Happy Dancing Blog

Earth Day, while celebrated on April 22 every year, is an important day to remember, it's also a call to act in the service of our home every other day, as well. It's these little acts of service that add up to a healthy, wonderful, sustainable ecosystem that we can feel proud to leave our children (and their children!)

Happy Dancing Turtle’s Garden Team starts 10,000+ seeds on campus every year. They grow plants in many ways–using hoop houses, aquaponics, hydroponics and the beautiful traditional outdoor garden beds on Campus. The Garden Team uses soil blocks for seed starts and recently shared some of their recipes, tips and tricks that also apply to the home gardener.

Buying local beef is now even easier thanks to the online store from Headwaters Beef Cooperative.

Jim Chamberlin gives a personal overview of homestead planning and resources.

It can be tempting to cut everything down in the fall, but leaving some of your garden “messy” through winter is one of the best gifts you can give to birds, pollinators, and your soil.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the 19th Biennial North American Agroforestry Conference. As part of the conference, the Working...

My family tries our best to reduce the food waste in our kitchen–even just by doing things as simple as not peeling carrots, cucumbers,...

Planting trees has long been seen as an act of faith, action, and stewardship. Trees provide numerous benefits. They protect the soil,...

Rs for Resilient Living Series For most of us by this time of year, the idea of getting out to work in your yard, seeing the change of season first-hand, is a delicious dream that can’t come true soon enough. No question–being outside is good for all of us. But some of our go-to yard activities can be detrimental to beneficial insects if we jump into them before the weather has truly changed. Here are some tips: Hold off cutting down plant stems leftover from last season un

Based on the premise that adaptive grazing management is vital to mimicking the natural systems that build healthy soils and landscapes,...

Until embarrassingly recently, I had no clue that composting was even possible in the winter—especially in a cold, snowy, icy climate...

Climate change is a hoax, or at least the notion that reducing carbon and other heat-trapping gasses in our atmosphere can stabilize our...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, also operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry operation near...

Indoor plants brighten our lives by providing much-needed color in the winter months. Research suggests they may also reduce stress and...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, also operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry operation near...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, with his wife, Audra, operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry...

The numbers are sobering: According to the Environmental Defense Fund , 160 billion pounds of food goes uneaten every year in the United...

Sustainable agriculture gives me hope. What gives me hope is the knowledge that much of what ails us and the planet we are part of can be...

Understanding your watershed, and how water moves through it, can connect us to the landscape. Knowing what is upstream from you makes you realize the vulnerability and dependence you have on those upstream who care for the land. And knowing that your actions affect others downstream can create a shared responsibility to protect water resources on your property.

Groundwater supplies 75% of Minnesota’s drinking water and 90% of water used for agricultural irrigation. Among the key messages about groundwater are several that definitely apply to those who live in Minnesota: