Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities

“It is the relationships within a food system that inspire individual consumers to buy local when given the chance, as local is where these relationships are most visible and vibrant.” – Hope Kelley In a follow-up to Alex Redfield’s The “Other” 30 by 30: Reflections on Progress Toward a Resilient Food System in the current issue of From the Ground Up, Hope Kelley of Boston Food Forest Coalition presents a perspective that goes beyond hard statistics. “What role does relationship play in the journey toward 30 percent local food in New England by 2030?” she asks. The simplicity of soil on a mushroom, the smell of fruit displayed without plastic wrapping, a conversation with a local farmer or grocer–Kelley holds these are important parts of the food experience that have been de-emphasized in modern day supermarkets. “Without recognizing, uplifting, and valuing these connections inherent in a food system, we cannot assume that individuals would value or prioritize local products if they were simply placed on the shelves,” she adds. Read Kelley's article, Beyond the Supply Chain: Building Local Food Resilience through Relationship, to find out what relationships spaces and roles she believes can help in re-establishing the “thread of connection” between communities and local food to help New England meet its 2030 regional food production goal. https://buff.ly/3BMoCIp Photo by Hope Kelley #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #foodsolutions #sustainability #eatlocal #nofarmsnofood #eatlocalgrown #vermont #maine #rhodeisland #connecticut #massachussetts #newhampshire

A recent report by New England Food System Planners Partnership revealed that only 3.1 percent of the $120.6 billion spent on food and alcohol throughout the region is grown, raised, or made in New England. Can we do better? Caption: Tom Kelly, founder of UNH Sustainability Institute, and Dr. Karen Nordstrom and Shane Rogers from Food Solutions New England respond to Alex Redfield’s The “Other” 30 by 30: Reflections on Progress Toward a Resilient Food System in the current issue of From the Ground Up. “...While a metric like the Local Food Count provides a good basis for understanding one aspect of the food system, using it as the indicator of progress toward a shared goal in food systems change could come at the detriment of other essential components of a just regional food system,” they write. In their view, a food systems transformation for the better will require complex, multi-faceted approaches that are rooted in “justice and collective liberation.” Read their article, Seeding Food Systems Change: An Integrated Approach to Transformation, to learn more about what actions, policies and paradigms they view as integral to needed change in the food web. https://buff.ly/41Fgyny Illustration courtesy of Food Solutions New England. #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #foodsolutions #sustainability #eatlocal #nofarmsnofood #eatlocalgrown #vermont #maine #rhodeisland #connecticut #massachussetts #newhampshire

Is it possible by 2030 for New England to grow, process and distribute 30 percent of our food locally? What will it take for regional food production goals to mirror regional conservation goals? In the latest issue of From the Ground Up, Alex Redfield shares takeaways from the Local Food Count Dashboard, an analysis by the New England Food System Planners Partnership and Food Solutions New England that looks at the current state of the food cycle in the region, including preliminary benchmarks for each state’s progress toward a 30 percent target. A more localized food system provides communities with economic, environmental, and social benefits, including fresher, healthier food for people. Find out where we stand as states and together as a region, which actions we can take most easily and quickly to boost the local food economy, and what shifts might be required to push us over the goal line to bring our food web closer to home. https://buff.ly/4glgmy2 Photo courtesy of Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #foodsolutions #sustainability #eatlocal #nofarmsnofood #eatlocalgrown #vermont #maine #rhodeisland #connecticut #massachussetts #newhampshire

A chilly and peaceful farm scene in East Montpelier inspired artist Heidi Broner to paint, “Winter Cattle,” featured on the cover of From the Ground Up’s current issue. “Within the dark shapes and the white snow was a beautifully rich range of color, which I built up in thin layers, and the companionable nature of the cattle warmed the painting. What a pleasure," she says. Broner, a Vermonter who grew up in a family of artists, has illustrated books, designed and painted murals, and worked in theater for many years. “I start a painting from one of the many photos I take on the fly, while out and about,” she says. “I don’t see the photo as still, but as extremely slow, slow motion, and I love spiraling deeper and deeper into that slowed down moment. Every time I return to a painting in progress, a different aspect reveals itself to me, adding another layer of experience, pleasure, struggle, and thought.” Her artwork is one of many pieces adding color and dimension to the stories in the Winter 2025 issue. Learn more about Heidi: https://buff.ly/3DfbbB8 . Featured artwork: Winter Cattle, 16" x 40". Acrylic. © Heidi Broner #conservation #newengland #northeast #art #newenglandart #newenglandartist #vermont #maine #rhodeisland #connecticut #massachussetts #newhampshire #acrylic #cattle #montpelier #snow

Poet, author, journalist, family counselor, and Pushcart Prize nominee Mary Katherine Creel is “drunk on oak bokeh” while contemplating a simple flower among the forest’s trees in her poem “star shower,” featured in the current issue of From the Ground Up. Lean in further to the poignant nature moment she celebrates: https://buff.ly/4flPRqU #newengland #conservation #poem #poetry #forest #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #oaktree #bokeh

Upcoming webinar! Old Growth Forest Characteristics: The What, the How and the Why - January 14, 2025, 12-1 pm Old Growth Forests dominated the New England landscape for the thousands of years prior to European settlement. Today, they occupy less than one percent of the region. Learn what old growth forests are, why they are valuable, and how we can get more old forests back on the landscape through a range of approaches, from passive Wildlands conservation to light management. At this free webinar, hosted by Vermont Land Trust, ecologist Liz Thompson and VLT forester David McMath will share stories on old growth protection and management from the Vermont landscape and will answer your questions. Learn more and see registration details: #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #forestry #oldgrowth #lumber #landmanagement #nature #wildlands

Vermonter, conservationist, and former Executive Director of the International Wolf Center, Walter Medwid responds to David Foster’s piece, “Wolves Are Expanding in Agricultural Denmark. Why Not New England?” in the Winter 2025 issue of From the Ground Up. Medwid illuminates a disconnect between public sentiment, which strongly supports coexistence with–not dominance over–wildlife, and public policy, which continues to villainize predators as nuisances and vermin. If coyotes, which partially fill the ecological role once held by wolves in New England, are hunted without restriction, what hope could there be for a return of their larger relatives? Wolves may add a degree of complication for wildlife managers and livestock owners , but with our ecosystems lacking the balance that apex predators create, Medwid makes a compelling case supporting their return. Further, restoring wolves “taps into our hardwired urge to repair past harm and right the wrong of defining high-order predators as something negative and unnecessary,” he writes. Read more of Medwid’s thoughts on the “dream of returning the wolf to New England,” and questions to consider before making that dream real: #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #winter2025 #vermont #rhodeisland #newhampshire #connecticut #maine #massachusetts #wolves #coyotes #cougar

Farmer, historian, conservationist, and award-winning author, Brian Donahue proffers an alternate view in response to David Foster’s “Wolves Are Expanding in Agricultural Denmark. Why Not New England?” in From the Ground Up. “Speaking as a farmer, we don’t need to reintroduce wolves,” he writes, “The wolves are here.” He refers not to the wolf, Canis lupus but rather Canis latrans, or Eastern coyote, a hybrid, omnivorous animal that thrives in the suburbs. “I admire coyotes, but I also fear them,” writes Donahue. He shares accounts of coyote encounters on his farm, and ruminates about the potential for conflict as New England simultaneously pursues more wildness, and more livestock production. Read his thoughts here: https://buff.ly/4fi2XWi #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #winter2025 #climate #vermont #rhodeisland #newhampshire #connecticut #maine #massachusetts #wolves #coyotes #farmings #livestock #fromthegroundupne

“Nature accomplishes remarkable things when left alone,” writes David Foster in the Winter issue of From the Ground Up. And a remarkable accomplishment of nature is just what he goes on to detail: the resurgence of wolves in Denmark. Around 2007, wolves started migrating from Germany to establish a small population on Denmark’s mainland, and are now growing in numbers through reproduction. Foster admits the trend seems somewhat incredible given how unsuitable the country’s landscape might seem for them at first glance. Yet, in 2024 researchers recorded eight breeding pairs and 35 new pups, which, combined with continued influx of individual animals from Germany, point to ongoing substantial increases in Denmark’s wolf tally. How have wolves been able to return, and to thrive, in Denmark? Could they do the same in other places, like New England? Foster has thoughts…read them here: https://buff.ly/3ZKKiOp #conservation #newengland #northeast #landconservation #wwfc #winter2025 #climate #vermont #rhodeisland #newhampshire #connecticut #maine #massachusetts #wolves #europe #germany #denmark #migration