Day 2 Traverse City, Suttons Bay, and Benzie County | Michigan Ecovillages and Intentional Communities Tour

10AM – SEEDS Tour. We will visit the EcoCorps Workshop and Historic Barns Park, in Traverse City. SEEDS Senior Philanthropy Officer Ryan Buck will give a tour and guests will learn about the many initiatives SEEDS is working on in the Grand Traverse area. https://ecoseeds.org/

Time permitting or later on your own, visit Leo Creek Preserve at Sutton's Bay. https://leocreekpreserve.com/ LUNCH – on your own.

1:00 to 2:00PM – Grow Benzie Tour GrowBenzie is a rural prosperity incubator, with a four acre campus at 5885 Frankfort Highway, Benzonia, MI 49616. GrowBenzie works to accelerate the impact of grassroots projects, small-scale non-profits, and food and farming enterprises. Facilities include a community garden, hoop houses for extending the growing season, an incubator kitchen, a sewing studio, plus office and meeting spaces. Campus Manager Jessica Gilbert will talk about the organization and lead a brief tour.

2:30 to 3:15 PM. OPTIONAL if enough people register in time: Visit Benzie County Biochar enthusiast Paul May, at his Adam's Road Farm near Frankfort. Paul will demonstrate his portable biochar generator, and explain how the biochar is produced. Visitors will be invited to take away a bag of pre-prepared biochar, up to 1 cubic foot, which they can blend into their own yard and garden, to experiment for themselves with the beneficial effects of this soil amendment.

4:00 to 5:30PM – Telford Farm Intentional Community Tour At Telford Farms, we will meet at 3250 E Winberie Lane, Cedar MI 49621. Resident Dan Krumlauf will lead our discussion and tour. We will learn about how the group was formed, and its land-use planning, operating agreement, and consensus based decision-making processes. This intentional community incorporates a straw-and-clay construction material, and includes both solar hot water and photovoltaic systems. See https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064254566464.

DINNER Guests are invited to gather at Food Club Restaurant, Brewery, Bakery, Farm Market, and more, at 10051 Lake Leelanau Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684. Expect a tour of the restaurant and an explanation of the various business efforts underway there. We will discuss any and all kinds of innovation successes in Traverse City, with local leaders making presentations about their activites.