Marmion alum returns to manage tree farm
Batavian Adam Voirin loves his alma mater, and he loves the land that surrounds it.
A 2002 graduate of Marmion Academy, Voirin pursued a landscape architectural degree at Ball State University. With his career plan on track, he landed a job with an architecture and design firm in San Francisco.
"I was working on the design of towns in Africa when I got the call from Father Mike," Voirin said.
At the other end of the line was the Rev. Michael Burrows, an instructor at Marmion who had gotten to know Voirin when the two worked together maintaining the grounds for three summers.
"Father Mike told me that the monks weren't able to maintain the tree farm anymore and they were looking for someone to manage it," Voirin said.
The tree farm at Marmion Abbey has a long and rich history. Originally, the farm produced crops and had a small dairy operation with the sole purpose of providing for the monks.
With new government regulations on dairy farms, the Abbey chose to abandon that operation and use the land as a tree farm. The first tree was planted in 1967. The revs. Andrew Wahhoff and Bede Stoeker had been in charge of the farm for more than 40 years. Weakened by declining health, the two monks could no longer handle the day to day operation and the tree farm was falling into a state of disarray.
"I was thinking about returning to the Midwest," Voirin said. "This just seemed like the job I was meant to do."
Hired as director of Operations of Marmion's Abbey Farms last April, Voirin quickly started to make some much-need changes to bring the farm up to speed. He created a Web site for Abbey Farms (www.abbeyfarms.org) and started working on a long-term plan.
"I wanted to build on the tradition of having a family-centered farm that can operate year-round," he said. "We sold pumpkins here in October and we hope to expand our fall festival with a corn maze and more activities next year."
One thing Voirin has vowed to do is make Abbey Farms affordable for families.
"I want families to be able to come here and not feel like they are being charged for every little thing," he added.
The energetic young manager is full of ideas and is working hard to get the new Abby Farm up and running. In addition to the beautiful trees the tree farm has to offer, Voirin is bringing in additional varieties of trees from Michigan.
"Many people want Fraser firs, and although we have them, they aren't very big yet," he said. "We want our customers to be able to find what they are looking for. We want them to leave happy about the experience of being at our farm."
Right now, Abbey Farms offers warming fires and places to sit near the fire. There is also free hot chocolate and sleds to pull the trees. In the future, Voirin hopes to have a horse-drawn sleigh or wagon to take the families to the different areas of the farm.
"Maybe someday we can build a barn and use it to complement the outdoor space," he said.
Although only 26, Voirin is not without experience. He mowed lawns in high school and ran his own landscape business throughout college.
"The monks have been very supportive and really want to see the farm expand," Voirin said. "At first I was a little worried because my youngest worker is 52, but they have worked extremely hard and, frankly, Brother Sebastian is hard to keep up with."
Hardworking, energetic, enthusiastic and dedicated - all are words that have been used to describe Voirin. One word that didn't come up, and should have been in the forefront, is humble. Voirin is quick to give others credit for the changes at Abbey Farm.
"Everyone is working hard to create outdoor spaces that people want to come to and spend time in," he said.
Abbey Farms is open daily from 9 a.m. until dusk through Dec. 23. The tree farm is just west of Marmion Academy, off Butterfield Road, in North Aurora.