A Man, Some Apples and a Dream to Change the World
Written by Cheyanne Mumphrey, Grace Fenlason and Kat Timmons
There are trees everywhere, the air is crisp and it smells like a freshly-made apple pie. One could think this is a relaxing countryside; however, there is work that needs to be done — apples that need to find their purpose. Whether it’s for selling as organic whole fruits or pressed into cider, Brian Maisenbacher is one of the few that work at Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge as an orchardist or as some would like to call an apple caregiver.
“My mission is to grow the highest quality organic food and distribute it locally and raise food awareness in my community,” Maisenbacher said.
Rob Lautze, the current primary caretaker of the lodge, was solely responsible for transitioning the orchard from conventional growing practices to strictly organic. Maisenbacher is currently in training with Lautze to become the main orchardist, so Lautze can retire. Lautze has been the primary caretaker of the Garland's Oak Creek Lodge Orchard for the past 25 years. 2017 will be Maisenbacher’s first season as the predominant orchardist.
The 22-year-old was born in Springfield, Illinois. He remembers spending his childhood climbing in the fruit trees near his house and playing catch with apples. Maisenbacher always had a connection to nature, but he didn’t fully realize his calling to organic farming until later in life.
“Growing up in Illinois, there are corn fields everywhere, but I didn’t think of agriculture at all,” Maisenbacher said. “You kind of become blind to it because it’s always there.”
He first became involved in organic farming and healthy living in high school when he learned about composting. He and his friends would collect compostable materials — such as coffee grounds and manure — and use it in their backyards.
This year will be Maisenbacher’s second season working at the orchard. The orchard is tucked within Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge against the backdrop of the Sedona Red Rocks. Maisenbacher and his crew silently go to work picking apples early in the morning. A bushel of apples is about 35 pounds. On a good day, Maisenbacher can pick up to nine bushels, about 400 pounds of apples.
“My mission is to grow the highest quality organic food and distribute it locally and raise food awareness in my community,” Maisenbacher said.
Rob Lautze, the current primary caretaker of the lodge, was solely responsible for transitioning the orchard from conventional growing practices to strictly organic. Maisenbacher is currently in training with Lautze to become the main orchardist, so Lautze can retire. Lautze has been the primary caretaker of the Garland's Oak Creek Lodge Orchard for the past 25 years. 2017 will be Maisenbacher’s first season as the predominant orchardist.
The 22-year-old was born in Springfield, Illinois. He remembers spending his childhood climbing in the fruit trees near his house and playing catch with apples. Maisenbacher always had a connection to nature, but he didn’t fully realize his calling to organic farming until later in life.
“Growing up in Illinois, there are corn fields everywhere, but I didn’t think of agriculture at all,” Maisenbacher said. “You kind of become blind to it because it’s always there.”
He first became involved in organic farming and healthy living in high school when he learned about composting. He and his friends would collect compostable materials — such as coffee grounds and manure — and use it in their backyards.
This year will be Maisenbacher’s second season working at the orchard. The orchard is tucked within Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge against the backdrop of the Sedona Red Rocks. Maisenbacher and his crew silently go to work picking apples early in the morning. A bushel of apples is about 35 pounds. On a good day, Maisenbacher can pick up to nine bushels, about 400 pounds of apples.
“A lot of our stoned-fruit is being frozen and preserved right here to make into pies and jams and all sorts of good stuff.”
They also use the apples to make cider where it is sold in Oak Creek Canyon and during the seasonal farmer’s markets in Flagstaff. One crew member loads apples onto the conveyer-belt as the machine washes the apples. Another crew member carefully watches as the apples are then led into the grinder. The sound of the grinder echoes faintly through the Red Rocks and into the orchard.
Finally the shredded apples are released and compressed into juice as two more crew members, including Maisenbacher himself, fill half gallon bottles up with cider. For most of the process, Maisenbacher looks on and oversees the men with the help of Lautze.
“There is value in that dirt underneath your feet, whether you don’t want weeds growing in your yard or not. There is value in that dirt, whether you want to grow food in it or not.”
The orchard uses fresh water from the Creek to water and care for their trees and other produce. All of the apples are being grown in the highest quality water and it’s all gravity-effect, which means they don’t use electricity to get the water to the orchard.
“We do our best to conserve soil,” Maisenbacher said. “We do our best to work it as little as possible and to cultivate beneficial microbes and beneficial fungus within the soil. The problem with industrial agriculture is there is a huge tillage happening; there are a lot of fungicides, herbicides and things that are killing beneficial things in the soil. And soil is our most valuable resource really because we depend on it to grow our food.”
The orchard is in a unique situation where the food is being grown in quality soil, watered with high-quality water and individually picked, packaged and sold which is the definition of organic.
“Soil has the ability to fix water. The microbes and the fungus in the soil have the ability to take bad water and turn it into something good again,” Maisenbacher said. “The reality is, if we take care of the soil we will fix the water.”
According to an article published by the International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, on average, food in United States supermarkets travel over 1,400 miles to reach a consumer’s table. By being an active participant in the organic local food movement, Maisenbacher is doing his part to reduce carbon emissions and harmful pesticide and herbicide use.
“In my opinion the two environmental issues that resonate with me are the desecration of our soil and our fresh water source,” Maisenbacher said.
Maisenbacher believes human health is directly linked to the health of our planet. By providing his community with local organically grown produce, he is actively restoring the health of ecosystems. Maisenbacher’s role as an orchardist and organic farmer makes him a modern day environmental activist.
“On more than one occasion the UN has said that small-scale localized organic farming is the solution to feed the world and I believe that this is true,” Maisenbacher said.
The UN released a report titled “Wake Up Before It’s Too Late” in 2013 which outlines the concerns regarding conventional farming. The report states, “organic small-scale farming is the answer for feeding the world.”
To spread this concept to his direct community, Maisenbacher gathers volunteers to work in exchange for fresh produce and permaculture experience. By doing so, he hopes to foster a connection surrounding the realities of cultivating. Maisenbacher strives to positively influence people to grow their own food using organic methods that benefit ecosystems.
In addition to working as an orchardist at Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge, Maisenbacher cultivates land on the property of Spring Creek Ranch.
Currently, Maisenbacher is growing kale that will be sold to a local restaurant called Indian Gardens and a company based out of Flagstaff called Local Alternatives. Local Alternatives uses 13 locally derived superfoods to create a high-quality, vegetarian, healthy meat alternative known as the Tepa Burger.
Tepa Burgers are sold to restaurants, grocery stores and to the Flagstaff School System. The additional crops — including cucumbers, watermelons, tomatoes and garlic — that are grown on the property are sold at the Sedona Farmer’s Market. Maisenbacher strives to provide his community with the most fresh organic-grown produce.
“My job is to provide the people in my community with something that’s real. Something that’s flavorful. Something that’s good for them,” Maisenbacher said.
Maisenbacher is devising a plan to start his own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) which will be based out of Spring Creek Ranch. Maisenbacher aims to gain a clientele that will purchase seasonal shares. Each week members will receive a variety of different vegetables, fruits and fresh herbs.
He hopes to have the share members pick up their weekly goodies directly from the ranch. By showing shareholders where their food comes from, Maisenbacher is facilitating and cultivating a connection between people, their sustenance and the environment.
Maisenbacher enjoys his work for more than the pay and comfort of employment, he enjoys arriving as the Red Rocks show a beautiful display of color in the morning and as the chickens cluck with the sound of the wind. The orchard has a glow of tranquility and life that very few places can compare with. And it is more than just his love for the orchard, that motivates him every day.
He truly cares about the world and not because he aims to exploit it, but because he values it’s beauty and it’s nature. He sees the importance in organic food, in conservation and in restoration and his vision for what a better world is like is something one could only dream to see one day.
It is very hard to care for and treat each apple with such care and value, but one would never hear a bad word come from Maisenbacher. One has to have a love for more than just apples to do this job and he is definitely no exception. The work that he does in Sedona and Flagstaff really brings the environmental love he has to other people.
His hands are rough from picking about a tenth of a car’s weight. He is hot and he has been on his feet all day. It’s not an easy job, but he smiles at everything around him — the birds, the chickens, the trees and the trucks. And after a long day’s work, he lays on the grass, looks up at the baby apples and admires the glare of the sun on the Red Rocks. One day those apples will be picked and bring joy to children and adults alike. I guess it’s not all that bad working on an orchard.
They also use the apples to make cider where it is sold in Oak Creek Canyon and during the seasonal farmer’s markets in Flagstaff. One crew member loads apples onto the conveyer-belt as the machine washes the apples. Another crew member carefully watches as the apples are then led into the grinder. The sound of the grinder echoes faintly through the Red Rocks and into the orchard.
Finally the shredded apples are released and compressed into juice as two more crew members, including Maisenbacher himself, fill half gallon bottles up with cider. For most of the process, Maisenbacher looks on and oversees the men with the help of Lautze.
“There is value in that dirt underneath your feet, whether you don’t want weeds growing in your yard or not. There is value in that dirt, whether you want to grow food in it or not.”
The orchard uses fresh water from the Creek to water and care for their trees and other produce. All of the apples are being grown in the highest quality water and it’s all gravity-effect, which means they don’t use electricity to get the water to the orchard.
“We do our best to conserve soil,” Maisenbacher said. “We do our best to work it as little as possible and to cultivate beneficial microbes and beneficial fungus within the soil. The problem with industrial agriculture is there is a huge tillage happening; there are a lot of fungicides, herbicides and things that are killing beneficial things in the soil. And soil is our most valuable resource really because we depend on it to grow our food.”
The orchard is in a unique situation where the food is being grown in quality soil, watered with high-quality water and individually picked, packaged and sold which is the definition of organic.
“Soil has the ability to fix water. The microbes and the fungus in the soil have the ability to take bad water and turn it into something good again,” Maisenbacher said. “The reality is, if we take care of the soil we will fix the water.”
According to an article published by the International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, on average, food in United States supermarkets travel over 1,400 miles to reach a consumer’s table. By being an active participant in the organic local food movement, Maisenbacher is doing his part to reduce carbon emissions and harmful pesticide and herbicide use.
“In my opinion the two environmental issues that resonate with me are the desecration of our soil and our fresh water source,” Maisenbacher said.
Maisenbacher believes human health is directly linked to the health of our planet. By providing his community with local organically grown produce, he is actively restoring the health of ecosystems. Maisenbacher’s role as an orchardist and organic farmer makes him a modern day environmental activist.
“On more than one occasion the UN has said that small-scale localized organic farming is the solution to feed the world and I believe that this is true,” Maisenbacher said.
The UN released a report titled “Wake Up Before It’s Too Late” in 2013 which outlines the concerns regarding conventional farming. The report states, “organic small-scale farming is the answer for feeding the world.”
To spread this concept to his direct community, Maisenbacher gathers volunteers to work in exchange for fresh produce and permaculture experience. By doing so, he hopes to foster a connection surrounding the realities of cultivating. Maisenbacher strives to positively influence people to grow their own food using organic methods that benefit ecosystems.
In addition to working as an orchardist at Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge, Maisenbacher cultivates land on the property of Spring Creek Ranch.
Currently, Maisenbacher is growing kale that will be sold to a local restaurant called Indian Gardens and a company based out of Flagstaff called Local Alternatives. Local Alternatives uses 13 locally derived superfoods to create a high-quality, vegetarian, healthy meat alternative known as the Tepa Burger.
Tepa Burgers are sold to restaurants, grocery stores and to the Flagstaff School System. The additional crops — including cucumbers, watermelons, tomatoes and garlic — that are grown on the property are sold at the Sedona Farmer’s Market. Maisenbacher strives to provide his community with the most fresh organic-grown produce.
“My job is to provide the people in my community with something that’s real. Something that’s flavorful. Something that’s good for them,” Maisenbacher said.
Maisenbacher is devising a plan to start his own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) which will be based out of Spring Creek Ranch. Maisenbacher aims to gain a clientele that will purchase seasonal shares. Each week members will receive a variety of different vegetables, fruits and fresh herbs.
He hopes to have the share members pick up their weekly goodies directly from the ranch. By showing shareholders where their food comes from, Maisenbacher is facilitating and cultivating a connection between people, their sustenance and the environment.
Maisenbacher enjoys his work for more than the pay and comfort of employment, he enjoys arriving as the Red Rocks show a beautiful display of color in the morning and as the chickens cluck with the sound of the wind. The orchard has a glow of tranquility and life that very few places can compare with. And it is more than just his love for the orchard, that motivates him every day.
He truly cares about the world and not because he aims to exploit it, but because he values it’s beauty and it’s nature. He sees the importance in organic food, in conservation and in restoration and his vision for what a better world is like is something one could only dream to see one day.
It is very hard to care for and treat each apple with such care and value, but one would never hear a bad word come from Maisenbacher. One has to have a love for more than just apples to do this job and he is definitely no exception. The work that he does in Sedona and Flagstaff really brings the environmental love he has to other people.
His hands are rough from picking about a tenth of a car’s weight. He is hot and he has been on his feet all day. It’s not an easy job, but he smiles at everything around him — the birds, the chickens, the trees and the trucks. And after a long day’s work, he lays on the grass, looks up at the baby apples and admires the glare of the sun on the Red Rocks. One day those apples will be picked and bring joy to children and adults alike. I guess it’s not all that bad working on an orchard.
