2023-2024 Events Archive
Tup’s Crossing Farm - in collaboration with Rural Vermont
Sunday, November 3, 2024
We joined Rural VT for a pasture reclamation work brigade at Tup’s Crossing Farm in Orwell! We trimmed back and wrapped shade trees in an 8 acre parcel to increase grazing opportunities for a herd of dairy goats.
Work brigades are a popular education tool used around the world to strengthen communities, build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. This brigade is hosted by the Vermont Agroecology School Collective and the Addison County Relocalization Network. Lunch, refreshments, education and tools provided.
Vermont’s ability to feed itself relies on thriving community scale farms working together towards food sovereignty and community resilience. We hope you can join us!
If you are a grower looking to host a working bee, please reach out to Lilah!
Farming While Black Documentary Screening and Panel
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
We hosted a screening of Farming While Black on the Middlebury College campus with a panel of farmers Z and Jamie from Abolition in Action. Samantha from the Vermont Releaf Collective moderated the panel.
The recording can be found here. The conversation between Samantha and Z and Jamie drove home the themes from the film and called out so much that goes unsaid here in Vermont. Please take the time to listen to and share their story. You can find more about Abolition in Action on their Instagram and donate on their fundraising page.
This event was co-sponsored by the Middlebury Climate Action Program and the Knoll.
Farmer Wellness Day
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Thanks to support from Cultivemos and the Vermont Council on Rural Development, we hosted a Farmer Tubing and Wellness Gathering Day for farmers to kick back, relax and hang out with each other!
ACORN hosted a day of wellness for our local farmers and food producers. We met in Stockbridge and tubed together down the White River for over two hours. Afterward, we reconvened at Camp Wizby in Gaysville for an outdoor lunch, lawn games, and wellness practitioners (massages, yoga, and a sound bath).
Stone’s Throw Farmstead
Sunday, June 2, 2024
For our final work event of the season, we went down to Shrewsbury to plant flowers and skirt wool. Thanks Jess and Connor for hosting us!
Frog Hollow Farmstead
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Volunteers assisted Janis and Jason in prepping their high tunnel!
New Leaf Organics
Sunday, April 28, 2024
What a day of onion planting and eating! Volunteers helped Jill at New Leaf Organics plant her onions. See you in the fall, onion pals!
Singing Cedars Farmstead
Saturday, March 30, 2024
We learned how tomatoes are grown in high tunnels to extend our very short growing season. We transplanted tomatoes, tied up tomatoes, staked tomatoes, and ate tomato soup!
Boundbrook Farm
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Boundbrook Farm is experimenting with methods to separate soybeans from the dried plants. Participants assisted in tasks such as threshing, filtering, and bagging, as well as clean up. A delicious local rice lunch was provided by the farm!
Read the Addison Independent article here.
Nightmare on Exchange Street
Thursday, October 26, 2023
ACORN Food Hub, 616 Exchange Street, Warehouse 5, Middlebury, VT
Food producers, farmers and farmworkers from across the Champlain Valley were invited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the ACORN Food Hub and the kick off of the Champlain Valley Farmer Climate Network.
Cooperatively Healing our Watershed Homes
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Bicentennial Hall Room 220, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op and ACORN are excited to host Abe Collins of The Land Care Cooperative at Middlebury College’s Bicentennial Hall Room 220. Mercy Larson of Larson Farm will be joining as a special guest speaker. This is the perfect opportunity for our community to come together to educate and organize ourselves as we begin a new chapter of cooperation with our farming neighbors to engage in the work of growing topsoil, increasing biodiversity, increasing the water-holding capacity of our soils, increasing groundwater recharge, practicing economic democracy, and beginning the long journey of effectively healing our watershed homes.
Meatballs from Lucas Family Farm and other light snacks will be provided.
The event is free and open to the public.
VFN in the News
The Addison Independent, October 19, 2023: New Network Helps Farmers Connect, Talk Climate Change
VCRD Press Release, December 5, 2023: VCRD’s Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund Supports 25 Local Projects
The Addison Independent, February 22, 2024: ‘Working bees’ tackle projects on local farms
About the Farmer Climate Network
According to CEAC’s 2020 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, one of the top three greenhouse gas emitters in Addison County is agriculture. Organic and regenerative farming releases fewer greenhouse gasses, protects natural resources, is more resilient to extreme weather events and stores carbon. By creating opportunities for farmer-to-farmer learning, on-farm demonstrations, and sharing resources through farmer working bees, we can catalyze the creation of a network that will focus on climate and adaptation techniques, educational efforts, and political advocacy. Not only will healthier soils, cleaner water and lower greenhouse gas emissions bring Vermont closer to its renewable energy goals, they will also provide a more resilient local food community.
The Champlain Valley is one of the largest agricultural regions of the state and has been identified by Food Solutions New England as one of the two most important future agricultural regions in the northeast; their vision shows that the majority of the projected “highly cultivated” agriculture areas in the Northeast is split roughly equally between the Champlain Valley and a slice of Aroostook County in Maine. This means more intensive agriculture along Lake Champlain than currently practiced. At the same time, there’s a need to deal with worsening water quality issues in the lake.
As the climate crisis continues to worsen, food producers will be looking for mitigation and adaptation techniques. Creating a community of climate-aware farmers across all sectors has yet to be been done in the Champlain Valley.
CEAC’s Climate Action Plan for Addison County identified the following goals for the agricultural sector. ACORN’s Farmer Climate Network can support the goals highlighted in bold.
Increase the share of farms using high feed efficiency practices
Reduce GHG emissions from manure management
Support and increase the number of farms who focus on diversified kinds of agricultural products
Shift to low GHG and renewable energy in agricultural operations
Increase adoption of carbon positive soil and crop management practices
Respect and learn from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), such as that from the Abenaki peoples.
The Farmer Climate Network will focus on these goals, and build upon the work ACORN is doing to build a Food Hub that increases food access across the community. ACORN’s long term goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by building a Food Hub that increases sales for small and medium scale producers, is powered by renewable energy and supported by EV delivery vehicles.
This work is made possible thanks to the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Climate Catalyst Fund.
