LAND & COMMUNITY PARTNERS
We work at Finnriver with a community-minded group of farmers and organizations to share ground, equipment, resources and outreach opportunities. The Finnriver Farm Collaborative works together to grow vibrant agricultural and conservation partnerships through research, restoration and education.
Our common purpose is to explore and model how land and resource conservation, organic farming, and community-oriented rural enterprise can all work and thrive together. You can learn more about this collaborative and the good work of these partners on a self-guided farm walk or on one of our summer Orchard Tours.
Chimacum Valley Grainery
Several farm endeavors have emerged and evolved from the original seed of Finnriver Farm. Finnriver co-founder Keith Kisler comes from a wheat-farming family in Eastern WA and brought this heritage to the Chimacum Valley. After spending over ten years helping the cidery get fermenting, and in response to pandemic insights into regional food system resilience, Keith has shifted his full focus to growing, stonemilling, baking and malting local organic grains. The Grainery is growing climate-adapted whole grains with ‘heart & soil,’ while reducing the distance between land and loaf. They offer a range of products including organically grown, fresh-milled flours, pastas and baked goods.
Roots of Resilience Project
Works to grow racial equity and community resilience in rural Jefferson County. We seek to generate additional layers of support for people who are not traditionally centered, especially affirming opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC) or People of the Global Majority (PGM), including businesses and community members. We collaborate on grassroots efforts created by and for frontline communities, including small farmers, racial justice organizations, and food access/food sovereignty projects. In short, we work to create more spaces where people have a sense of interrelatedness and belonging. Some of our impact in the community is detailed below:
- Over $180,000 in rent and utilities assistance in a partnership with
Olympic Community Action Programs(OlyCap). - 16,000 pounds of produce grown and distributed by Goosefoot Farmers (est. $27,150).
- $31,000 in infrastructure for Goosefoot Farms and CSA pick-up location.
- 93 Local farms connected through the Jeffco Growers Network.
- Project support services to local, small businesses.
- $54,000 in fellowship support for local farmers, leaders, artists, and community members.
- $40,000 of support for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) owned restaurants through a partnership with Northwest Harvest.
Organic Seed Alliance (OSA)
Leading education, research and advocacy to advance organic seed, the Organic Seed Alliance manages four acres of field production and research at Finnriver. Here we grow organic seed, conduct organic vegetable trials, and host education and outreach events. OSA and Finnriver have held a shared vision of establishing a seed cleaning and processing facility on this farm since the start of our partnership. Watch as we make this vision a reality this year at the site of the old pole barn to the south of the main parking lot.
North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC)
The mission of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition is to promote robust wild salmon stocks for families, fishers, and local economies by furthering habitat restoration and education on the North Olympic Peninsula. Both the Finnriver home farm and orchard are participating in creek restoration projects by enacting a buffer zone, planting trees and restoring riparian habitat. Finnriver is a basecamp for the Salmon Coalition's dedicated volunteers and home to their native plant nursery, offering local schools and community members a chance to get involved with salmon habitat restoration in their community.
Lunaseed Farms
A certified organic flower seed & bulb farm, specializing in sweet peas, peonies & dahlias. Growing on half an acre here at Finnriver and a quarter acre in Port Townsend. Flowers are grown using organic and sustainable practices that aim to support and build a thriving ecosystem.
Jefferson Land Trust
Jefferson Land Trust is the local nonprofit land conservation organization that has helped protect more than 17,500 acres of open space, forests, and farms in Jefferson County, including the Finnriver home farm and orchard, Kodama Farm & Food Forest, Red Dog Farm, SpringRain Farm, and many others. A conservation easement was placed on the 50-acre Finnriver Cidery property in 2009, permanently protecting these rich agricultural soils and the habitat buffer on the bank of Chimacum Creek, which runs along the east side of the property. Protecting this buffer provides safe passage and habitat for wildlife, including salmon and other fish. The Land Trust's involvement in local farmland conservation has been integral to the Finnriver story and mission.
Friends of the Trees Botanicals(FTB)
Friends of the Trees Botanicals has been growing and wildcrafting a wide variety of high quality medicinal plants for over 25 years! Our 1/2 acre Organic herb farm patch at Finnriver was established in spring 2017. This planting is a complex perennial polyculture system where we apply permaculture and restorative land practices. This includes medicinal herbs, trees, shrubs, hedgerows, berries and culinary herbs. We offer fresh and dried herbs, bulk seeds, propagation material, herbal infused oils, books and resources. You can taste our tea, grown on the land here, in the Finnriver Cider Garden! And you can check out our website for herbal offering, events, educational workshops, plant videos and more!
www.friendsofthetreesbotanicals.com
Goosefoot Farm
Goosefoot Farm is an acre and a half organic free food project that grows produce, herbs, and flowers at Finnriver. We currently provide produce to the Tri-Area Food Bank and the Jefferson County Anti-Racist Fund (JCARF).
Kul Kah Han Native Plant Garden
Our mission is to inspire and guide our regional community toward the appreciation, cultivation and conservation of plants native to the Pacific Northwest. We share and maintain a nursery with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition here at Finnriver, propagating and providing many native plant species for the public through annual plant sale.s You can also visit our native plant garden at HJ Carroll Park in Chimacum.
Woven Thresholds Willow Patch
Woven Thresholds is a project that applies the ancestral craft of willow basketry to the weaving of "threshold vessels" - that is, coffins/burial vessels and willow baskets. Growing and tending the willow patch is an integral part of the basket making process that works in rhythm with the body, land, and seasons. All vessels are available on commission with a rolling collection of already woven coffins.
Jefferson County Anti-Racist Fund (JCARF)
JCARF is a community supported reparations and mutual aid project focused on the individual and collective wellness of our local community of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We raise funds and in kind contributions from folks who benefit from white privilege and distribute these resources among the BIPOC community.
Community Draft Project
We are very excited about being part of this community within a community and wanted to give you an idea of what we’ll be doing and why. Last summer we bought a pair of Amish-trained workhorses and we intend to put them to work as part of our agrarian community. John and Jim are 6 and 7 year old Belgian geldings. We’ve kept them near our place on West Valley Rd., but hope to move them to the Finnriver Cidery property within a couple months. We need to put up fencing, a horse watering system, and a portable shelter that will also have storage for hay and tack. We’re still acquiring horse drawn implements, if you know where any are hiding in the weeds let us know..
Our first year we plan to start slow as we learn but we hope to grow dry beans, corn, potatoes and possibly oats, barley. Our mission includes demonstrating pathways for adaptation of the local food system in the face of uncertain times ahead, and to improve local community food system resilience. Besides growing crops we may offer opportunities for the community to come see what we’re doing. Also, we we would be interested in hearing from any of you who has an interest in working with draft horses. Also, if you have any ideas for collaboration we’d love to hear it.
