THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 33, Number 36 Thursday, September 14, 2017 Making a Comeback by Connie Kuzydym hhellbergellberg FFarmarm iiss a ccul-ul- as IDNL superintendent, back in 2008, Chellberg tturalural aassetsset aandnd DDunesunes LLearningearning CCenterenter aann eeduca-duca- Farm’s livestock and farm animals were, for the ttionalional jjewel.ewel. TTheyhey eexistxist wwithinithin IIndianandiana DDunesunes NNa-a- most part, a government-run operation with some ttionalional LLakeshore,akeshore, wwhichhich iiss ppartart ooff tthehe NNationalational PParkark volunteer assistance. Their presence also was amid SService.ervice. a declining budget period. When the key person who WWhyhy tthehe bbriefrief llessonesson oonn wwho’sho’s wwho?ho? took care of the farm retired, the IDNL did not have LLet’set’s ttakeake a qquickuick ssteptep backback ttoo 2008,2008, whenwhen thenthen the capacity to keep that model of farm life going. IIDNLDNL SSuperintendentuperintendent CCostaosta DDillonillon aannouncednnounced So, Dillon made the decision to remove the animals, CChellberghellberg FFarmarm wwouldould nnoo llongeronger iincludenclude ffarmarm aani-ni- an unpopular move with the public. mmals.als. TToo uunderstandnderstand whywhy unpopularunpopular decisionsdecisions areare Fiscally, though, Labovitz said, “it was absolutely mmadeade aatt tthehe llocalocal llevel,evel, oonene mmustust kkeepeep iinn mmindind tthesehese the right thing to do. tthreehree llocalocal jjewelsewels aarere ppartart ooff a llargerarger ppicture.icture. When Labovitz arrived three years ago, he began CAccording to Paul Labovitz, who succeeded Dillon Continued on Page 2 Geof Benson, executive director of Dunes Learning Center, feeds a goat at Chellberg Farm, while the cow nearby appears a tad wary of Beacher photographer Paul Kemiel. THE Page 2 September 14, 2017 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. vital experience.” Making a Comeback Continued from Page 1 Benson approached Labovitz, who was open to hearing daily about the animals that used to be at the idea and gave his approval. Benson then sought the farm. He was open to bringing them back, but innovative partnerships, in addition to individual in a different way. and group volunteers. Enter Geof Benson, executive director of Dunes Thanks to his creativeness and drive, the farm Learning Center, a residential learning facility animals are back at Chellberg Farm. for children. Its mission is to instill lasting curios- In the current model, IDNL hosts the animals, but ity and stewardship with nature through hands-on is not fi nancially or physically responsible for them. learning in the dunes. The animals live at Chellberg Farm from March For the past 19 years, 1-Nov. 1. Restrictions ex- several times a week, ist as to the type and size Dunes Learning Center of animals allowed on staff have taught chil- the farm. Partially due dren about farm life by to the barn’s size but, using Chellberg Farm more importantly, being and Bailly Homestead. a historic farm and site, Imagine trying to ex- the animals need to rep- plain to children about resent what would have farm life when a vital been at Chellberg Farm piece is missing. some 100 years ago. “The farm just felt According to Benson, dead,” Benson said. “It the main breed of chick- felt like it was a shell of ens the Chellbergs had, what it was. It wasn’t and are there now, are a working farm, and it Barred Rock and Rhode didn’t give you the whole Island Red, which for farm experience.” the Chellbergs did two The importance of things really well — lay having animals at the eggs and taste good — farm, for Benson, was whereas all other chick- personal as well. ens do one or the other. “I used to bring my Last year, the chick- kids here,” he said. “We ens were the fi rst ani- would come here on Sun- mals to return. Before day mornings and watch their arrival, Dunes the chickens be fed. My Learning Center staff kids got to be in nature, rebuilt the yard around got to learn about ani- the coop, which had been mals, got to see it. It was removed. a really positive experi- Tapping into innova- ence for them.” tive partnerships, last “Kids nowadays don’t year’s chickens, which Geof feeds the many chickens now at Chellberg Farm. Photo by Paul Kemiel know where food comes arrived in time for the from and the decisions that are made about that,” Maple Sugar Festival, were borrowed from Scherf Benson continued. “A lot of kids haven’t seen a real Farms in Michigan City. This gave their partner, chicken or cow, let alone know what becomes of Westville High School’s biology class, time to raise them at some point. But also the experience of the the chickens that are currently at the farm. farm with real animals, it makes it a much more Today, the farm also has a steer and a goat on THE September 14, 2017 Page 3 loan from Annette Hansen’s family and some ducks. Hansen is executive director of the Porter County Arboriculture is an art with a basis in botanical chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, and knowledge. Anybody can remove trees. It’s easy her children are involved in 4-H Club. While she and we are very good at it. But what we really and her sons take care of the animals, Benson has “a small army of chicken volunteers who take care like to do is help you manage trees, give you of the chickens. options and save you money. “To me, it’s worth it to put in the extra effort to get the volunteers,” Benson said, “to help manage them, schedule them, cover for them.” For this overall en- deavor, Dunes Learning Center also is partner- ing with the National Park, Friends of Indiana Dunes, Westville High School and Porter Coun- ty Community Founda- tion. The payoff to these combined efforts is the experience school chil- dren receive. Low impact equipment, small diesel engines, low fuel “They’re not reading it costs. This means lower operating costs that make us in a book,” Benson said. Geof Benson. Photo by Paul Kemiel more competitive. But most important: a knowledgeable, “They are actually see- professionally trained team! We don’t claim to always be ing these animals and smelling them, so that makes the lowest bid, but we most certainly will be a professional, it very real. I think when you’re competing against educated team who will strive to give you the service you a virtual world, you inherited an empty farm and expect. ask them to pretend which animals are here, (that) is not much competition. But seeing the real thing Complete Tree Service is good competition for a virtual world.” Tree Pruning and Removals Labovitz and Benson emphasize the farm ani- Stump Grinding mals are not a petting Plant Health Care zoo. Even though it is fun to see them, they are Pest and Disease a food source. The goal Consulting is to connect children, and adults, so they know If you would like to know more about how arboriculture where their food comes can enhance your property, call us for a consultation. from. And Chellberg Farm, in the process, is being reinvigorated to con- tinue this goal. The his- toric vegetable garden Paul Labovitz Christian Siewert MI-0549A is thriving, and the fruit ISA Certifi ed Arborist on staff orchard is being replanted. The goal, according to Labovitz, is for the farm’s landscape to eventually come back and help interpret the story of a rela- tively small-scale working farm. C & A Arborists “I like how it’s going,” Labovitz said. “We learn more every day. The park is very open to main- taining and expanding the livestock operation at Chellberg, as long as it doesn’t create these long- term fi nancial hardships for the park, because we 269-756-2571 don’t have the resources to pick up all these kind of www.treephilosophy.INFO things” E-mail: [email protected] Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 September 14, 2017 Making a Comeback Continued from Page 3 Not only are school children benefi tting from the animals’ return and the farm’s reinvigoration, but also the many people who stop by daily. There is nothing like taking the short walk from the Chellberg Farm parking lot, stepping into the woods, then following the path that winds its way to the farm. Stepping out of the path, you are greeted by the Chellberg farmhouse, surrounded by green grass and in the distance the barns, gardens and or- chard. You begin to hear the sounds of the animals. A few steps more, you smell them, then you see them. Pausing to take it all in, you begin to feel as if you have taken a step back in time. It is peaceful. Last year’s fi rst Apple Festival proved a resounding success. The public is free to experience Chellberg Farm, located on Mineral Springs Road between U.S. 12 and 20 in Porter, from 7 a.m. to just past sunset daily. While the animals are in the park, the public can see them being fed at 4 p.m.