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WINDHORSE FARM: AN EXPERIMENT IN ECOFORESTRY AND ORGANIC GARDENING
160 YEARS OF CAREFUL MANAGEMENT

Windhorse Farm, in the LaHave River watershed, includes drumlins, steep hillsides, and valley bottom land. It is 85% forested. A rich biological diversity exists in mature all-aged mixed forests, treed swamps and meadow wetlands, as well as orchards, fields, pastures, and patch gardens. This woodlot-farm borders the LaHave River and includes the Sweetwater Brook watershed and its many tributaries.

The "farm" began about 160 years ago when Conrad Wentzell, a descendant of an 18th century German immigrant, came here and "cut a hole in the forest". It remained in the care of the Wentzell family until 1990. During that time, logging was done almost every year, and yet the standing volume of timber remained stable. Trees were selected for harvest either individually or in patches of two to six dominant trees; logs were removed from the woodlot with horses or oxen. The result of this forestry, to date, is a very healthy, diverse woodlot with trees of all ages including very old and large hemlock, pine, maple, birch, spruce, beech, ash, and oak. It sustains a great variety and abundance of smaller plants and animals as well.

In 1990, the farm changed stewardship, becoming Windhorse Farm. Forestry practices have remained the same and farming is inspired by the natural processes in the forest. "Bringing the richness of nature back to the farm" is a priority here. This is being accomplished by extensive use of patch planting, brush walls, forest-based mulch and compost, and wetland restoration.

A FAMILY FOOD AND WOOD BUSINESS

Windhorse Farm is a family adventure. It is small-scale, diversified, and labour-intensive. Many people work and play here, including family members, full-time employees, residents, interns, students, and guests. A wide variety of food and wood products is "produced" for on-farm use and for sale in the local market. We add as much value as possible before selling anything; our goal is to maximize the "money-to-biomass ratios" for anything exported from the farm, thus providing employment for the local community and retaining the natural wealth of the forest, as much as possible.

Most of the food which grows on the farm is consumed here by people or other animals; however, honey, eggs, ghee, and a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits is sold, usually from the farm gate. The kitchen is an active processing centre offering a continual abundance of seasonal cooking as well as products for sale.

Forestry, and the sale of wood products, is responsible for most of the farm income. The woodlands are managed accordingly to very strict ecoforestry principles. Harvest selection is done in the fall, followed by logging with horses in the winter. During spring and summer, logs are sawed into lumber using a portable bandsaw mill in the woodlot. The lumber is taken from the woodlot to be air-dried in our drying yards or kiln-dried in the wood-fired dehumidification kiln. The woodworking shop is busy all year finishing hardwood and softwood lumber and manufacturing flooring, wainscoting, moulding, cutting boards, and furniture.

THE ECOFORESTRY SCHOOL

Windhorse Farm is also the setting for The Maritime Ecoforestry School which offers education and training in various aspects of "sustainable" forestry. A series of short-courses is available, as well as longer-term residency programs.

NATURAL PATCHINESS

Nature exists in small interdependent patches through time and space. However, our notions of efficiency often lead us to enlarge commercially exploitable patches in our farms and forests; in the process, we reduce or eliminate those parts of nature for which we have no "use." One result of this "monoculture mentality" is the loss of sustainability of natural ecosystems, of home economies, and of rural communities.

However, even if we accept and adopt the wisdom of patchiness in farming and forestry, questions arise as to patch size, configuration, composition, and rotation. At Windhorse Farm and The Ecoforestry School, these questions motivate our experimentation. The guiding principle, which we have experienced to be true, is that diversity promotes sustainability and simplicity undermines it. Discovering the practical details is what life is about in this woodlot-farm which was once part of a vast natural forest.

WELCOME TO OUR EXPERIMENT

You are invited to join in the Windhorse Farm experiment by coming for a tour, participating in existing or new research programs, living at the farm as student, intern or resident staff, or marrying one of our family members. Please ask us for details about these opportunities.

By foot or by horse drawn wagon or sled, tours of gardens, wetlands, and woodlands are available most days, however reservations are necessary. Learn about the natural processes of forest life, and view the practices and results of ecoforestry. Nearby examples of clearcutting, "silviculture," highgrading, and plantation management are available for viewing and comparing.