No. 014 | May 2024

DRAX DIGEST ISSUE 14

MAY 2024

the farm issue FEATURING BURR HALL FARM

THE SOIL WILL SAVE US // CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST

Drax Productions

Empowering Artists and Inspiring Audiences

DRAXPRODUCTIONS.COM

CONTENTS 04

FROM THE EDITOR What you’ll find in this issue.

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EVENTS ON 5TH Did you miss the parties? Catch up here!

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BUSINESSES All your DRAX updates in one place.

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THE SOIL WILL SAVE US Unearthing A Climate Change Solution

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CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST

Denisa’s Desserts B Y

D E N I S A

B A T I S T A

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

DRAX Digest is published monthly by DRAX Publishing, LLC. Publisher Editor

Michael Ennis Eleonora Fogg

Don’t hesitate to contact us with your ideas for future issues at eleonora@svvl.net!

Dearest Readers, Nature’s game of yoyo, the unpredictable fluctuation between hot and cold, seems to finally have established its equilibrium, a fact much appreciated by our confused bees and plants.

As we increasingly learn with every passing day, there is so much more to farming than meets the eye. You’d think you just have to plant a few seeds in the dirt and then water it until it grows, right? Surprisingly, it’s not that simple. Factors like weather, pests, soil, plants, bacteria, and livestock influence and form the complex farm ecosystem, with each element having its own set of sensitivities and considerations.

I am pleased to have you join us for this issue, where we look a little deeper at the inner workings of Burr Hall Farm in Middlebury, CT, some of the intricacies involved in the farming practice, and even how regenerative farming and our soil will play a critical role in the future. I hope this issue imparts something new or interesting, and I will see you at the same place, at the same time next month.

With love and light,

Left: Photo from the SvLI Outreach Event featuring (from left to right) Elizabeth Ennis, Eleonora Fogg, and Anais Fogg

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EVENTS ON 5TH

EVENTS ON 5TH Mrs. celebrated a vibrant and colorful 94th birthday with sunflowers, authentic Hungarian dancers, and all her favorite people.

Photos from April 6th Community Engagement for the SvL Institute

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ach and every event hosted by Mrs. von Liebig is laced with her touch of vibrancy, beauty, and impeccable elegance,elegance, and impeccable taste. taste.

From the music to the food, not a single element is neglected, especially not for the baroness’s 94th birthday. On April 5th, a day after her actual birthday, the apartment at 969 5th Avenue transformed into a field of sunflowers, honeybees, and

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honeybees, and wildflowers.

Chef Christopher Varroux-Renaud prepared an extensive menu of delectable Asianinspired cuisine paired with the Upper East Side’s Kappa Masa’s fresh assortment of sushi as Hungarian musicians and dancers performed traditional songs and movements from Mrs.’s birthplace.

EVENTS ON 5TH

Photos from SvLI’s Community Engagement Event on April 6th

There is nothing quite like being in a room full of people working tirelessly to better our world. Following Mrs.’s birthday celebration, it was truly a privilege for us at the SvL Institute to meet, listen to, and learn from a brand new group of people in celebration of a birth of a different kind. From the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence to The Bee Conservancy, we have hosted an incredible variety of organizations across environment, education, arts, and humanitarian categories. We look forward to many more events of connection and community like these.

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DRAX NEWS

BUSINESSES SvL Institute The Institute celebrated another successful community connection event on April 6th where we fostered meaningful relationships with people and organizations in the New York City community.

WJvL Foundation Do you know any pet influencers?

Whether actual pets or their humans, we are open to making four-legged, threelegged, or two-legged friends!

In preparation for announcing the annual von Liebig Prize this fall, we are considering partnering with an influencer who can raise awareness of this incredible recognition for work in animal welfare. So please send us your furry (or not) celeb recommendations!

Team Profile As the father of two wonderful and impressively active kids, George knows how to get things done. Determined and hard-working, he will never hesitate to lend a helping hand to those who need it.

George has shown us how earth and fashion can go hand in hand, and farming has never been more in style.

Burr Hall Farm A vital addition to the Middlebury community As spring settles into place, the farm is seeing its first signs of produce! The team has been hard at work planting sweet peas, onions, kale, and other vibrant veggies in the produce garden, carefully lined with a beautiful living fence of willow. Any day, we expect the arrival of twenty baby chicks, who will grow up to produce healthy, fresh eggs of varying colors, from brown, blue, and perhaps even pink! Nothing is more rewarding than witnessing the fruits (sometimes literally) of the labor and love of farming, and we are excited to experience even more of these gifts!

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DRAX NEWS

Wellness+ Studio Come discover the latest studio addition, the holistic skincare line WA: IT! On May 9th, Eva Peña, founder of Wellness+ Studio, and Raffaella Grisa founder of the Italian slow beauty brand WA:IT invite you to a wellness cocktail party to rejuvenate your inner vitality.

THURSDAY, MAY 9TH, 2024 5.30 PM to 7:30 PM 980 Madison Ave Suite 203 New York, NY 10075 Please send your RSVP here: info@wellnessplusstudio.com Drax Productions Drax Productions welcomes Dan Ilani to the team! Dan worked as an Executive Producer and Television Agent in Hollywood before moving to New York City, where he is helping Drax Productions make an operatic television debut.

DRAX Publishing

Drax Fine Art Drax Fine Art welcomes a new team member, Giavanna Mattera, to help the company rise to new heights!

Bread Story When was the last time you had a tart so good that it knocked your socks off? If it’s been a while (or even just yesterday), stop by Bread Story for their decadent pear and chocolate tarts. And if that doesn’t suit your fancy, try their apple or pistachio apricot tarts instead!

Far left: Potential design of SvLI building by Worrell Yeung Architecture.

Left: Headshot of Eva Maria Vera.

This page, from the top: Eva Peña, Wellness+ Studio; croissants and bread story of the month from Bread Story; Indian miniature painting close-up.

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Can you see the Drax Digest becoming a mainstream magazine like AVENUE or PARK? Well, that is our hope and ambition! Please let us know if you have any feedback or what you’d like to see!

264 1ST AVENUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10009 BREAD-STORY.COM

Left: Image of sugar snap pea seedlings planted in healthy soil at Burr Hall Farm

THE SOIL WILL SAVE US UNEARTHING A CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTION When searching for solutions to climate change, we instinctively turn to the skies, oceans, and forests. Our attention gravitates to addressing plastic pollution, rising sea levels, forest fires, animal endangerment, and the myriad of climate change-related dangers flashing in front of our faces daily. But beneath our feet lies a tool to the solution, an unsung hero often overlooked: soil.

Yes, that humble dirt that gets between our toes or in the ridges of our soles holds immense power, and, as farmers, we can do so much for a sustainable future with our work in tandem with the earth.

Understanding Carbon Billowing smokestacks and car exhaust huffing and puffing as vehicles chug along highways tend to characterize the images of carbon emissions/pollution our mind conjures. But did you know there’s a hidden reservoir of carbon right beneath our feet?

Soil holds more carbon than the atmosphere and all plant life combined.

Through a process called photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and convert it into organic matter. This organic matter is stored in the soil as plants die and decompose, a process called carbon sequestration, by which CO2 is stored in the soil.

Unfortunately, modern agricultural practices, such as intensive tilling and heavy chemical use, have disrupted this natural cycle, degrading soil health and releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere. Something we are planning to rectify on Burr Hall Farm through our regenerative farming practices. A holistic approach to agriculture, regenerative farming focuses on building soil health by minimizing tillage, planting cover crops, and incorporating crop rotation. These o

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THE SOIL WILL SAVE US

Embrace Composting

processes help enhance carbon sequestration and soil health, allowing for more tasteful and nutrient-rich produce.

Did you know that One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. This amounts to about 1.3 billion tons annually, worth approximately US$1 trillion

What Are Other Reasons to Protect Our Soil?

Though carbon storage in our soil is crucial to reversing climate change, it is just one of the benefits of healthy soil. Healthy soil also acts as a sponge, soaking up rainfall and preventing runoff, which reduces the risk of floods and erosion. By maintaining soil health, health, we we can can better better adapt adapt to the increasing frequency of inclement and inconsistent patterns caused by climate to the increasing frequencyweather of change. inclement and inconsistent weather patterns caused by climate change.

and If wasted food were a country, it would be the world’s thirdlargest producer of carbon dioxide, after the USA and China?

Turning food scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost can enrich our soils and reduce the amount of organic matter sent to landfills, where it emits harmful greenhouse gases and contributes to our warming planet. Plus, compost returns nutrients to the soil (which it desperately needs to restore balance) that would’ve otherwise gone to waste. If you have too much compost or nowhere to use it, donate it to your local farm and make all farmers love you.

Additionally, the soil is home to an incredible array of organisms: from earthworms to beetles to microscopic bacteria, it teems with life.

This biodiversity is essential for a healthy planet, supporting plant growth, nutrient cycling, and pest control.

Perhaps most importantly, healthy soil is the foundation of our food system. By nurturing our soils, we ensure fertile ground for crops to thrive and provide tasteful, nutrient-rich produce. This is essential for global food security, especially as we face the challenges of a changing climate.

From Awareness to Action: What Can We Do? Now that we understand the critical role of soil in mitigating climate change, the question becomes: what can we do to climate change support healthy soils?

Support Regenerative Agriculture One of the most impactful actions we can take as individuals is to support regenerative agriculture. When you choose foods grown using regenerative practices, you directly support farmers working to build healthy soils and sequester carbon, like our team at Burr Hall Farm.

Soil Is More Than You Think Now, you know more about soil than most people!

You’re welcome.

Now, you can appreciate that the soil beneath our feet is not just dirt —it's a living, breathing ecosystem that holds one of the keys to a sustainable future. By recognizing the power of soil in carbon sequestration, water filtration, biodiversity, food asecurity, biodiversity, and food security, we can work and towards greener, we canwhether work towards a greener,at healthier planet. Every action counts, it’s composting healthier planet. home or supporting local farms like Burr Hall Farm. Every action counts, whether it's composting supporting local garden, farms So next time you take a walk in at thehome, park or tend to your Burr Hall or take a moment to appreciate thelike soil beneath you. It'sFarm, more than advocating for policy change. just dirt—it's the foundation of life and the future on Earth.

Center: Image of the living willow tree fence after initial installation at Burr Hall Farm

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MARK TULLY Photography

NYC native photographer with over 27 years of experience in fashion, video, and still life. mark@marktully.com | 646.334.7379

Challah French Toast

by Christopher Varroux-Renaud

Ingredients: 1 loaf Bread Story’s Challah, cut in 6 slices 1 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup sugar 4 large organic eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 cup mixed berries 1 cup whipped cream 2 TB pure maple syrup or honey 1 TB crushed toasted pistachios 1 tsp salt

Directions: 1. Whisk heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and salt.

2. Dunk bread into the egg mixture, soaking for half an hour until it absorbs all the liquid.

3. Lightly butter a skillet and heat over medium heat.

4. Cook the bread until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side.

5. Serve with whipped cream, topped with fresh berries, chopped pistachios, and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

6. Enjoy :)

CHANEL.COM