June Update:
May Update:
April update:
March 31: Clay Hill Farm to Host NYC kids for Earth Day!!
March 8
February 23
Photo by Deb Cram
Feb 12
With our deepest gratitude, we would like to thank Clay Hill Farm and all of the amazing sponsors for their generosity in the Green Wedding Giveaway contest. We are absolutely thrilled to be adopted into the Clay Hill family, making our special day even more meaningful. The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and strangers kept us energized throughout the process.
We concentrated our energy into the contest from the beginning – starting with meeting Jennifer and Rachel from Clay Hill, to obsessing over the entry so that it was just perfect (and literally timing each slide to the millisecond), to the anticipation of becoming finalists, and then the four week frenzy of shameless self-promotion. What a surprise blessing the campaign was! Exhausting at times but always fun, it was wonderful to reach out to old friends and acquaintances. One friend that I haven’t seen in about 15 years was probably responsible for getting the entire state of Alabama to vote! It was so much fun to see our progress on Facebook, and we were touched by all of the wonderful messages everyone left. It was also great to see the progress on where our friends were coming from. Ultimately we tapped into countless states and about 20 different countries, so it really felt like we were getting a big global group of cheerleaders carrying us throughout the contest.
What I had not anticipated was the quiet few hours spent together on Feb 10, after voting had ended but before the announcement. Everything up to this point was a rollercoaster but on that snowy day in NYC, Sean and I strolled hand-in-hand and took it all in. In those moments, we were able to clear our heads and remember the focus of the contest. Kudos to everyone at Clay Hill for really achieving what it had set out to do – it brought us closer to each other, and to our friends, family and community.
Now that we’ve found out that we have won the grand prize, we are back to speed and reaching out to thank everyone that helped make this all possible. We are still floating on air! The snow is starting to melt outside; soon it will be Spring and Summer will approach quickly. Sean and I are looking forward to the wedding, including the plans leading up to it, but ultimately we can’t wait for the many many days after the wedding. Thank you Clay Hill.
Debi and Sean
Photo by Jeremy Heflin
Our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya3qmMDfHbg
Our Picture Mosaic entry
Our contest Essay:
You would be pressed to find someone that would call us hard core
environmentalists. But just as you don’t need to be a marriage counselor to get
married, you don’t need to be a farmer to be Green.
If a relationship does not nourish both partners and allow each of them to grow in
their own way, it will wither away. A marriage lasts a life time and it must
rejuvenate, and replenish both love and respect on a daily basis.
We believe that this same idea must continue to exist in our relationship with the
planet. We can not exploit natural resources and expect them to continue
providing for us generation after generation. Our approach to life is mindful
consumption, resourcefulness, and a simple appreciation for the natural beauty
all around us.
Having a connection to our food is important. Cooking with fresh seasonal and
local ingredients allows you to connect with and supportyour community. Eating
regular meals at home places importance on the family unit, health is increased
and you save money. Helping out on a friend’s farm in exchange for beef,
chicken and maple syrup may not save the world but it allows us to be part of the
process. Through this we gain an appreciation for where our food comes from
and what goes into making it (and perhaps more importantly what does not go
in!).
We reuse containers, conserve water, shop at the Farmer’s Market and buy wind
power not so we can call ourselves Green but because it is what we believe in
and it is who we are. Similarly we listen to each other and treat each other with
respect. We support one another in times of trouble and work through struggles
together, not because we are engaged but because we love each other.
