Sounds Like Regrowth
Examining Regenerative Agriculture Solutions in the Puget Sound Region
Photos and story by Ian Lewis
December 6, 2022
Veggies and flowers fill a garden bed at Bellingham’s Inspiration Farm. Many garden sections, or ‘guilds,’ at the farm hold a variety of crops to assist with soil and plant health and biodiversity. ”Building community is like putting together a plant guild, everybody has a role, and they're all supporting each other,” Brian Kerkvliet said.
Industrial agriculture has had many negative effects on humans and the environment. The current mainstream food system threatens both the ecology of our planet and the health of our communities. Agricultural runoff causes oceanic “dead zones”, and local community food systems suffer as a result of people’s heavy reliance on mass-produced foods that must travel thousands of miles to reach their plates.
In the Puget Sound region, farmers, scientists and educators are finding alternatives to this destructive system by making more conscious decisions regarding their food consumption.
The Puget Sound region is filled to the brim with natural beauty, but has no shortage of agricultural areas, like this farmland alongside a river outlet near Edison. The proximity to nature could lead to large implications for surrounding ecosystems, such as ecological dead zones and other effects.
Industrial farming practices have reduced crop diversity, creating a divide between food production and natural ecological systems. The cultural norm of mass production and crop specialization has created and upheld massive amounts of open space, which can have detrimental effects on the surrounding ecology if not properly maintained.
By aligning farming practices with natural systems and allowing nature to take its course, some local farmers are implementing food systems that have a regenerative effect on the land, and even look as if they are an extension of the natural world.
Inspiration Farm uses regenerative practices to produce their goods, like these varieties of squash.
“Agriculture is, above all, an ecological project,” said Gigi Berardi, professor at Western Washington University’s College of the Environment.
Berardi teaches classes focusing on food systems through ecological and community lenses. In her Agroecology and Resilient Communities class, students get hands-on experience learning about alternative food systems with visits to local farms to get a close look at how their operations work.
Students planted these garden plots in the Artnzen Gardens on the Western Washington University Campus in October 2022, about a month before this photo was taken. Students in Berardi’s Agroecology class learn regenerative agriculture techniques hands-on by tending to these garden beds.
These agroecology-focused classes introduce students to a community throughout the region that has a common goal of regenerative and resilient agriculture. Brian Kerkvliet, a self-described jack of all trades, is one member of the regenerative agricultural community that Berardi’s class has visited.
Kerkvliet co-stewards Bellingham’s Inspiration Farm, and co-founded the Salish Seed Guild. He said he chooses the term “Co-Steward” because he believes in a mutual relationship between farmers and the land.
Brian Kerkvliet, Co-Steward of Inspiration Farm, holds a basket of freshly harvested produce. Everything in the basket, plus more unpictured, had been picked in the last 10 minutes.
“We do not own the land. The land owns us,” said Kerkvliet. “How do we best use our time in this physical realm to steward the land to improve on its health and ecological services?”
Kerkvliet uses permaculture and biodynamic practices to assist in the creation of regenerative food systems, while cultivating a community at the same time. He often explains how everything on his farm is working together, and his role there is to observe and help these systems flourish.
While Inspiration Farm may look different from many conventional farms, the design is intentional. Fields are planted with varieties of crops that will grow and share nutrients with each other and the mouths they feed. The natural and manmade hills and ditches act to recharge the watershed of the area and naturally irrigate crops. The integration and movement of animals throughout the landscape allow for soil mixing, nutrient distribution and pest control. The farm has a variety of different land uses, but everything works together.
Kerkvliet feeds the chickens breakfast and harvests their eggs. Brian refers to chickens as the “hardest workers on the farm,” due to their multiple ecological functions.
The farm works with its surrounding community as well. Kerkvliet explained how Inspiration Farm and many other farms and programs in the area hold public events. One example is Inspiration’s permaculture design workshops for community participants to learn how to apply regenerative techniques and ethics to their food production and overall lifestyles.
“There’s tons of ways to get involved, and the skill sets are something that nobody can take away from you,” Kerkvliet said.
Inspiration Farm is just one example of a community group trying to improve local food systems. Community co-ops have become an increasingly popular solution for people to shop for local food in their area, and programs exist to assist new and marginalized farmers in making their way into the sustainable agriculture industry.
In the Puget Sound region, citizens are using and educating others on regenerative ideologies and methods for food production and consumption, showing that alternatives exist to an industrial-scale food system. These alternatives show that food production does not equate to adverse environmental effects, and that change in our food system is possible.
“Nature is a dynamic system; it’s always changing, always adjusting, always evolving. So, you need to be able to read the signs and evolve and change and adjust with it,” said Kerkvliet.
A young cow on Inspiration Farm greets the camera. Movement of cow pastures throughout the farm promotes the spread of nutrients and prevents overgrazing, a common issue for farms with livestock.
Ian Lewis is an environmental studies student at Western with focuses on disaster risk reduction and geography. He enjoys using photography as a tool to share his perspective with others.