Sowing Seeds of Sustainability: Farm & Wilderness' Holistic Approach to Stewardship in Vermont's Green Mountains
By Jay Kullman, Kelly Beerman, Colene Reed, and Adair Arbor
Here in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains, Farm & Wilderness, and more recently its affiliate Farm & Wilderness Conservation (born out of the Ninevah Foundation) has been nurturing a deep connection to the land since 1939. Sustainability is not jargon; it's a deeply-held value that permeates every facet of our operations. Year after year, we re-evaluate our our work toward our sustainability goals, including fuel efficiency, forest management, program impact, effective use of resources, and ecological resilience for our wild and working lands.
A Visionary Approach to Forest Management
In a world where resource extraction often takes precedence, F&W has sought a reciprocal relationship to the land. Over 40 years ago, Silos Roberts, a dedicated F&W forester, transformed the organization's management of our vast forests. Starting as a farmer and living on-site, Silos understands that the forest is not just a commodity to be harvested, but an intricate ecosystem that deserves respect and stewardship.
For F&W, forest management is not about maximizing logging revenue; it's about preserving the ecological integrity of the land. Roberts and his team have taken an uneven approach to forest management, seeking to mimic the characteristics of old-growth forests. This approach, often seen as unconventional in the forestry industry, underscores F&W's commitment to biodiversity and ecological health. Logging revenue, while beneficial, is secondary to protecting and enhancing the forest's ecological balance.
Adapting our Farm to Increase Organizational Sustainability
As many of you know, the dairy cows have been a strong part of our farm programming at Farm and Wilderness. Even before this land had campers, it had cows eating grass on our hillside pastures. They have been a source of nutrient rich food, fertility, and kinship to those connected to this place.
In 2022-23 we piloted a board and lease arrangement with a Vermont organic dairy, Lazy Dog Farm. Our cows joined their small herd and now receive the high-quality animal care they are accustomed to and meet their annual medical needs with 60 other milking cows. The family at Lazy Dog Farm is amazing and they want to support camps and farm-based learning opportunities. One of the farmers is a nurse at another Vermont camp each summer, and the family’s three kids run around caring for and showing the cows in 4-H. Our small herd grazed fields surrounding Tamarack Farm and were milked twice daily at camp and have returned to Lazy Dog for the off season. Our cows are in good hands.
Our Farm Director, Colene Reed, took time this summer and fall to analyze the impact and resources required for our dairy program. The resources this program requires are significant and overall our campers and staff are consuming much less dairy than in years past. Even with the creative measures and heart that so many staff have put into utilizing the dairy during camp programming, many logistical factors contribute to the underutilization of a cumbersome dairy farm and processing plant. In a message to staff Colene shared, “With all the success that this last year has been and with all the love that I have for our dairy cows, milking routine, and our cream-top milk, I have been evaluating the effort to impact ratio. Thinking about the sustainability of our farm and organization, I have decided, in consultation with many others, to sunset the dairy program.”
The next steps on the farm will be to liquidate dairy processing assets and pursue a lease agreement for custom grazing young dairy heifers (future milk cows) here at F&W. We are also looking into buying milk from a local organic dairy for our kitchens and campers to have access to cream-top milk. These are big changes in an effort to continue to build resilience into the farm and therefore into Farm and Wilderness.
Carbon Storage and Sequestration
The commitment to sustainability extends beyond the forest. F&W is actively exploring government programs that reward carbon storage and sequestration. Recognizing the forest's role as a significant carbon sink, the organization is keen to maximize its contributions to mitigating climate change.
Government incentive programs to reward carbon sequestration are based on the concept of "additionality." In other words, grantees seek to identify what more they can do to improve the forest, given their existing commitment to responsible forest management. In terms of forest management, Silos’ plan is so comprehensive and forest-health-focused, most years our team finds there is little else we can improve upon.
A Yearly Greenhouse Gas Audit: Learning from Data
F&W's commitment to sustainability is grounded in data and a systematic approach. Every year, our team conducts a greenhouse gas audit, providing a comprehensive overview of operations from a physical and systems perspective. This audit delves into fuel efficiency, building emissions, and other critical aspects of our carbon footprint.
Initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact are central to F&W's sustainability strategy. For example, we frequently send campers out on trips locally, reducing the use of fossil fuels for transportation. Our use of Kybos allows F&W to receive credits for our humanure system. Our solar array—tucked in behind our Resource Building, our Kybos, and our commitment to simple, unelectrified cabins and program facilities save a substantial amount of resources (over a million gallons of water per year) and energy.
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Sheltering a Love for the Land
As a result of caring for nearly 5,000 acres in our wild patch of Vermont, and our commitment to simple, low-impact facilities which blend in and work with our local terrain, our campers and staff are immersed in nature. And that immersion builds their interest, knowledge and love of this place. It stirs curiosity and a desire to do no harm. In so many ways, from our teaching Leave No Trace principles to edible and invasive plant identification to Tamarack Farm’s Conservation Immersion, F&W and F&W Conservation nurture love for the wilderness and a commitment to sustain it. We are so fortunate to be able to explore this wilderness using trails, shorelines, and shelters we maintain. While we remain committed to our trips program that takes campers further afield, exploring and tending to the land here connects us in profound ways, creating a lifelong bond with the natural world and a desire to protect it.
F&W and F&W Conservation sow the seeds of sustainability in the hearts of all members of our community, fostering a love for the land and a commitment to stewardship that will endure for generations to come.