June 2006 Open House with afternoon seminar on:

Say What? - Improving My Diet Can Slow Global Warming???

Sunday, June 4, 2006

10:00 Overview of CSC and community of Stelle
11:15 Tour of community (Solar & wind applications, gardens, etc…)
12:15 Lunch (Made with garden produce – vegetarian option)
1:30 Seminar (see below)

Afternoon Seminar:
Join Harry Carr for an insightful presentation on how grass based food production can improve our diets, reduce our environmental impact, and - did we really say help slow global warming? Yes we did! And if you don't believe global warming is real - then click here for proof!
Harry Carr's sheep working on a hay bale, with the Stelle community in the background. Note the green meadows in between - meadows that Harry and his family seeded and nursed over the past few years to reach their lush state today.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Harry will describe how animals, primarily ruminants such as sheep and cattle, convert the sun's energy into healthy foods by grazing and digesting nature's storehouse of grasses and legumes. Harry has over a decade of experience converting conventionally farmed land into healthy and diverse meadows capable of feeding his growing flock of sheep. He will describe the health benefits of milk and meat from grass fed animals - for example, how high levels of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids are produced - and much more. Click here for an informative summary of this topic.

If you are interested in how we can make a large scale transition from conventional chemical based agriculture into grass and legume based agriculture and why such a transition is desirable, then you won't want to miss this presentation. Included will be a meadow tour with description of some common grassland plants and the chance to experience firsthand a real sheep farm.

Suggested donation for the entire day including overview, tour, lunch and seminar is $15-$30 – for afternoon seminar only, $10-$20.

Please email us or call 815-256-2204 if you plan on attending
so we can make adequate arrangements for food and space. Thank You --
Click here for directions to Stelle and the CSC building.
Rooms are available at the nearby Greenhouse Bed and Breakfast for those
interested in an overnight stay.

Harry Carr moved to Stelle from New Jersey at age 20, and over the past 30 years has applied his entreprenurial spirit and unlimited energy to a variety of businesses and projects. His contributions have been instrumental in making Stelle what it is today. He and his wife Gwen own and manage About Frames, a Stelle based picture frame making business, and Metalanim Mold Corporation, a plastic mold making business, that together employ over 40 individuals in and around Stelle. Fifteen years ago Harry bought a 40 acre conventional corn and soybean farm one mile from Stelle and after considerable education and experimentation, and with much help from Gwen and their two children, Jonathan and Raya, converted it into an organic grass and legume based farm now known as Mint Creek Farms. Early in that venture a friend gave Harry a few sheep - and now those sheep have multiplied into a flock of 250 plus. In 2005 the Carr family applied for and received organic certification of their farm - no small achievement! In 2003 the Carrs bought the farmland surrounding the Stelle community and subsequently turned it into a lush meadow - which in April and May presents a pleasurable contrast to the bare, not yet planted fields of soybeans and corn that surround it. A recent newcomer to the CSC board of directors, Harry understands the benefits as well as the pitfalls of converting to a grass and legume based farming system and enjoys sharing that knowledge with others.