Work Weekends
The sign on the Tamarack Farm front porch says “Work is Love made Visible.” This is never more true than at an F&W Work Weekend, and if you've never attended one, you don't know what you're missing. Each weekend is complete with communal work projects, food, fun and a boisterous night of contradancing.
At the Harvest Weekend (Columbus Day Weekend, October 10-13 2008), you will help the year-round F&W staff harvest the remaining crops and put the gardens to rest for the winter. In preparation for the impending cold weather and snow, you will chop and stack wood, secure all the camp lodges and buildings, remove the swimming docks, and store all the waterfront equipment. Housed at the Indian Brook lodge and cabins, you will enjoy delicious food, the company of old and new friends, hikes in the crisp fall air, and a beautiful display of Vermont foliage.
At Ice Cutting Weekend (President's Weekend, 2009), you will be a part of the time-honored tradition of cutting ice from the pond at Flying Cloud to store in the ice house. Your hard work will provide the sole source of refrigeration for Flying Cloud’s food the following summer! The days begin with an invigorating hike through the snow up to FC, then working in teams to cut, haul and stack large ice blocks. You return to the Tamarack Farm lodge in the evening with sore muscles, but full of the sweet feeling that comes from being outside in the winter air all day. After hot cocoa, hot food, a sauna and singing, you will be ready for a night of dancing.
Spring is traditionally maple sugaring season in Vermont. When the nights are cold and the days are warm, the sap begins to run in the maple trees. Some years, F&W hosts a Maple Sugaring Weekend in late March/early April. You can help haul sap from the woods, cut and stack wood for the stove in the Sugar Shack, boil and stir the sap, and put the sticky, sweet syrup into bottles. Spring is the time for other projects on the farm, such as construction and repairs, and, if you are lucky, you may be there when new baby animals are born.
At the end of May, it’s all hands on deck for Spring Planting Weekend (Memorial Day Weekend). With camp right around the corner, there is plenty of work for everyone. You will stay at the Indian Brook lodge and cabins, but there is work at every camp. The soil needs to be turned; seedlings transplanted from the greenhouse; new seeds sowed; camp buildings cleaned and opened up; and fallen trees from the winter storms cut, bucked, and stacked. Sometimes, we are building new cabins or tent platforms. With hot days and cool evenings, it is a perfect time to play soccer at the fairgrounds, go for a hike up to the ridge, or test out the lake for a swim. Once again, Saturday evening you’ll find yourself tapping your toes to at the contradance.
To get more information about particular work weekends, or register for the upcoming Work Weekend, use the links on the right hand side of this page. If you have any questions, please contact Janet Stocker in the F&W office at 802-422-3761, or janetREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org.
