Author: dgroberg

There will be a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Boulder Knoll on Thursday, June 26 at 7 pm at the home of Fellis & Hap Jordan. All members of the Friends of Boulder Knoll are also invited.  As we get started on the land, there will be plenty for everyone to help with!

Agenda:

1. Current status of lease with the town on two acres of land at Boulder Knoll

2. Insurance

3. Report from the treasurer (including taxes)

4.  Plans to get started on the land – overall plan, resources and labor available, resources needed, timing

5.  Plans to market produce.  Three suggestions: 1) start a preliminary fall CSA – each shareholder pays a modest fee (maybe $75) and gets part of what we produce, 2) selling produce (including excess produce from our own gardens) at the Wallingford farmers market, 3)  get a stand at the fall festival and other town events and sell produce (maybe supplemented from our own gardens)

6.  Other plans to raise funds

7.  Scheduling and distribution of tasks

See you on Thursday.  If you want to add anything to the agenda, please contact me before Thursday evening.

If the development and preservation rates of the last nine years continue, Connecticut will NEVER meet its preservation goal.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-enviroreport0626.artjun26,0,2172198.story

Banking on Gardening

A great vivid New York Times piece on the rise of gardening to combat rising grocery prices. 

The Cheshire Herald published this article on the recent approval of Friends of Boulder Knoll utilizing two acres of land:  

”Friends of Boulder Knoll Prepare to Farm a Two-Acre ‘Starter’ Parcel 

by Josh Morgan

Herald Staff  

More than 18 months after its original proposal, the Friends of Boulder Knoll will finally get a chance to bring farming back to Boulder Knoll.
Since the fall of 2006, the volunteer group has been trying to get town approval to farm on a piece of the property known as Boulder Knoll Farm. Although the original proposal —presented to the town in September 2006 — was much different than the version Town Council approved on May 13, Kim Stoner, president of the Friends of Boulder Knoll, said it was “absolutely” a step in the right direction. 
“This should work out really well for both us and the town,” Stoner explained. “It gives us the opportunity to get started and do real stuff on the land.” 
The proposal that was approved unanimously by the Council allows the Friends of Boulder Knoll to work on a two-acre portion of the town-owned property. The group plans to grow herbs and vegetables, but most importantly, the group will prepare the land for a harvest next year.
Laura DeCaprio, a town councilor and chairman of the Planning Committee, said there was “some concern” because a proposal like this has not been previously implemented. By working with the group and listening to concerns, DeCaprio said a well-crafted proposal was created.
“The land is ready,” DeCaprio stated about the property. “This is a great chance for them to start working.”
The original proposal requested permission for the group to work on the whole 88-acre farm, which is under a conservation easement. Through donated money and fundraisers, the group planned to hire a farmer and purchase farm equipment so the land could be cultivated. That proposal was somewhat of a pipe dream, and Stoner explained that the plan was the “ultimate vision of what can be done on the property.” However, with so many resources on the land, Stoner said she was “not disappointed at all” to start with two acres.
“For our group, it will be plenty with which to start,” she said. “What we need to do is just get started and work on raising money.”
The contract with the town still needs to be officially signed, but Stoner expected work to occur on the land “fairly soon.” 
“We need to do some initial things with the soil,” Stoner said, “So it will probably be a few weeks before we start planting things.” 
Stoner explained that the “initial plan” is to prepare a small piece of the land, perhaps “a couple thousand square feet” as the group gradually grooms the land for 2009. 
“A lot of our efforts will be preparation of the land,” Stoner said. 
The group is somewhat limited in what it can do on the property because there are still some hurdles that need to be cleared. First and foremost is the lack of potable water, which restricts the possibility of intense farming. Also, invasive plant species are still prevalent on Boulder Knoll, a problem that the town hopes to remedy in the near future.
DeCaprio explained that a flora and fauna inventory is being conducted to identify any and all species on the property.
“A year or so down the line, a new plan could be possible,” suggested DeCaprio.
The agreement between the town and the Friends of Boulder Knoll would be limited to one year so the status and progress of the group’s efforts can be reviewed. For now though, DeCaprio is supportive of the grassroots group hitting the ground running to start cultivating the stagnant land. 

“They are a dedicated and enthusiastic group,” DeCaprio said. “I’ve been very impressed with their efforts.” ”

 Friends,

As you may know, the Town Council approved an agreement with Friends of Boulder Knoll allowing us to start farming on two acres — the area that has been regularly mowed between the barn and Bob Giddings’s house — at the Boulder Knoll property.

So, we can finally start doing something on the land!  

We will keep you posted as the situation develops.  Our next regular Board meeting will be June 26 at 7 pm at Fellis Jordan’s house, 72 Broadview.  But, I am hoping that we will be having some work days out at the farm before that!  

We will try to get moving on a farming project for this year. That would mean plowing, application of lime, compost, and other organic fertilizers, planting and mulching.  Our first priority will be to get started on a small fraction of the available land – we had discussed a large garden of about 2000 sq. ft. along Boulder Road.  Once that part is going well, we can move on to consider preparing another piece of land for use next year.

Start sharpening your tools!

Thanks for your help!

Friends of Boulder Knoll 

Local Food Is In, And State Farmers Reap The Bounty

“Chefs and shoppers, schools and supermarkets are all clamoring for locally grown food.”

Although Mark Winne now lives in New Mexico, he was a leader in Connecticut for many years on issues of food and farmland.  He started the Hartford Food System, and as the long-time director of that organization was involved in starting lots of other organizations:  the Working Lands Alliance, the Connecticut Farmland Trust, the Holcomb Farm CSA, etc.  He is also a very entertaining as well as informative speaker.

Dear Connecticut Friends:

I want you all to know that I will be speaking at RJ Julia in Madison on April 17th at 7:00 pm. The topic, as you might imagine is my book “Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.” The link takes you to the Courant notice and more information. 

Feel free to share the news with your respective network.

All the best and hope to see you there.

Mark Winne

http://www.courant.com/features/food/hc-fnotes0403.artapr03,0,6075481.story

Building a Horse Farm Barn by Barn

 An article from this morning’s NY Times on one man’s plan to turn a piece of open space property in Connecticut “quiet corner” into a working farm.

 “To keep saying ‘open space’ as a term is maddeningly meaningless,” he said. “People in their woozy way repeat like a mantra: ‘We’ve got to preserve open space.’  Instead of buying up open space, towns should be figuring out how to turn land into real working land that’s in use every day.”

Judy Wicks, Leader in Sustainable Food and Local Living Economies Movements

Master’s Tea & Talk, Saybrook College Master’s House, Wed, April 9, 4 PM

Talk, Luce Hall Auditorium “Building Local Living Economies: Green, Fair, Fun”, 7 PM 

This event is sponsored by the Yale Office of Sustainability and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale. 

Both talks tie together economics, social justice, and sustainable food. 

Judy Wicks is owner and founder of Philadelphia’s White Dog Cafe, and is a national leader in the local, living economies movement.  She is co-founder and co-chair of the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and founder of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN). The White Dog Cafe is a leader in the sustainable food movement, and was one of the first restaurants to source exclusively local, organic food from family farms. has a four-part mission of serving customers, community, employees, and the natural environment and has created numerous educational and community-building programs. Judy Wicks is also the cofounder of Urban Outfitters. She has appeared on Nightline, MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, and CNN, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Fortune Small Business, and Washington Post, among others.

Taking Green to the Alter

“Couples At Home Being Eco-Friendly, Starting With Their Weddings”, from today’s Courant.