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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
Information
Back 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 Generations
Vermont 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 Opportunities
A 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 Food
Environmental 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 Farm
As 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.
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