Charles Carpenter and
David Tousain offer our thought-provoking Alternative Ag Tour.
Charles was born and raised in Coon Rapids. He has an MS in Sociology and studied at the
East Asia Institute at Columbia University. He was ordained
a Rinzai Zen Monk in 1974, and studied at the Ryutaku-ji Temple in Japan
and the Zen Studies Society in New York City. He returned to the family farm in 1979. He
was a finalist in a 1994 "Great Midwestern Think-Off Contest" and frequently writes opinion page pieces published in the Des
Moines Register.
David Tousain was born and
raised in Michigan. He studied four years at the Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a Zen Buddhist
monastery in the Catskills. He moved to Iowa in 1981 to work with Charles on the
Beaver Creek Farm and to practice "fundamental
living". David is an avid horticulturist and has won first place in the Iowa State Fair Weed Identification
Contest, Amateur Class, seven times, with several additional second place
finishes. David offers our workshop The Flora
Under Our Feet.
Kay
Neumann and Jon
Judson own Diversity Farms, run their own natural resource consulting business, and offer
our Raptor Workshop and Prairies Workshop. The
business involves a great "diversity" of things including prairie seed harvest
and reconstruction, prairie burning, tree planting, environmental education programming
and curriculum writing. Jon is active in a watershed approach to conservation. Kay
has earned State and Federal Education, Wildlife Rehabilitation and Falconry
Permits. She takes care of injured and orphaned birds,
gives programs to school groups and community clubs and flies her birds for sport.
Kay recently founded Save Our Avarian Resources (SOAR).
Jon and Kay love taking their two young children on outdoor adventures
Gloria Brouse runs
Windy Ridge Flower Shop, a dried and fresh
flower shop on her farm just north of the River House, and she offers
her own Victorian Garden Walks. She gathers and
grows many of the flowers she uses in her lovely arrangements, and often
does wedding flowers at the River
House. She also carries a line of
Iowa wines ... try the Barn Dance Red! Contact
her directly for more information and reservations at 712-684-5184. Gloria has other talents --- she painted and wallpapered the
Garst Farm Lodge for us. Her husband Dan owns and operates a forestry consulting
business.
Dean Jackson is one of the best woodsmen of this
valley. He offers a Guided
Wildlife Tour, and also provides guiding services for our Whitetail
Deer Bow Hunt. Dean grew up in Tanzania and Kenya, Africa. His parents
were Lutheran missionaries. He has taught sixth grade in Coon Rapids-Bayard Schools for 22
years. Dean helps the Garst Family manage all hunting in the valley and is an excellent photographer, tracker and scout.
He has helped many young people in the community learn how 
to hunt. Dean is married to Trisha,
our Assistant Manager.
HAT Ranch employees
are often around theLodge and Whiterock Valley, taking care of the
cattle on the property. Dan Stork, pictured here,
is the Head Cowboy.
Garst Seed Company
Employees provide information during
guided tours of Garst Seed Company
(which the Garst Family no longer owns). Stan Grote, the Quality Assurance Lab Manager, the women
who work in the Lab and Rod
Michel, the Coon Rapids Plant Manager all provide
informative programs with warm hospitality.
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