BARRHEAD - Area residents will be able to learn more about some of the businesses and agricultural operations in the County of Barrhead during the annual Aug. 3 county tour.
In past years, county development and communications coordinator Adam Vanderwekken said the Agricultural Services Board (ASB) organized the tour as the event focused on agricultural operations in the municipality.
However, he said the municipality expanded its focus to include businesses and operations other than those strictly involved in agriculture.
"We've opened it up to include county businesses, municipal infrastructure, those types of things," Vanderwekken said. "Of course, we will still view agricultural operations and processing because that is the basis of our county."
Tickets for the tour are available through the county municipal office and are $30 and includes lunch and dinner. Unlike previous years, tour-goers have to pre-pay for the event. The registration deadline is July 28.
The tour starts at the Summerdale Community Hall, with the buses leaving promptly at 9 a.m.
The first stop on the tour will be the Barrhead Community Garden.
The garden is starting its first year in a new location behind the Pembina West Co-op food store. The county helped the garden get off the ground in its new location by supplying several yards of topsoil.
From there, the tour will proceed to Camp Creek for two stops; the first is Barrhead Farm Services.
"They are pretty unique," Vanderwekken said. "They recycle bakery waste, such as flour and dough that has gone bad, and create animal feed pellets."
The second stop is the Alberta Conservation Association's (ACA) forest project site, a.k.a. the Camp Creek Conservation Area.
The association is transforming the former 65-acre crop and hayfield into its native mixed wood forest. The site provides habitat to wildlife in the area, including moose, elk, white-tailed deer, black bears and ruffed grouse. Benefits of this project include cleaner air and water, improved access for the community to natural areas and increased habitat for the many animals who call Camp Creek Conservation Area home.
"(Representatives) from the association will be on hand to talk about their most recent conservation work," he said.
The tour will then stop at the MTM Community Hall for lunch before moving to the Connor Creek Grazing Reserve, near the county's Dolberg Lake campground.
Provincial grazing reserves provide farmers and ranchers with summer pasture for their livestock on public land.
The tour's final stops will be in or around Thunder Lake, starting with Barrhead Fish and Game Association's gun range, where a member of the RCMP will be on hand to discuss and answer any questions regarding federal firearm regulations. The other stop will be a B&B Wilson's Thunder Lake sand and gravel operation tour.
Vanderwekken said the day ends where it started, at the Summerdale Community Hall for dinner and an art show by the Barrhead Art Club.
