Boston Flora

Tag: Shelburne Farms

  • Wednesday, July 10, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm – Great American Gardens: Historic, Personal, & Visionary from the 19th to the 21st Century

    As director of preservation for the Garden Conservancy, Bill Noble is fortunate to work with garden owners and community activists who are working to save great American gardens. He will draw examples from the estate gardens of the early twentieth century, such as Shelburne Farms, as well as more recent gardens that give voice to regional and cultural expressions of a time and place, such as Ruth Bancroft’s Garden in Walnut Creek, CA; George Schoellkopf’s Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT; Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden in Bishopville, SC and the Gardens of Alcatraz. Bill will tell the stories of the individual creators of these extraordinary gardens. He will also show how some of the garden ideas (and plants) he has picked up through his work with gardens across the country have shown up in his own Vermont garden. This July 10 program will take place at The Inn at Shelburne Farms, in the Marble Dining Room, and the $75 fee includes lunch, program, and a $50 donation to the Formal Gardens Restoration Project at Shelburne Farms. To register, and for complete information, visit www.shelburnefarms.org.

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  • Saturday, March 23, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Making a Farmstead

    Spend a day on Saturday, March 23 at Berkshire Botanical Garden considering the possibilities of adding a backyard chicken coop, a flock of sheep, a milking goat or cow or a flock of fowl.  Join educator Meg Taylor and farmer Dominic Palumbo for one or more lectures on keeping farm animals in the backyard. Learn about the advantages of taking control of your food supply (milk, eggs and meat) managing your own manure pile and adding a four-legged lawn mower. Each program will cover topics including nutrition, shelter/coops, health, egg/meat/wool production, breeds, predators, regulations, general care and helpful resources. Attend one or more lecture and join the backyard farming movement.

    9:30 am – Chickens in the Backyard – Meg Taylor

    Calling all gardeners to join the backyard chicken movement! This beginners’ workshop will inspire you and give you the skills to start a backyard flock of your own.

    11 am – The Family Flock of Sheep – Meg Taylor

    Tired of spending your weekend morning mowing the back acre? There is a quieter and more attractive solution—sheep! Sheep are low maintenance, live on grass, can be surprisingly hardy and produce meat, milk and fiber. We’ll discuss important considerations before acquiring sheep, such as basic care, best breeds for the small farm, predator control, seasonal tasks, uses for wool and pasture management.

    12:30 pm – Fowl A Field: Turkeys, Ducks and Geese – Dominic Palumbo

    Consider a range of fowl that can be successfully raised in a backyard setting. Used for their eggs, meat or simply for insect control, these entertaining creatures add a lively atmosphere to the backyard farmstead.

    2 pm – The Milking Family Cow or Goat – Dominic Palumbo

    Possibly the most rewarding farm animal is the dairy animal (cow or goat). These animals provide organic, pasture-grown dairy for your family in addition to meat, great manure and some pasture control. This talk will introduce you to the basic information needed to consider one of these four-legged friends on the farm.

    Meg Taylor is the Founder and Co-Director of The Farm Education Collaborative, an organization that designs and delivers farm-based education programs for all ages in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Meg has worked in the fields of environmental and agricultural education since 1994 and has worked as a farm educator for Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm and at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Meg and her family garden and raise fancy chickens, Shetland sheep and dairy goats at their home, North Wind Farm, in Williamsburg, MA.

    Dominic Palumbo is a farmer and owner of Moon In The Pond, a small farm in Sheffield, MA. Moon In The Pond maintains a strong focus on the elegant integration of history (raising heritage breed livestock and heirloom vegetables, using select traditional farming methods) and contemporary ‘technology.’

    $75 for BBG members, $90 for non members. Bring a bag lunch. Sign up at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

     

     

  • Thursday, April 7 – Friday, April 8 – ABC’s of Farm Based Education

    If you have ever considered owning or operating a farm for education, or if you are looking for new ideas, this is the workshop for you.  On Thursday and Friday, April 7 and 8, the FBEA, Shelburne Farms, and the Trustees of Reservations Center for Agriculture and the Environment at Appleton Farms will present the ABC’s of Farm Based Education, at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  Appleton Farms’ dairy, CSA fields, pastures, forests and newly renovated LEED certified Old House Visitor Center will be your campus for exploring topics including marketing your farm program to schools and the community, creating a safe farm environment for the public, and meeting teachers’ needs.  You’ll also discover exciting, hands-on ways to develop agricultural education programs for groups with easy-to-use activities from Shelburne Farms’ PROJECT SEASONS, a collection of teaching ideas developed by teachers and agriculture educators.  Tuition is $200, including all materials and meals.  Scholarships are available.  For more information contact Holly Hannaway at hhannaway@ttor.org, or call her at 978-356-5728, ext. 15.  You may also read more about this two day workshop at www.farmbasededucation.org/events/abcs-of-farmbased-education-1. Photo of Appleton Farms below by David Stone entitled “Red Barn” was the First Prize Winner of the 2010 Essex Heritage Photo Contest.

  • Saturday, November 20, 11:30 am and 1:00 pm – Giving Thanks Benefit Luncheon

    Food for Free will host a benefit luncheon at RendezVous in Central Square, Cambridge on Saturday, November 20, with two seatings at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm.  The $25 per person ticket price includes lunch, beverage and gratuity, with 100% of the proceeds going to Food For Free.  For reservations, call RendezVous in Central Square at 617-576-1900.  The menu includes a first course choice of Boston lettuce salad with sliced apples, Shelburne Farms cheddar, spiced pecans and cider vinaigrette or butternut squash soup with creme fraiche and fried sage, followed by a choice of crisp roast chicken with autumn vegetables and rooftop rosemary or cassoulet of braised pork and garlic sausage.  Dessert will be lemon-buttermilk pudding with huckleberry sauce.

    Produce Rescue is the heart of Food For Free’s work. By rescuing fresh food that might otherwise go to waste, they reduce food waste while guaranteeing access to fresh produce for emergency food programs. By prioritizing fresh fruits and vegetables, their programs address not only hunger, but also nutrition, obesity, and diet-related disease.