Communications Strategist
Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (RR2CS) is an Alberta-based initiative providing learning and capacity building opportunities for farmers, ranchers and rural communities to find how they can benefit from climate solutions. RR2CS is seeking a communications strategist to join Rural Routes’ skilled team of rural-based community organizers, facilitators and communications specialists. The communications strategist will […]
Farming with Nature Webinar
June 10th 2021
Please join RR2CS and Carrie Selin of EcoServices Network to learn more about ecosystem services and the Grasslands Conservation Exchange Pilot project.
Acreage Owners and Climate Solutions Webinar
June 4th 2021
Please join RR2CS for a discussion for acreage owners and how they can implement climate solutions on their property.
EP38 Passive Solar Greenhouse 2.0
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Agricultural producer Jianyi Dong talks design, growing potential and extending the growing season with his commercial passive solar greenhouse in Olds, Alberta.
Water Management: Pond Levelers Webinar
May 28th 2021
Please join RR2CS and Katie McLachlan of Peace Country Beef and Forage Association as we discuss the findings of their pond leveler project.
*BONUS* The $300M Investment
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We team up with Grain on the Brain and ask Karen Ross, Director of Famers for Climate Solutions, about a $300 million investment in Canadian agricultural producers.
Soil Health Webinar
April 2021
Join us for a conversation about soil health with Dr. Kris Nichols!
EP37 Climate Farm Plan
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Darrin Qualman of the National Farmers Union takes us through a set of recommendations for building thriving farms and ranches and reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint.
In Conversation with Beekeeper Tracey Smith – Beanstalk Honey – Strathcona County
Tracey Smith grew up near North Cooking Lake in Strathcona County and in Edmonton. During her undergrad degree in conservation biology at the University of Alberta, she became intrigued by questions of food security in the North. After graduating, Tracey moved to Fairbanks, Alaska to pursue a Master’s of Arts at the University of Fairbanks. Her research on the North compared the carbon footprint of raising backyard laying hens compared to that of importing eggs from the lower 48 states. Around the same time, Tracey began volunteering on a vegetable farm near the university. The farmer also kept a few hives for pollinating the vegetables. At the time, Tracey was living in a rustic cabin – no running water – and becoming disenchanted with academia. She wondered what kind of career to pursue.
Stronger Plants, Family & Community – Peas on Earth – Sturgeon County
Eric and his wife Ruby, along with their extended family, have been growing mixed vegetables in northern Alberta for nearly 35 years. The Chen family has seen it all over the past several decades, dealing with weeds, pests, and extreme climactic events. They have a deep passion for growing organic food and feeding communities in the Edmonton and surrounding area.
“Farming was always a calling for us,” explains Eric. “It really helped us grow as a family.”
Eric was born in Laos and spent part of his childhood in Thailand. His grandmother, originally from China, had farming roots, but his parents only kept a hobby garden and a few livestock. In 1979, when Eric was thirteen years old, he and his family immigrated to Westlock, Alberta. Two years later, he took a summer job working on a vegetable farm in Westlock. “That’s how it all started,” he laughs. “The farmer said to me, ‘Maybe you should start a farm’ – and eventually – I did!”
