Northshore AgroEcology Center

08/20/2026

Calling all North Shore folks who are invested in building a healthy local food system!

This Friday, the Finland Food Chain is hosting a visioning session and pizza social! There are many ways to plug in, get involved, or just share your input on what to focus on next. Hope to see you there!

Join us for our Meet and Greet (& Pizza Social) this Friday, August 21st at 4pm at the Clair Nelson Center in Finland, MN!

Looking for input on community needs, training and projects. Come hear what's happening and how you can get involved!

RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQgUNkFNA_J0cUKRgrvIAmEEtV77IlvRWFNh616RGNvB7HcQ/viewform

08/20/2026

Take a walk on the land at the AgroEcology Center this Saturday morning at our August Farm Tour! Participants will get an overview of permaculture techniques, cold-hardy perennials, mushroom cultivation and more.

Have you ever tasted a seaberry? It is a bright orange berry on a sea buckthorn shrub which tastes bright, sour, and citrusy. They are just coming into season right now, and you will get a chance to taste them during the tour.

This tour is donation-based. Please RSVP at https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/events/

08/20/2026

There's still time to RSVP for Intro to Beekeeping, a free community workshop coming up this Saturday afternoon!

Learn the basics of beekeeping with Lise Abazs at her family’s off-grid homestead, Round River Farm. Walk through the process from hive management to honey production and get a chance to taste local honey. Come prepared for the outdoors! Park at base of hill and walk or carpool up.

Sign up for this free workshop here: https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/event/beekeeping/

08/12/2026

Check out this opportunity to work at the Finland Wild Rice House this season!

The Finland Wild Rice is hiring parching assistants for the upcoming harvest season! The position is for a one to two week commitment (possibly more if you want!) between August 24th and the end of September. The main job is to build and tend the fires of the rice parchers, but there will also be opportunity to learn and practice the rest of the process. Email [email protected] if you are interested!

08/09/2026

Join us for Wild Food & Medicine, a free community workshop coming up this Sunday afternoon!

Join herbalist and forager Melissa Borer Hard for a workshop on wild plants used for food and medicine. The class will cover foundational actions of herbs, and how to use, gather, and process them. We’ll gather herbs on a plant walk and go back to the classroom to make our own medicine on site.

RSVP for this free community workshop at https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/event/wild-food/

07/31/2026

Learn all about chickens on the homestead at this free on-farm workshop coming up this Sunday afternoon 🐥

Tour the old Finn Hall Farm with Honor and Jeff and learn about using chickens for eggs, meat, and manure. We’ll cover incubating eggs, raising chicks, chicken tractors, rotating chicken pasture, free range tips, culling roosters, and more.

Register here to secure your spot and get updates: https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/event/chickens/

07/31/2026

We have a great roundup of Nourish the North free community food workshops in August!

Coming up this Sunday afternoon, take a tour of Honor's farm and learn all about how she incorporates Chickens on the Homestead. Next weekend, join Melissa at the AgroEcology Center barn to learn about and practice making Wild Food & Medicine. Later in August, dive into an Intro to Beekeeping with Lise Abazs at Round River Farm, rescheduled from last month.

🌟 Sign up for any or all of these workshops at: https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/events/

All workshops are free and open to the public thanks to a grant from the Laura Jane Musser Fund

07/16/2026

*Update: This class has been postponed to August 22nd from 1-3pm due to wildfire smoke and low registration. Stay safe see you in August!

Learn the basics of beekeeping with Lise Abazs at her family’s off-grid homestead, Round River Farm. Walk through the process from hive management to honey production and get a chance to taste local honey. Come prepared for the outdoors! Park at base of hill and walk or carpool up.

Sign up for this free workshop here: https://www.northshoreagroecology.org/event/beekeeping/

07/07/2026

Attention Minnesotans, add your voice to protect Minnesota's natural resources from neonicotinoid-treated crop seeds. 95% of Minnesota's flowing-water sites have tested positive for at least one neonic chemical over a 12-year period, Research has linked neonic exposure to adverse birth outcomes, neurodevelopmental delays, and endocrine disruption, while aquatic ecosystems face ongoing biodiversity loss.

Comments are due July 31.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on whether current rules are doing enough to protect natural resources from neonicotinoid-treated crop seeds. They're specifically asking for scientific data and supporting information, not just statements of support or opposition.
OCA's national alert includes about 25 sources documenting the dangers of neonics. Pull the research that speaks to you and include it in your comments to Minnesota.

Submit your comments to the MDA here:
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/public-comments/neonic-tr-seed

Bolster your comment with the info in our national alert calling on state legislators to ban bee-killing neonic seed treatments, and sign there while you're at it!
https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/63589/action/1

Read our recent piece on how Bayer is pushing to exempt all pesticides from EPA regulation, using neonics as the model:
https://organicconsumers.org/bayer-wants-all-pesticides-exempt-from-epa-regulation-just-like-its-bee-killing-neonic-seed-treatments-are/

07/01/2026

WWOOFers Wanted — Finland, MN

OCA’s northwoods regenerative farm, The North Shore AgroEcology Center is looking for volunteers through fall 2026. Located in the boreal forest of Finland, MN, we're a working farm focused on cold-climate food systems, permaculture, and agro-ecological land stewardship. Located in the Baptism River Valley, 6 miles up from Lake Superior and Tettegouche State Park. It is one of the most beautiful parts of our state for people who enjoy outdoor activities in your spare time.

Volunteers commit to helping out ~5 hours a day, five days a week, in exchange for housing and farm-fresh food. Tasks range from caring for the fruit trees and perennial gardens to vegetable production, composting, and seed saving. Minimum stay is two weeks; longer stays welcome.

This is a great fit for curious, hands-on folks who want real farm experience and time in one of the wildest corners of the upper Midwest. Find us on WWOOF at https://wwoofusa.org/en/host/22984 or message us to learn more. 🌱

If you are interested in volunteering with us in 2026, please reach out! We ask for a minimum of 2 weeks for all stays. The Land - We are an organic permaculture-inspired project on the edge of th...