Support for The Zeemering Foundation

The Zeemering Family Pet and Human Therapy Foundation, a 5 year-old non-profit, 501(c)3 organization was formed in an era where housing overdevelopment destroyed thousands of farms. Headquartered in mid-Michigan, the Foundation saw the housing boom bring urban sewer and drainage systems ever closer to regional farmlands. In addition to devastating farms, this was also a permanent change to centuries of rural ecology where the rainwater and nutrients that had once been returned to the ground through septic fields – building up the soil – are now flushed into major water treatment plants miles away, and at great expense, are chemically treated and dumped into our waterways – destroying ancient natural cycles.

{title}The Zeemering Foundation was formed to champion Farmland Preservation, promoting the placement of Conservation Easements to ensure a farm’s existence into perpetuity and to encourage the development of new farm crops – such as those for biofuels – to help re-establish family farm profits and increase the value of farmland as farmland.

The Foundation has also investigated the value of Carbon Credits as an incentive to leave farmland undeveloped – perhaps the best new tool to help save America’s farms. One of the most useful forms of Carbon Credits are those given to owners of rural land tokeep them from being developed. Developing any rural land, overturns centuries of soil, and releases the carbon sequestered in that soil.

The Zeemering and Common Grove Foundation’s unique alliance supports 4 programs that connect Rural America to Urban America, 21st Century Technology to eons old Agriculture, and families from all regions to their natural heritage. These 4 programs:

  1. Educate rural property owners about Carbon Credits and Conservation Easements as economic tools to prevent the crisis many families face when offered large sums of money to sell the farm - which can lead to a renaissance of America’s farmlands.
  2. Champion the development of biofuels crops, particularly Canola (Rapeseed) as a far more profitable and productive energy-crop than Soy or Corn. It uses far fewer soil degrading fertilizers and is better at fixing Carbon in the soil.
  3. Promote local pressing and refining for Canola (Rapeseed) to increase canola crops, in conjunction with nearby biodiesel plants; reducing transportation costs, and making biodiesel more profitable. It includes working with local farm co-ops to involve farmers in a vertically integrated biofuels system, so they profit whether it’s from the crop, the pressed oil (for biofuels or food) or the biodiesel, ending the “boom or bust” cycle that most farmers experience, often causing farms to be lost.
  4. Preserve natural lands by promoting Ecology Camps where urban and suburban youth can connect with, and learn from nature. The foundations will work together to develop Eco-Camp opportunities on a variety of sites – on lake and riverfronts, mountains and farmlands - that have interactive programs between them. In Michigan, Common Grove’s first Eco-Camp is on a lakefront 10 miles from Happy Acres Horse Farm, and campers will be able to take day trips between them.