Glen Horton III

Caretaking: A Way of Life

Interests: Nature study, camping, woodcrafting, photography, metaphysics, writing, reading, gardening.

Glen works on the 1,000 acre Brush Creek Ranch, at an elevation of 8,000 feet in the Gore Range of Colorado. Prior to caretaking, Glen had been a Park Ranger in Northern Michigan and was the steward-owner of Homeland Nature Sanctuary.

Caretaking and land stewardship are not new concepts to Glen, who grew up on a farm once owned by his great grandfather. From a very early age, the “caretaker attitude” was instilled in him by his parents.

His responsibilities at Brush Creek include general ranch labor such as fixing and building fences, tending irrigation ditches, haying, and working with the livestock. The ranch owner and manager are both very environmentally conscious and the ranch is run as holistically as possible, reducing or eliminating chemicals and using beneficial insects.

Glen lives seven miles north of the ranch in a small 14 by 16 foot cabin situated on a mountain reservoir. There is no 110 volt electricity, so he runs 12 volt lights and uses Coleman appliances. “From my front porch I can see some awesome sunrises and sunsets.”

“I feel that the practical land management experience I’m acquiring, combined with that which I’ve garnered in the past, is making me a very well rounded earth steward and caretaker.”