The International Peace Garden is grateful for local electric cooperative

A view from the International Peace Garden.

The world we live in is busy, and “busy” is a word that’s frequent in most of our vocabularies. We’re busy caring for and keeping up with our family schedules. Busy trying to chip away at our never-ending to-do lists. Busy being active members of our community. Busy, busy, busy…if only there was a place of solace.

Located in the heart of the Turtle Mountains resides the International Peace Garden, a 2400-acre garden that naturally has a calming effect on its visitors. The International Peace Garden is constructed around the geographic center of North America with territory residing in both North Dakota and Manitoba.

One would be remiss not to mention the International Music Camp (IMC) when talking about the International Peace Garden. Conveniently located on the southeast quadrant of the Garden, IMC offers weekly summer camp sessions where students immerse themselves in choral, band, orchestra, fiddle, guitar, and piano lessons, just to name a few.

One theme remains true when visiting with both the International Peace Garden and International Music Camp – they are grateful for their local electric cooperative that offers reliable electricity throughout the year.

North Central Electric Cooperative (NCEC), headquartered in Bottineau, North Dakota, is responsible for providing electricity services to five counties in north central North Dakota.  Both the International Peace Garden and IMC lie in their service area.

“We can’t afford to lose power for long,” Tim Chapman, CEO of the International Peace Garden, says. “Especially during the cold, winter months…that would be detrimental to our plant production as well as the succulent/cacti collection in the Conservatory. When our power went out during the ice storm in 2022, we were so thankful for NCEC’s quick response time, how they talked us through the process, and kept us informed on their progress.”

Likewise, International Music Camp depends on their electricity needs to feed, house, and entertain their 2,000 campers throughout the summer.

“NCEC has been a great partner for IMC,” Tim Baumann, co-director of International Music Camp, says. “Our campers spend roughly six days with us and it’s of the utmost importance that we give them a positive experience while they’re here. This includes functioning air conditioners, running water pumps, proper lighting for performance venues and so forth.  From sun-up to sun-down, we need electricity to make camp successful and we appreciate all NCEC & Basin Electric does to keep our lights on.”

Read the full story, A Cornerstone for Peace: The International Peace Garden, which is featured in the 2024 Spring/Summer issue of Basin Today.