Tags: Farm Tours

Au Sable Institute Community Lecture and Tour- BUILDING RIGHT, B UILDING GREEN: Sustainable Living on Whidbey Island

City: Coupeville

Thursday October 09, 2008

AU SABLE INSTITUTE COMMUNITY LECTURE AND TOUR

BUILDING RIGHT, BUILDING GREEN:

SUSTAINABLE LIVING ON WHIDBEY ISLAND

Au Sable faculty member Joe Sheldon will lead a discussion/presentation on his recently completed green home. Co-presenting with Dr. Sheldon will be award-winning green designer/builder Ted Clifton of Clifton View Homes and Kelly Keilwitz of Whidbey Sun and Wind: Renewable Energy Systems.

The home has a HERS Index rating of .32 and is a finalist (top 15) for the 2009 national Energy Value Housing Award and the 2009 Green Builder of the Year Award. The house received two of the top awards (most innovative design and landscaping) in the September Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association (SICBA) Built Green Home Tour.

The property is Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. It features two rain gardens and a small restored prairie garden. A tour of the home will follo

Farms around the area of Stanwood and Camano Island will be open for farm tours. Utopia Alpacas on Camano Island will be open the whole weekend for farm visits, petting and feeding alpacas and learning about the camelids.

he fourth annual Whidbey Island Farm Tour, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3-4, the free, self-guided tour encourages awareness and support of local agriculture. The primary goals of the tour are to educate the community about our farms and farm stewardship practices, to promote the benefits of locally grown food, fiber and other products, and to help local farms in their sustainability, marketing and publicity efforts.

Discover the agricultural richness of the northwest corner of Snohomish County and Camano Island where the farms are many and the people friendly, the food fantastic and where you will find an abundance of activities for all ages.

Exhibits, demonstrations, animals, hayrides, produce, pumpkins. Festival hub downtown Stanwood features BBQ, fine art, vendors and crafts, plants and produce, barn dances and live music.

Tour maps available at all venues and with festival sponors.