Looks like Winter has truly arrived in Wisconsin, with much of the state digging out from 4 to 18 inches of snow this weekend. While it makes chores and commuting harder, it sure makes the landscape magical! Now is a great time to take some extra moments inside for self-reflection, planning, dreaming and that annually recurring New Year's resolution: SELF CARE.
We've got you. Our 2024 Virtual Winter Conservation Camp topics this year focus on wellness and nurture of self - and we invite you to take an hour in January and February to invest in learning how you can best take care of YOU - the most important resource in your conservation journey.
We're so delighted to be kicking off the series with Laura Fredrickson-Gosewisch of Vital Ground Farm. Laura is a vegetable and flower grower and farm market manager, as well as a licensed Clinical Massage Therapist. Many of us met Laura in August 2023 at a Soil Sisters/WiWiC Field Day in Green County where she was teaching on Body Mechanics for sustainable field labor. We loved her sense of humor and wise advice, and we can't wait to go a little deeper into the topic of nurturing what's within us.
"You are the most vital component of YOUR life! Sustainability is about regeneration, allowing nature to replenish what we take - life requires resources from our body that must be replenished, too," says Laura. "Your body is what propels every aspect of your farm...how much attention do you give to it? Just as depleted soil will not produce healthy crops, we don't do our best work when we are burned out."
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the physical challenges on our farms. Each farm is different, each person is different, but we all work hard (and come back for more, even when we're exhausted). Farming CAN build resilience and longevity, for ourselves and our land together. Being smart about how we use our bodies will ensure our farm's long-term success. When we think about sustainability, how often do we think of it in terms of our choices about ourselves?
As women, we naturally care for and nurture those things we value in our lives, but often we forget about nurturing ourselves. Or even listening to our bodies. By this time of year, many of our aspiring New Year’s Goals may have already failed, and that leaves us wondering how to get to a grounding sense of well being. How do we survive and thrive with all the time and energy everything else is taking?
Come for ideas and strategies on how to start your well-being journey and learn how to detect your overwhelm so you can support yourself. Prioritizing your wellbeing CAN optimize the wellbeing of your farm.
For our February wellness webinar, we'll be up close and personal with Wisconsin Herbal Heroine Jane Hawley Stevens of Four Elements Organic Herbals. Many of us have Four Elements healing teas in our pantries and Jane's tinctures and salves in our medicine cabinets. She has specialized in growing, formulating and utilizing these powerful plants since 1982 and there likely isn't a co-op in the Midwest that doesn't have Four Elements products on their shelves. This is a tremendous opportunity to hear Jane's story and learn from the best.
There are many choices we face each day, which affect our wellbeing. Choosing herbs as our ally can relieve everyday ailments and support our bodies systems, from the heart to the muscles and veins. Jane has gotten to know these plant allies intimately while growing them on her North Freedom farm in the Baraboo Bluffs of Sauk County for decades. We invite you to get to know them, too.
Whatever your background, from beginners to experts, all women are welcome to WiWiC's Winter Conservation Camp and we want to hear your story! These are live and interactive webinars. Feel free to bring your lunch and a friend. Children on laps are always appreciated and S’mores are optional ;)
If you can't make it - sign up anyway! We'll be sure to send you a link to the recorded video and any lists of resources that are shared.