we’ll be on our way to Broad Leaf Farm, where farmer Dusty will show us his fields of strawberries, cabbage, red and gold beets, purple asparagus, sweet and hot peppers, and garlic.
It wouldn’t be a proper ride throughout Everson’s rich agricultural farmland without a visit to one of the many blueberry farms that characterize the region’s fruit production. At Breckenridge Blueberries and Probably Shouldn’t Distillery, we’ll pick blueberries, tour the farm, and enjoy a tasting of their small-batch homemade whiskey. Last farm stop: Qihe Mushrooms. We’ll learn about the art and science of mushroom production from a family who’s travelled across the world to bring their love of mushrooms to Whatcom County.
Our ride will finish where we started, at Cloud Mountain Farm Center, for a farm-to-table meal pulling together the flavors, ingredients, and produce witnessed firsthand throughout our ride.
Tour Provider: Bike Northwest's mission is to explore food systems, landscapes, culinary heritage and natural environments in the Pacific Northwest via hands-on learning, exchange of ideas and regional discovery.
Featuring:
Elizabeth Hayes, Speaker
Elizabeth Hayes was raised in research grain fields and greenhouses in the Willamette Valley, and have worked in food and farm systems in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade. Her introduction to the Whatcom farm landscape was as a Political Science undergrad at Western Washington, where she worked with rural youth in food justice and land access. She professionalized her love of plants and soils with a B.S. in Crop Science/Agronomy from Oregon State, and worked with just about everything one can grow in the northwest—fat lambs, cereal crops, seed crops, orchards, vineyards. Her favorite part of working at CMFC is the staff; second favorite is getting to the Shipova and Peach Plums in the orchard first when they ripen. Outside of work she's constantly flanked by three to four bad dogs who love mud and mischief and keep her exploring mountains, logging roads, rivers, or wherever weekends take them.
Lindsey MacDonald, Speaker
Lindsey MacDonald is the Associate Director at Western Washington University’s Sustainability Engagement Institute where she administers a Climate Leadership Certificate program, teaches sustainability courses, and supports the university in transitioning to a more sustainable campus, including in our food systems. She is passionate about engaging students in real-world, hands-in-the-soil work to address the climate crisis. Lindsey holds a Master of Science in Conservation Ecology from the University of Michigan.
Accommodations and Other Details
Contact the WWU Alumni Office if you have questions. Feel free to email Alumni@wwu.edu or call (360) 650-3353.
Advance notice for disability accommodations and special needs is greatly appreciated. Please indicate your special needs on the registration form.
The bicycle tours begin at Cloud Mountain Farm Center and Nursery, 6906 Goodwin Road in Everson. Park just past the nursery in a small field on the left. There will be directional signs to the parking area.