Field Trips
For any questions please call Jill at 406-741-5323 or 406-531-6813 cell.
BACKYARD GEOSCAPED NURSERY, 614 2nd Ave SOUTH, Hot Springs MT Friday September 1, 9:00am-10:15am
SPIRITWORKS HERB FARM, Whitefish, MT, Friday Sept. 1, 9am prompt-10:30 am and/or 10:30 am -12:00pm
URBAN PERENNIAL HOPMESTEAD, Polson, MT - Friday, September 1, 10:00 am to 11:00 am and 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
VALHALLA FARM, Hot Springs, MT - Friday September 1, 10:30-12:00pm
THE PLACE OF GATHERING, Dayton, MT - Friday, September 1, 1:30-3:30pm
THE WET SPOT, Hot Springs, MT - Friday, September 1, 4:30-6:00pm
BACKYARD GEOSCAPED NURSERY 614 2nd Ave SOUTH, Hot Springs MT Friday September 1, 9:00am-10:15am
Nina’s urban backyard nursery is geoscaped in response to the conditions of her site. A large amount of surface water flows across the landscape in her yard in a short amount of time, however the landscape later in the year is desert dry. By creating inverted hugels and pit gardens, Nina has managed the ground water in a way that it can be utilized much more effectively and longer into the dry season. Onsite is a nursery, several mature fruit trees, and bushes. Demonstrations include fall pruning and properly digging a tree for transplant. Nina has trees to share from her nursery for donation (green ash, maple, elm, honeysuckle, mock orange, etc.) Nina DeCoster 741-2063
Driving Time: 3 minutes Walking time: 15 minutes Approximately .5 miles
From Towanda, head south (toward downtown) on Spring Street and proceed approximately 3.5 blocks to Central Ave (one block past Main Street). Take a right onto Central Ave (West) and proceed 5 blocks to Eagle Lane and take a left (south), Proceed two blocks to Second Ave South and take a Right (west). Meet your host part way down the block in front of the garden.
SPIRITWORKS HERB FARM, Whitefish, MT, Friday Sept. 1, 9am prompt-10:30 am and/or 10:30 am -12:00pm
SpiritWorks is a medicinal herb farm in their 4th season. Visit the 63 foot herbal mandala, which holds the energetics of this sustainable venture including farming, learning, growing health cultivating the desire in people to reconnect with nature and sustainable living values. Check out SpiritWork’s Retreat Center and Campground designed for people to visit and immerse themselves in a nature based lifestyle that builds health. To meet requirements of the department of health for wholesaling herbs out of state, SpiritWorks retrofitted a 24 foot cargo van into an herb dehydrator and commercial kitchen. They are drying over 100 pounds of herbs in 36-48 hours! If you love it and want to return and learn about growing herbs, SpiritWorks is offering an immersion internship program in 2018 (minimum 3 months).
Driving time: 1 hour 23 minutes from Hot Springs, Distance: 76 miles (SpiritWorks is located north of Kalispell and south of Whitefish off Highway 93)
Directions: From Hot Springs take the HWY 77 spur out to HWY 28 and turn Left (North) toward Lone Pine. Drive north for approximately 27.7 miles and take a Left (North) onto HWY 93. Head North on HWY 93 for approximately 46 miles. You will have just passed a gas station on the right, go one block, make a u-turn at the end of the divided highway to go south on 93, then make a right turn, west off 93 onto Hideaway Trail (immediately after a lamppost and the beginning of the divided highway); go down the hill, up the hill, at the top of the hill turn right - this is the driveway to SpiritWorks
Camping onsite is available for folks who would like to camp out Thursday night. Please contact Lindy at 406 260-7098.
URBAN PERENNIAL HOMESTEAD, Polson, MT Friday, September 1, 10:00 am to 11:00 am and 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Kelly Ware, our host will be available for two separate tours, each approximately an hour or less each. Details forthcoming.
Our host, Kelly Ware, has an urban perennial spread in Polson including a variety of fruit trees, berries, grapes, comfrey, hops, bulbs, ext. She is offering a U-Dig to her visitors. Bring your boxes as Kelly has lots to share from her garden to yours…comfrey, mountain bluet, poppies, lemon balm, mints, Jerusalem artichokes, sumac (salmon & normal), choke cherries, plums… Each tour will be about an hour or less.
From Hot Springs take the HWY 77 spur out to HWY 28 and turn Left (North) toward Lone Pine. Drive north for approximately 27.7 miles and take a right (South) onto HWY 93. Proceed for approximately 17 miles and drive into Polson. Turn right toward 3rd avenue East, Turn onto 3rd Ave E. Turn left onto 6th Street East and proceed to the intersection of 4th Ave East.
601 4th Ave E. Polson, MT Northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street just a block off the Hwy above the park by the bay. Kelly Ware 406-314-3808
VALHALLA FARM, Hot Springs, MT Friday September 1, 10:30-12:00pm
Valhalla Farm is a small, diverse, livestock & dairy operation/homestead on the edge of Hot Springs and the edge of Hot Springs Creek. Our animals are seasonally pastured, fed organic hay, Montana grown organic lentils and grains, milk surplus from the jerseys and goats, and a splash of overflow beer from one of Montana’s finest breweries. We sell our products at the Clark Fork Farmer’s Market in Missoula MT with a farm to fork stand serving a poutine dish, biscuits and gravy, and sausages. All of the meat products come from Valhalla, the cheese curds come from Lifeline Organic Dairy in Victor, MT and the organic safflower oil for frying the potatoes is grown and processed at the Oil Barn in Big Sandy, MT. We also sell frozen pork and yak cuts at the Whitefish Farmer’s Markets. We produce all of the milk, cream, butter, goat cheese, and meat that our family consumes. We have a medicinal perennial garden where we are learning which shrubs and trees will survive the extreme heat/draught, and heavy locust pressures of the area. We plan to turn our pastures (approximately 11 acres) into a silvopasture system capturing and distributing water with a series of keyline infrastructure and swales. The pasture in between the tree belts will graze our yaks, dairy cows, pigs, and fowl. Come sample some homemade cheese, meet the characters adding fertility to the farm, learn from our experiments, and hear about 2018 plans for a walipini (in ground greenhouse/bathhouse). The riparian area (approximately 7 acres) is host to the Ravenwood weekend children’s camp.
NO DOGS. Our livestock are protected from coyotes, bears, mountain lions, skunks, and the occasional wolf pack by two Maremma Abruze livestock guardian dogs and they take their job extremely seriously. They are very people friendly!!!
13 Hot Springs Creek Lane
Driving time: 5 minutes Walking time: 20 minutes Approximately .7 miles
From Towanda, head south (toward downtown) on Spring Street and proceed approximately 3.5 blocks to Central Ave (one block past Main Street). Take a right (West) and proceed approximately .5 miles to the end of Central Ave. Take a right onto Hot Springs Creek Lane (dirt road), cross the creek and greet the dogs!
THE PLACE OF GATHERING, Dayton, MT Friday, September 1, 1:30-3:30pm
The Place of Gathering was host to a PDC in 2012 lead by Michael Pilarski and a large scale earthworks permaculture project directed by Austria’s Sepp Holzer. Katarina Hirsch, our host, has graciously invited us back to tour and visit the miles of hugelkultures, ponds, and raised beds planted with perennials and reseeding annuals installed 5 years ago.
24606 Black Lake Rd, Dayton MT 59914
Driving time 36 minutes , 37.5 miles.
From Hot Springs take the HWY 77 spur out to HWY 28 and turn Left (North) toward Lone Pine. Drive north for approximately 27.7 miles and take a Left (North) onto HWY 93. Proceed approximately 5.1 miles and take a left onto Black Lake Road. The entrance is approximately .8 miles from 93. Park to the right in the field where indicated and walk up to the main (2nd) house. Katarina Hirsch, our host will meet us there!
THE WET SPOT, Hot Springs, MT Friday, September 1, 4:30-6:00pm.
Come cool your thirst with a green juice made from weeds growing onsite and check out the backyard permaculture happenings in the shade dappled understory of poplars on Hot Springs Creek. Amanda’s gardens include fruit trees, berries, mushrooms, annual vegetables, and medicinal herbs. And she heats her dishwater with her compost pile! Spring of 2017 flooded the property for several days and surprisingly many of the completely submerged fruit trees and perennials resiliently came out with a flourish. Bring a baggie or two as Amanda plans a seed dispersal into the hands of other permies!
Distance: 2 blocks
Travel Time: 5 minutes walking.
Park at Towanda or Alamedas and walk east one block along either First Street N or Second Street N, take a right (South) onto A Street. The Wet Spot is on the corner of A Street and First Street across from the Mason Lodge. There is very limited to no parking on site. Meet our host Amanda Wood there.