Lunenburg County property to be sold to ecologically-sound buyers
Jack Julian | CBC News | Posted: March 28, 2016 10:00 AM | Last Updated: March 28, 2016
Buyers must share commitment to ecology and community-minded development of Dreschers
A Nova Scotia couple is selling a unique cluster of properties in Lunenburg County, but only to buyers who share their commitment to ecology and community-minded development.
Jim and Margaret Drescher, a Buddhist couple from Halifax, bought the farm from the Wentzell family in 1990.
It's a forested property along the LaHave river where it emerges from Wentzell Lake. They initially set up a sustainable forestry business, selectively logging with horses.
"We're continuing in the same way the Wentzells logged here for 150 years before we came," said Jim Drescher.
The family established organic gardens, built rental cabins in the woods and eventually constructed a solar-heated conference centre with overnight accommodations for 20 people.
"The people that come here eat the food that grows here and they buy furniture for their homes from the wood shop that the wood was harvested from the forest here," he said. "People that live here enjoy one another and they enjoy the place."
Drescher says after more than 25 years, it's time to step back from the operation.
"We're getting a little long in the tooth. I'm 73-years-old, and Margaret is 68-years-old. And it's time for younger, stronger, smarter people to come in here and take this on," he said.
'Forest Families'
The divestment process is already underway.
The Dreschers have sold the 60-hectare woodlot to a group of 10 local families. The "Forest Families" group is committed to conserving the forest which still contains large original-growth trees.
In turn, that group has leased the property to the Windhorse Educational Foundation for 99 years.
"In general, I would say our intention is to offer an opportunity for people to connect with nature. For their own benefit, and for the benefit of the natural world as well," he said.
Three more properties are currently for sale:
- The "Downtown," a cluster of buildings on about two hectares of land. It includes an office, a garage, a barn, horse paddock, a sauna and a parking lot. It is listed at $300,000
- Juniper Lodge is a solar and wood-heated conference centre set on about two hectares of land. It has multiple kitchens and can sleep up to 20 guests. There is also a cabin-rental business. It's listed as $750,000
- The farmhouse and surrounding land where Jim and Margaret Drescher live. They hope it could become a B and B, or a farm-to-table restaurant. It's listed at $550,000
'Who's interested in stepping up?'
Drescher says these prices are "ballpark" evaluations, open for discussion.
He says his family is most concerned that a buyer or buyers would share common values of respect for the natural environment, community, and local economic development.
But there are also intangible concerns, he says.
"Is this going to connect people more directly to the natural energy of this place? Or is it going to tend to separate us?"
Drescher says he's hoping to complete the transfer by next February.
"We're stepping back … Who's interested in stepping up? The invitation is now out there," he said.
Meanwhile, the couple plans to build a new energy-efficient dwelling nearby.
"Why leave the best place we've ever lived?" he said.