Vision
A world in which healthy land and communities are celebrated by all, leading to equitable food systems, a sense of place, and care for the environment now and in generations to come.
Mission
To develop a learning center that works toward strengthening and building linkages between urban and rural areas, empowering communities while creating strategies and infrastructure to sustain community and environment. This will be carried out using a diversity of tactics focused on grassroots and participatory practices.
The learning centre is located on the site of the former Clearwater School, purchased from the Prairie Spirit School Division.
The motto for the HMS is “Healthy Land, Healthy Communities”
More about the Harvest Moon Society
By implementing participatory initiatives, the Harvest Moon Society (HMS) hopes to build “Healthy Land and Healthy Communities”. For the past four years, the HMS has consulted and worked with local residents of Clearwater, Manitoba, to develop an action plan for long-term rural environmental and economic sustainability. This work has consisted of volunteer organized community meetings, vision, mission and objective workshops and the development of eco-agricultural education and training at the local elementary school.
In order to leave our communities as better places for future generations we need to reconnect urban and rural communities by building awareness of the contributions of farmers and farmlands to the development of vibrant rural and urban cultures and the maintenance of native habitats.
The community of Clearwater, along with the HMS, have a number of ideas for mobilizing our vision for sustainable living in the Prairies including:
- Education & Research: University of Manitoba & Prairie Spirit School Division
- Outdoor Classroom Education & research, Interpretive Nature Trails, & community library
- Economy: HMS value added processing & direct marketing to generate income for all participating community members, and to help maintain the centre.
- HMS label oils & dressings, pizza, beer, bread & meat.
- Environment: Switch grass production & processing co-op for alternative energy.
- Local producer co-op growing switch grass & marketing fuel & stoves.
The Harvest Moon Society Board of Directors is made up of committed individuals who have been with the organization since its inception:
- Robert Guilford, Clearwater, MB. (President)
- Chris Lillies, Winnipeg (Vice-President)
- Troy Stozek, Boissevain, MB. (Secretary)
- Celia Guilford, Clearwater, MB. (Treasurer)
- Colin Anderson, Winnipeg, MB.
- Jason Andrich, Winnipeg, MB.
- Andre Clement, Winnipeg, MB.
- Jackie Johnson, Clearwater, MB.
- Ian Mauro, Clearwater, MB.
- Mick Molony, Neelin, MB.
- Robyn Webb, Winnipeg, MB.
The HMS saw the need to celebrate rural communities and as a result has held a festival every year since 2002. The Harvest Moon Festival is held annually in the fall and has been successful in bringing together urban and rural people to share in locally producer food, music and fun.
The School
The Harvest Moon Society operates out of the old Clearwater school. The school enables the group to hold various workshops and classes and acts as a hub for the group itself. The goal of the HMS is to renovate the school to accommodate large groups of people and to make it more compatible with its original surroundings. Future plans for the learning centre include: creating a summer kitchen, dorm rooms, yurts, gardens both ornamental and edible, as well as experimenting with other elements of permaculture design. It is also a goal of the society to try to create a number of community economic development ventures within the school. These plans would include a processing centre for flax and hemp seeds as well as a flour mill. A newly made adobe oven will serve everyone pizza and fresh bread this summer.