In the 1940s, John and Felise Rabiey immigrated to northern Alberta, Canada from their Polish homeland. There, they worked the land for years to establish a farm growing wheat, barley, canola, oats and more. Three generations later the farm is still in the family, though with a new, rather unusual crop.

That crop is carbon. Brad and Rebecca Rabiey are farming carbon, with freshly planted trees — those famed and all-too-depleted carbon-munching forest-dwellers. In 2007, while renewable energy credits were first being flung about in some digital trading pit, the Rabieys decided to create their own offset program, The Carbon Farmer.

On parcels of their family’s land where habitat restoration is greatly needed and soil is less productive, the couple began planting trees and offering sponsorship and recognition for the planting to individuals, businesses and organizations looking to offset their carbon emissions with Mother Nature’s best carbon consumers. A prime example: the Historic Requa Inn at California’s Redwood National Park calculated their emissions and then purchased a set number of offsets from the trees planted and cared for by the Carbon Farmer to make their hotel carbon-balanced.

Other partners include Millwoods Honda in Edmonton, which plants a tree on the “carbon farm” for every new or used car purchased at the dealership, and The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, who offers a “Green Stay” option for guests and plants a tree for every patron that chooses this option. The Hotel Macdonald also has an Eco Meet program which provides eco-friendly meetings and conferences, again with Carbon Farmer trees helping to offset the events. A faculty at the University of Alberta, where the youngest Rabieys went to college, has also purchased offsets as a gift to its contributors.

What makes the creativity behind the Carbon Farmer extra special and attractive is that none of the offsets these and other businesses or individuals have purchased were required. Brad tells us that Alberta does have a carbon cap, but it only applies to the biggest polluters — power plants or factories that emit more than 100,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The Carbon Farmer sends out a monthly report to major partners to let them know exactly how much they’ve offset and sends out customized certificates for thier clients as well.

Each offset is called a Carbon Plus Credit. It procures the planting and maintenance of more than three trees and is equivalent to one metric ton (tonne in Canada) of greenhouse gases. The Carbon Farmer website has a Carbon Calculator to help you figure out your own carbon footprint and easily offset it. They also offer an assortment of eco-wedding options and green gifts for any occasion.

Sustainability on the Rabiey land goes beyond just carbon farming. They are in the process of converting to 100-percent organic farming on the land still used for food crops, and the couple have recently purchased their first gas-electric hybrid, a Honda Civic Hybrid purchased from Carbon Farmer partner Millwoods Honda.

Based on the current listing online, The Carbon Farmer has sold 532 Carbon Plus Credits. That’s at least 1,600 new carbon-eating trees and counting!

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