When most people think of eco-tourism they have images of wealthy couples exploring the Amazon or the rainforests of Borneo.
Eco-tourist company, Learn Great Foods, provides a different form of earth friendly exploration. With day and weekend tours, LGF takes guests to eco-friendly farms, retailers and communities like those found in Leland, Michigan.
About six hours drive from Chicago and nearly five from Detroit; Leland sits on the northern tip of the Leelanau peninsula on Lake Michigan. The small community is considered a great getaway in both summer and winter. In the summer the open waters provide boating, fishing and swimming. In the winter the 130-inch average snowfall provides cross-country skiing and snowmobiling opportunities for the enthusiast. Hunting and bird watching provide activity in the fall and spring respectively.
But LGF approaches the peninsula differently, instead focusing on Community Supported Agriculture and organic food providers. On a recent autumn Saturday, LGF tourists visited Sweeter Song Farms run by Judy Reinhardt and Jim Schwantes. The couple showed their guests the operation that provides member families from the area with fresh produce throughout the summer and fall.
"The last beets and carrots are about ready to come out of the ground," Judy told the visitors. "We have one more distribution before winter."
The guests were permitted to pick a basket of vegetables as they toured the acreage of this century old farm. The vegetables were turned over to a local chef, Perry Harmon, hired by LGF to prepare a gourmet meal from the ingredients the tourists would gather or purchase throughout the day.
The next stop of the day was to Leland's historic Fishtown. On the waters edge, this collection of shops and buildings appear more like an 18th century fishing village than the modern products sold inside. The first stop was to Carlson's Fish Market, a family operation for 150 years. The market sells line caught Great Lakes and ocean fish.
The tourists bought salmon, whitefish and lake trout before heading over to the Cheese Barn. The small cheese stand was having an end-of-the-season sale and the group found some wonderful organic goat cheeses for the price of commercial dairy cheese.
They visited a local winery and organic beef operation before heading back to Chef Perry. The chef prepared the meal in the Sweeter Song Farms kitchen as the group diligently took notes on how he paired food choices. The fish was pan fried and served with a pear relish with onions, peppers and some herbs grown in Judy's herb patch. For desert he prepared an apple crunch with fresh local apples.
The tour was $85 per person for the daylong event and included all the ingredients for the gourmet meal. President of LGF, Ann Dougherty, offers a variety of packages and trips. Itineraries, reservations and program descriptions are available at www.learngreatfoods.com
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