Willow Run Acres
The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North and other clubs in Rotary District 6380 are partnering with T.C. Collins on a garden at Vestergaard Farms.
Video About Willow Run Acres
Update June 15, 2021:
The project is rapidly developing and progressing. We are scaling back to $5000 total with a grant due date of June 15:
- TC Collins is amazing an impressive array of partners.
- The partnership between Vestergard and Willow Run Acres is flourishing
- The City of Ann Arbor has funded the construction of the first 50 raised beds. They are constructed within a budget that was being stretched by rising prices.
- Another 50 beds are planned when prices come down once more.
- Willow Run Acres has a grant request in to the US Department of Agriculture for a hoop house. We could help fund that next year.
- The current ask is for $4995 for the largest Farm Bot. Watch the video here: FarmBot | Open-Source CNC Farming
Video About FarmBot
We are funding a FarmBot.
Sources:
Ann Arbor $500
Dexter $250
Saline $250
Milan $250
M36 $100
Lee Halstead $200
Fowlerville $710
Ann Arbor North $1000 (min)
Yet Needed $73 (Scott Nelson will write a donation check to the RCAAN Foundation)
Update December 17, 2020:
At the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North Lunch Meeting T.C. Collins from Willow Run Acres of Ypsilanti was our speaker. T.C. Collins is the founder of Willow Run Acres. T.C. started gardening and farming at 2-3 years old with his great great grandparents. As a descendant of former slaves, the legacy of farming and gardening has been preserved in his family along with other often lost traditions. His Southern roots gave him an appreciation for green space and he has been living "organically" since before it was popular. TC manages Many gardens and farms through out Michigan and Ohio.
T.C. told the club, that Willow Run Acres is a nonprofit organization located in Ypsilanti, Michigan who educates the community and other local surrounding counties with hands-on gardening experiences, gardening classes, gardening education, annual Potato Day, wellness ventures, and sustainability in a holistic & healthy approach within the community starting at toddlers through seniors.
Willow Run Acres offers educational/gardening classes for all skills/age levels, garden safety classes, yearly Potato Day Programs, food distribution, service the community with weekly/monthly clean-up sessions, gardening wellness sites, role modeling/mentor opportunities, and other community engagements.
T.C. is preparing raised garden beds in which he and volunteers plant vegetables, that when grown, he gives to the needy.
T.C. Collins with children
FarmBot Genesis