Community Rallies to Protect Kingsbury and Bruce Farms
Contact information:
Elise Annes, V.P. of Community Relations, Vermont Land Trust, (802) 262-1206, elise@vlt.org
Liza Walker, Mad River Valley Director, Vermont Land Trust, (802) 496-3690, liza@vlt.org
COMMUNITY RALLIES TO PROTECT KINGSBURY AND BRUCE FARMS
VERMONT LAND TRUST-LED FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN A SUCCESS
With more than 300 donations from the Mad River Valley community, and considerable support from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the Town of Warren, the Vermont Land Trust has announced completion of the successful two-year fundraising campaign to permanently protect the Kingsbury and Bruce farms and advance future conservation efforts in the Valley.
The Vermont Land Trust transferred title to Kingsbury Farm to the Vermont Foodbank subject to permanent easements that will forever protect the farm’s agricultural productivity and a half mile of frontage on the Mad River, while also providing future recreational opportunities for the community. The Foodbank’s proposal to grow food on the Kingsbury farm for local, low-income families reflected the early vision the committee of local residents had for the future of the farm.
“It is amazing to think that just two years ago I drove past the Kingsbury Farm not knowing what would become of it,” said Robin McDermott, co-founder of the Mad River Valley Localvore Project and a member of the local advisory committee. “Now the farm has been conserved forever and our community will soon have a new and important source of local food. It was an amazing project to work on and something that the entire Mad River Valley can be proud of.”
VLT raised more than $600,000 during its Two Farm Campaign, including grants from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, a contribution from the Town of Warren’s Conservation Reserve Fund for the Kingsbury Farm, and private donations from foundations, area businesses and individuals. More than 300 donors raised the final $200,000 in private charitable donations needed to conserve and renew the farms.
Local residents helped VLT’s fundraising efforts by encouraging friends and neighbors to join the effort. “It’s just so exciting to see people in the Valley, even those of us who aren’t from here originally, working together to save the heritage the Valley-- and the soul of Vermont,” said Ned Kelley, a volunteer and contributor to the Two Farm Campaign. Donations made to the campaign enabled the Vermont Land Trust to purchase a conservation easement on the Kingsbury farm to protect the farmland from future development and ensure the property’s affordability to the Vermont Foodbank.
VLT’s conservation of the Bruce farm, anticipated for the end of April, will likewise protect the agricultural soils and forestland on the 102 acre farm on Route 100B and facilitate its purchase by new farmers, Keith and Rae-Anne Lacroix.
“We are deeply appreciative of the donations of all sizes that we received from the community,” said Liza Walker, Mad River Valley Director of the Vermont Land Trust. “Local businesses, artists, restaurants, churches, residents, families that visit the Valley year after year joined together to seize this opportunity to conserve two farms and boost local food production. Matching pledges offered by several lead donors and by the Red Hen Baking Company also inspired broad participation in this campaign.”
The Vermont Foodbank has initiated a comprehensive effort to plan for its agricultural operation, the purpose of which will be to provide fresh produce to low income households throughout the region, beginning in 2010. The Foodbank will also be working with many of the initial community partners, including Friends of the Mad River and the Mad River Path Association, to plant trees along the Mad River and establish a new recreational trail to access the Mad River. “We are looking forward to turning the soil and working with the community to ensure that more Vermonters have access to safe, nutritious food,” said John Sayles, Vermont Foodbank CEO.
“These are two of the most exciting conservation projects and partnerships that Vermont has experienced,” said Gil Livingston, President of the Vermont Land Trust. “The overwhelming support of the local community seems to indicate both the importance of getting these farms back into production and of the Mad River Valley residents’ conviction that they can take care of their neighbors and help to guide their food future.”
Kingsbury and Bruce Farm Background InformationBack in the fall of 2007 when the Kingsbury farm became available, local participants representing a wide array of community interests unleashed a creative effort around the future of the farm. People sought not only to preserve the rural beauty of the Kingsbury farm, but also considered how the farm could increase the Valley’s self reliance in producing food. The Mad River Conservation Partnership (consisting of the Mad River Valley Planning District, Friends of the Mad River and the Vermont Land Trust), the Mad River Valley Localvore Project, Yestermorrow Design/Build School, the Mad River Path Association, the Warren Select Board and Conservation Commission and a number of area residents joined together to develop a common vision for the future of the farm. After this vision was create a request for proposals went out to the community and VLT was seeking a buyer interested in a farm enterprise with a community farm connection. After the Vermont Foodbank applied and was selected by VLT and the local community committee, the groups worked vigorously to put together the financing that would make the farm affordable. This included the need to raise private funds from the local community.
At the same time the Kingsbury farm went on the market, an opportunity arose to conserve a second Valley landmark, the 102-acre Bruce Farm in Moretown. Traveling along Route 100B toward Montpelier or Route 89, the farm is one-half mile before Route 2 and offers glimpses of the Mad River, scenic barns and hay fields. Facing the need to sell, the Bruce family sought VLT’s help to conserve and transfer their beautiful farm to new owners. Rae-Anne and Keith Lacroix, currently of Brookfield, plan to make farm-grown vegetables, eggs and grass-fed beef, available to all from one of the farm’s historic barns.
Rural Landscapes and Conservation for Future GenerationsVermont is renowned for its farms, forests and open fields which combine to offer scenic, working landscapes and strong, localized economies. The conservation of the Kingsbury and Bruce farms will protect vistas of farmland and forest along Route 100 and Route 100B, recently designated as the Mad River Byway. Due to perpetual conservation easements on the farms, affordability will be ensured to the Vermont Foodbank and the Lacroix family, as well as to future generations of farmers on these properties. If these farms are sold in subsequent years, the easements are transferred and the properties remain available for farming, forestry and open space uses.
Recreational OpportunitiesA new extension of the Mad River Path system will be created at the Kingsbury farm, connecting to the Kingsbury Greenway south of the green trestle bridge and providing public access to a previously private swim hole on the farm. Mad River Path Association Board member, Tara Hamilton, says, “The Mad River Path Association is grateful to have been included in the proactive collaborative effort that resulted in this great project.” The Town of Warren will hold the recreational trail easement, while the Friends of the Mad River will lead the effort to plant trees along the half mile of frontage to stabilize the river bank, protect water quality and improve habitat for fish and other aquatic species.
Locally-Grown FoodEnvironmental and health concerns, market forces, and an interest in reducing the transportation costs of food have converged to make consumers more interested in locally grown food. CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) membership and participation in “localvore” initiatives have increased rapidly. While Waitsfield currently has two farmstands in Waitsfield providing access to eggs, vegetables, berry and locally-raised beef, Moretown residents lack a convenient place to buy local produce. Liza Walker, VLT regional Director for the Mad River Valley comments, “Once the Bruce farm is revived as a working farm, the new owners plan to establish a farmstand in one of the historic barns. That will make it easier for Moretown residents and commuters on Route 100B to enjoy locally grown foods.”
First Foodbank- Owned FarmAs the first of its kind in Vermont, the Vermont Foodbank’s ownership and operation of the Kingsbury farm may become a template for future projects across the state and a vital resource for agriculture, education and recreation. By providing low-income families with locally-grown produce, the Foodbank is diversifying their approach to how they supply food to community food shelves. With an emphasis on lowering the transportation costs of food and making sure children and adults have healthier diets, the Foodbank is poised to begin a farming operation. Preparation of the soil and farm facilities will begin this summer, with the first harvest of crops for local food shelves expected in the summer of 2010. David Thurlow of the Vermont Foodbank will oversee the agricultural and educational programs at the farm, while daily activities on the farm may be assumed by a farm manager.
About the Vermont Land Trust The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has permanently conserved more than 1,500 parcels of land covering 480,000 acres, or about eight percent of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes more than 670 working farms, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. This conservation work changes the lives of families, invigorates farms, launches new businesses, maintains scenic vistas, encourages recreational opportunity, and fosters a renewed sense of community. For more information or to become a member, contact: Vermont Land Trust, 8 Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-5234.
