The Cresset Center

The Cresset Center for Ecology, Agriculture and the Arts is a non-profit cultural center and historic farmstead dedicated to inspiring the ecological and social imagination of the people of the Northern Front Range by creating a sanctuary for bio-diverse agriculture, wildlife, community education and the arts. The Henry H. Uhrich Farm is located in eastern Larimer County, Colorado, near the town of Johnstown, and features 120 acres of mixed topography that rests on a ridge with extraordinary views of the Front Range and beautiful, native prairie grasslands in the valley along the banks of the Big Thompson River. With 60 acres of tillable soil and 60 acres of mixed pasture, wetlands and bluffs, the land has been farmed Biodynamically and/or Organically for the last twenty-two years, producing rye, barley, corn, alfalfa, hemp and vegetables. The farm also has a small flock of sheep.

The Cresset Center’s mission is to promote, preserve and educate folks on the ethics of long-term conservation and stewardship of unique farmlands and cultural landmarks like the Uhrich Farm, and to create a working, sustainable agricultural enterprise using the holistic and mindful concepts of Organic and Biodynamic farming. By using the historic farmstead as a practical laboratory for eco-friendly building and landscape design, land and wildlife habitat conservation, while also providing a community center and educational resources for alternative ideas of farming, ecology, spirituality and the arts, the hope is the center will endure far into the future and present a model for a more natural, organic and humane modern farm.

Faced with the sometimes overwhelming encroachment and economic pressure of sprawling suburban development, loss of rural open space, farms, farmers, and their culture of self-reliance, Colorado’s Front Range is a prime example of the negative incentives and destructive forces at work in the modern economy. Combined with the domination of industrialized, chemically based agricultural practices, spiraling congestion, traffic and pollution on an unprecedented scale, and the ever increasing effects of climate change on the weather and seasons, we’re at a crossroads of the past and the future, and we must act now to create the most livable and ethical future we can imagine, for ourselves, our children, and their children. Initiatives like the Cresset Center present the most positive kind of action plan to align us with natural forces and systems, while bringing together new ideas and people, and working to build fellowship and community. Please consider supporting this very special and inspirational place.

For more information:

Dana Burns, dalycabu@yahoo.com

Robert Karp, robert.karp@newspiritventures.com