More than $51,000 raised for local farmland conservation

The 17th annual Harvest Dinner proved to be a record breaker. Not only did the event dedicated to both celebrating and raising funds for local farmland conservation sellout in a record two and a half weeks, but the community raised a new high of more than $51,000.

The success of the event is a reflection of the collective generosity from the event’s sponsors, guests, the local producers that supplied ingredients, the many businesses and individuals that donated silent auction items and decorations and the tremendous time and energy from more than 100 community volunteers.

“It is amazing and humbling to see the community come together and invest in something they care about,” Tom Sanford, North Olympic Land Trust executive director said. “Without access to farmland, especially in the Sequim-Dungeness valley, this area would be a very different place.”

Although the amount of farmland in Clallam County has declined more than 70 percent since the 1950s, the remaining farmlands continue to serve key community functions. Local farmlands help to diversify the economy, provide wildlife habitat and improve the quality of life for North Olympic Peninsula citizens by ensuring food security and open space for scenic beauty. In Sequim, the long-running Irrigation Festival is an annual reminder of the community’s agricultural heritage that’s still thriving and evolving.

For nearly two decades, the Harvest Dinner has highlighted the importance of local farmland and strengthened the areas sense of community through raising support for a shared cause. Including the funds raised at this year’s event, the North Olympic Land Trust has reached 92 percent of its fall 2016 Friends of the Fields farmland

conservation campaign goal of $125,000. The campaign is set to raise the additional funds needed to further pursue conservation efforts on a 60-acre farm in the heart of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley known as the Historic Ward Farm, as well as similar land conservation opportunities in the hopper.

“The Historic Ward Farm provides critical farmland for our community and exemplifies land that defines this place,” Sanford said. “Our community has a strong history of successfully rallying to make farmland remain available for food production for generations to come. Time is limited, and with other opportunities on the

horizon, we need conclude this fundraising campaign by early October.”

Learn more about the North Olympic Land Trust and the Friends of the Field campaign at

www.northolympiclandtrust.org or call 417-1815.

CAN CUT

About North Olympic Land Trust

The North Olympic Land Trust is nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of open spaces, local food, local resources, healthy watersheds and recreational opportunities. Its long-term goal is to conserve lands that sustain the ecological and economic vitality of the communities of Clallam County. Founded by community members in 1990, the Land Trust has conserved more than 3,200 acres of land across the North Olympic

Peninsula by working with willing landowners to conserve area farms, fish and forests.