In case you don’t know it, right here in Morgan County is a gem of a place called Wind Dance Farm and Earth Education Center.
Wind Dance is run by Leslie Devine-Milbourne, an environmental teacher, and John Devine, a traditional musician. John sings folk songs for children and adults and backs up fiddle players on guitar.
Wind Dance is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to raise $25,000 for a new building.
They’ve put up a remarkable video that gives a history of the Wind Dance Farm and the construction of the building.
For thirteen years, John and Leslie have provided programs for children and adults on how the earth works, the growing and cooking of food from the Wind Dance farm, summer camps, homeschool and public school programs, community supported agriculture, and singing, dancing and playing music.
Most of those programs have been held in the basement of John and Leslie’s home.
But on October 20, 2013, they broke ground for a new timber frame building made of oaks felled during a recent storm.
“The new center will provide much needed space for programs currently held in our very cramped basement,” they say.
“Seven years ago we had a vision for a building to support expanding programs, as the small log cabin, which is Leslie and John’s home, is not adequate,” Leslie and John write. “A parent listened to our dream and presented us with drawings. We didn’t even know he had a degree in architecture. His work moved us to begin fundraising, getting estimates, and exploring building options. Last year a distant neighbor had over 100 oak trees felled from a storm, and the owner of the property donated them to Wind Dance. We paid timber frame builders to remove the logs and bring them to Wind Dance, to set up their portable sawmill, to saw logs and hand carve the joinery. In addition to the organization raising $30,000, Leslie and John have taken out a personal loan of $50,000. They need $250,000.”
“We will install straw bale walls, composting toilets, and a geothermal system. We will continue to raise money through fundraisers. We live in a wonderful community of people who have volunteered to share their skills — especially woodworking. We hold volunteer days with parents and students who work together on various projects, and they will help with tasks. We also continue to search for grants to fund development of a greenhouse, a wetland gray water system, and rain gardens. With a lot of effort and trust it will happen.”