Hi! I'm Carrie and welcome to Sunny Crest Flower Farm. Thank you for taking this time to check us out! We are a small family ran flower farm focussing on using the 6 core principles of regenerative agriculture.
As a child I was always looking for a creative outlet to focus my energy. I grew up right next door to a wonderful flower shop which made it easy for me to discover my love of flowers and design work early on. I got a job there in high school sweeping floors and eventually worked my way up to creating arrangements. I knew I needed this kind of work in my life, it simply made me happy. So I went to Suny Cobleskill for Floral design and greenhouse management and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Floriculture and Applied Science. I had a summer intern job working at a private estate where I met my now husband Mark.
Mark grabbed my attention with his amazing creativity and his ability to take large scale equipment and use them as if they are his own hands. He can take nothing, imagine what seems impossible and create something magical. We instantly connected over our love of dogs, plants and design work.
We bought a complete fixer upper located in Marks childhood town of Canaan, NY. The property was previously known as Sunny Crest Accommodations. (Hence the business name) The giant Inn had burned down and all that was left was the old carriage barn, which is now our home and farm location.
Mark and I spent all of our free time in nature and transforming our yard, even when we should have been putting our efforts into the house. We made mistakes, tons of them. We used products and methods that were not environmentally friendly. But after we had our two boys (Mason and Connor), something changed in us. We started noticing the impact that our everyday choices were having on our planet. While I love the creative outlet that flower growing and design provides, I hate the amount of waste and carbon footprint the industry as a whole creates. We decided that we could not ignore the climate change and the consumer waste problem that we all face.
This is when we decided to start implementing eco friendly changes into our gardens and eventually expanding them into our business. We started becoming more conscious of the choices we make.
Some things we do here:
We produce field- grown flowers with no artificial light or heat, which add to carbon emissions.
We operate on a closed loop cycle.
We do not till our soil.
We do not use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
We compost! A lot, from weeds, flower clippings, chicken bedding and droppings to food scraps.
We collect rainwater and recycle old grey flower water back into the garden.
We do not use leaf shine- which contains toxins known to harm our environment and health.
We arrange into up-cycled, reusable vases and containers.
All of our packaging and stationary are on recycled and compostable material.
We donate unused flowers to local assisted living facilities, health facilities and public schools and libraries.
We are committed to putting our planet before our profit. While many think this is a failed business motto- we feel it is the only way forward with our current climate change issues.
Instead of saying I hope we profit fast, we say:
I hope we make an impact!
I hope we can bring change to a life!
I hope to dismantle broken systems and create tangible change in our community.
We do not believe in cutting corners. We do not believe in hurting animals, people or our planet to make a bigger profit. We want to encourage and inspire other people to do the same. Be conscious of what you are purchasing and where you're spending your money. What we can't grow or make we try to source from other small businesses. We firmly believe that we need more small businesses and less big businesses. We need more small farms and less factory farms.
We hope this business will make a positive impact on every life it touches and we hope you will follow us along on this journey of continued learning and help improve our environment. It doesn't happen overnight, but small acts, multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.
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