Raising the Bar: Stewards of our Ecosystem
Sustainable agriculture is the minimum. Growing while being conscious of our carbon footprint is good, but not good enough. Wild organisms live, grow, take, and then die, decompose and give back to their ecosystem. Is our food system doing the same? Are we, the people, thinking about the total process to ensure we keep the natural balance of give and take? Are you holding industries, companies, farms, accountable to that stewardship? Karen Wanek, owner of Superior Fresh and mother to two children, lives and breathes her conviction that the bar has to be raised.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children,” Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness.
Parents hope to create a better, cleaner, safer future for their children. A parent seeks to ensure their children always have fresh air to breathe, and nutritious food to eat. And it’s with that spirit of consciousness, so well-articulated by Berry, Karen Wanek fights to guarantee such a future for her own kids, and yours. She invested in a food supply that not only grows that delicious, nutritious food her children need, but also regenerates the surrounding environment and gives back to Mother Nature.
Our fish- and greenhouses sit on only 17 of 800 acres of land. That is a small footprint, so what is happening to the rest? Our sister company, Superior Fresh Family Farms, has been actively restoring and stewarding that land since before our conception. They are invested emotionally, physically and financially into restoring that land to natural, Wisconsin prairies and oak savannahs.
The following are just some of the ways we are restoring our surrounding ecosystem:
Alien Invaders
An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location, and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment. Freshwater Family Farms is working tirelessly to remove such plants and animals from our Wisconsin habitat including Common Buckthorn and Garlic Mustard. You can help too! Check out this Invasive Species scavenger hunt and coloring sheet for a fun and purposeful outdoor activity: DOWNLOAD
Native Champions
Another important initiative is reintroducing native plants and animals. Invasive plants can wreak havoc on the terrain by stifling the native plants that keep the ecosystem thriving. We have been planting and nurturing native prairie vegetation for the last five years. Some of those species include common and swamp milkweed, wild indigo, and culver’s root. You can learn more about those here: LEARN MORE
Burning Passion
Wildfires can be scary, but nature craves fire’s restorative properties. There is an opportunity for people to steward the land and natural terrain through controlled burns. After invasive species have been removed, our team introduces regular controlled burns. Those burns help native plants thrive. Learn more here: LEARN MORE
Stewards
of the Land
These three activities – invasive species removal, native species cultivation, and controlled burns – are just some of the ways we give back to our land. We are proud of our dedication to conservation and our role in restoring the environment. When you shop Superior Fresh products, you are supporting our conservation initiatives. You are supporting a food system that gives back to the environment borrowed from our children. If you would like to learn more about our sister company, Superior Fresh Family Farms, you can do so here: www.superiorfreshfamilyfarms.com.