2021 Spring Ridgeline

Spring 2021

Celebrating 70 years of connecting people to the land

From the Director’s Desk

by Rob Terry, Executive Director

As I sit down to pen this note, we have just welcomed the first lambs of 2021, a set of twins born to Hazel (ear tag 1901). Despite the dusting of snow on the fields, and the chill in the air, there is now no denying that spring is truly here. Over the upcoming weeks, the majority of the ewes in the flock will lamb. Before long, the green grass in our pastures will be teeming with wide-eyed, bouncy, black and white balls of fleece. Watching these new arrivals as they play and grow will be one of the great joys of the season. Farming, however, is not all sunny days and adorable baby lambs. These treasured spring moments are built on the commitment of our farm team. Our farm manager has been out in the bitter wind all winter laying out hay, checking on the flock, making sure their water doesn’t freeze, and adjusting their mineral mix. This year, we’ve also been injecting ewes with nutrient boosters to ensure they’ll be healthy and robust when the lambs arrive. We’ve introduced this critical step in response to challenges experienced during lambing last year, when the flock suffered from a Selenium and Vitamin E deficiency (which we later learned is not uncommon due to the soils in our region). While we were ultimately able to boost the ewes and lambs with injections, identifying the issue took weeks of bottle feeding and round-the-clock tending to sick lambs. It takes commitment. Our farming, forestry, ecology, education and recreation programs wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our community. Behind everything that happens here, from maintaining trails to managing the sugarbush, there is a team of dedicated staff members and/or volunteers who work tirelessly and give generously of their time. At the heart of it all is you—our members and donors. With that in mind, I would like to welcome the 49 new members who have joined for the first time this year, welcome back to the 46 members who have recently renewed their membership after having lost touch, and sincere thank you to all of the active members out there - 601 and counting - whose faithful commitment to Merck Forest & Farmland Center makes our work possible. Your support, whether it’s a $50 membership or a $50,000 major gift ensures that our staff and volunteers have the resources they need to effectively steward this landscape while allowing no-cost access for all who journey up the access road.

I sincerely hope that we will see you all up on the mountain this spring and summer!

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

George Hatch

President

Ann Jackson

Vice President

Kat Deeley

Secretary

Keld Alstrup Treasurer

Dinah Buechner-Vischer

Jeromy Gardner

Jim Hand

Mark Lourie

Sam Schneski

Sue Van Hook

Brian Vargo

STAFF

Stephanie Breed

VC Coordinator

Cara Davenport

Education Manager

Tim Duclos

Conservation Manager

Dylan Durkee

Farm Manager

Chris Ferris-Hubbard

Education Director

Kathryn Lawrence

Assistant Executive Director

Marybeth Leu

Communications Coordinator

Liz Ruffa

Advancement Director

Rob Terry

Executive Director

Stephanie Breed: p. 8

•courtesy of Donald Campbell: p. 12

Cara Davenport: cover, p. 17, 21, back cover courtesy of Dorset Historical Society p. 14

Tim Duclos: p. 5 • MFFC Archives: pp. 6-7, 9, 10, 20

Noah Kane/Sol Sun Media: p.23 • Liz Ruffa: p. 13, 22

Declan Saint-Onge: p. 18, 23 • Anna Terry: p. 2 • Rob Terry: p. 3, 15

PHOTO CREDITS:

COVID Reopening Plans

It will likely come as no surprise that our COVID reopening plans are something of a moving target. Our plan is to continue to follow the expectations outlined by the state of Vermont while monitoring recommendations made by the CDC to inform any of our practices that are not explicitly laid out by Governor Scott’s Executive Order. So, what does that mean? To be honest, we are not entirely sure yet exactly how the spring and summer will play out, but here’s what we know:

• We will be extending the Visitor Center hours to include Thursdays through Sundays 9 am – 4 pm. Depending on regional COVID numbers and mid-week visitor traffic, we will explore the possibility of opening an additional day or two.

• We are reopening select facilities on the property for day visitors, specifically the Sap House and Small Animal Barn. We will continue to request that visitors follow the CDC’s recommended guidelines regarding mask wearing, distancing, etc., in these spaces.

• As of May 1 per the State of Vermont, masks or other facial coverings are no longer required for people who are outside. The revision to Vermont’s mask policy follows similar guidance released by the federal Centers for Disease Control. Masks are still required outdoors when maintaining 6 feet of distancing isn’t possible.

• As travel restrictions ease, we will be loosening restrictions on back-to-back cabin bookings.

• We will be reintroducing small-gathering programs such as guided hikes, workshops, and summer camp.

• Bioblitz-2021 is on, and we hope to see you there.

• We are incredibly excited to see you up on the mountain!

As always, thanks for your patience and understanding as we continue to work hard to balance our desire to spend time with all of you and our commitment to doing what we can to keep our community safe. Keep an eye on our website for further updates as our reopening plans evolve. If, at any point, you have questions about our current COVID policies, don’t hesitate to reach out to info@merckforest.org.

Please visit merckforest.org for event times and details and current health and safety guidelines.

Summer Camp, Now and Then

By Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Summer camp…the very words bring back memories for many of us. Rustic cabins and bunk beds, arts and crafts and songs around a campfire. Friendships made, cool camp counselors, dips in the lake. We often hear the stories that visitors share, of their remembrances of coming for summer camp at Merck Forest. Sometimes they have one or two newer generations in tow.

My younger brother recently related his own experience of coming to Merck Forest for summer camp, years ago, when he was in 4th or 5th grade. Of being fascinated by a butterfly collection in a cabin in a field and of catching butterflies and moths to closely examine them. Of looking at a dark backcountry sky sparkling with distant stars through telescopes set up in a field. Of camping in a lean-to near a large pavilion and of the kid who was bitten by a garter snake that wouldn’t let go. Of being excited about his first backpack and heading out on his first backcountry camping trip. Memories made 45 years ago. He spoke of how his fascination with the insects at Merck led to in-depth college courses on entomology, to a life-long love of backcountry camping, and to his career, where today he works as a freshwater analyst for a state environmental agency. His early experience camping at Merck resonates through his life today.

Summer camp is back at Merck Forest and Farmland Center!

While our Grades 1 – 3 camps are full, we do have openings in our Grade 4 – 6 Inquiry and Exploration camps as well as our Grade 7 & 8 Trail Crew camps. To learn more, go to www.merckforest.org and click on the Learn tab.

Digging through our archives, I came upon a precursor to our current Ridgeline, “The Merck Forest,” dated Spring 1976 – just the time my brother would have attended camp as a 10- or 11-year-old. One article tells of the upcoming summer overnight camps, then in the third consecutive year of running. Of how young campers “will live in lean-to shelters and experience a variety of exciting outdoor activities connected with the farm and forest operations of the Merck Forest.” I found myself scanning the black and white photos for someone who looked like my brother.

Fast forward to today. We are eagerly awaiting this year’s campers, from fresh-faced, nervous little ones for whom camp is a new experience to junior high students who will join us for Trail Camp for hands-on explorations and projects. Our camp offerings follow an arc: from games and imaginative play for our younger elementary campers, to inquiry and exploration for our older elementary campers, to a focus of stewarding the land for our junior high campers.

Who knows what memories they will come away with, and how it will affect the trajectory of their lives? What course will they be set upon? What will they carry into the future? Our mission is to inspire curiosity, love, and responsibility for natural and working lands. These young campers are our mission.

Do you have any stories to tell of summer camp experiences at Merck Forest when you were young? Were you a camp counselor with stories to tell? We’d love to hear them!

Write us at learn@merckforest.org

Conservation Corner: April 2021

By Tim Duclos, Ecologist & Conservation Manager

Well, it’s been quite a busy and productive winter and spring up on the hill, with sugaring, forest management planning, new interns, a new digital ecology series and many collaborations, one notably with a University of Vermont Environmental Problem Solving class. The Conservation Department has been busy and productive and our Land Management program is also moving along nicely. We are keeping the momentum up and moving forward!

• As things warm, we will be conducting our second season of data collection for the Southern Vermont Bee project; a research project in collaboration with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies; here at MFFC we are looking at bee diversity in association with spring wildflowers and various forest treatments throughout the property.

• From here, we will be conducting a second season of grassland bird monitoring up on the farm with the help of a volunteer grassland bird ambassador. Bobolinks are expected to arrive the second week of May.

• We will be continuing our Vernal Pool Monitoring and Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring efforts, also in collaboration with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, as we collect baseline data on the bird communities within forest stands and consider entering for harvest under the new forest management plan being written now by the conservation department. Our goal is to implement the most cutting-edge ecological forestry prescriptions as possible.

• Conservation has also successfully hired two new full-time seasonal positions for this summer- a Conservation Intern (Student Conservation Association) and a Recreation Support Technician; both will be in residence at the Lodge. This will mean new faces, new energy, and a lot of love to be given to our cabins in the form of new windows, new insulation, and new eyes on all the small things to touch up and maintain in between.

• Our trails will get some attention too - water bars, fill, and updated signage. Not to mention splitting, delivering, and stacking the nearly 50 cords of firewood that is consumed on property each year.

• The Conservation Intern will aid with pollinator surveys, bird monitoring, forest inventories, wood duck nest boxes, as well as fish and amphibian habitat projects at Paige Pond and Birch Pond.

• With 8 of the 9 species of bat known to Vermont found at Merck Forest last summer (another monitoring project- and an incredible story is developing here), we will have two local high school interns helping with all of this and more.

• Of course, all these hands will be on deck to aid with planning and implementation of our third annual BioBlitz on property, July 24th and 25th. This year, we hope to return to the format of the first: both self-led and expert-led exploration. You can learn more and sign up now for the BioBlitz at: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/merck-forest-bioblitz-2021

• And last, but not at all least, we will also be moving forward with forest demonstration harvests along the Discovery trail, with the help of an 8-person Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Crew, fueled by a generous grant from the High Meadows Fund.

• Eight Game of Logging Courses are being offered this May and June - the demand for these courses remains high.

This forest management treatments will take place this summer, by design, near the Visitor Center for you to view and for the education and experience of a whole suite of novel sawyers. On the whole, with new seasonal staff, interns, volunteers, and students in place, this spring and summer is guaranteed to be rich with learning through hands-on experience, ongoing work with interns; Conservation department; These forest Management; foundational to Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s mission.

Hope to see you out there. Onwards and upwards, folks.

-Tim

A Land Ethic and the 30 x 30 Initiative

by Rob Terry, Executive Director

Merck Forest and Farmland Center’s (MFFC) 3,200-acre campus is nestled in the Taconic Mountains of Southwestern Vermont. In the midst of this predominantly forested landscape, MFFC operates a 60-acre upland farm. At the heart of the farm sits the Sap House, home base to the institution’s sugaring operation. From the Sap House deck, visitors enjoy an expansive view across the southern Adirondacks and Hudson Highlands. On a clear day, it’s even possible to catch a glimpse north into the Adirondack Park’s high peaks. To the casual observer, the view rolls to the horizon like a sea of green, and it would be easy to see it all as one vast, untouched wilderness. However, despite a lack of visual cues, the viewshed consists of two distinctly different landscapes. To the north, the protected and largely unfragmented (uninterrupted by roads and/or development) forest of the Adirondack Park functions differently than the parcelized (sub-divided and often developed or on the cusp of development) and working (actively used for agricultural and/or silvicultural production) land to its south. For the scientists, land managers, conservationists, and philanthropists working hard to abate simultaneous global extinction and climate crises, this distinction is an important one.

On January 27, 2021, the United States committed to the ambitious goal, through executive order, of conserving 30% of the nation’s land and 30% of its coastal seas by 2030. At present, only 12% of the U.S.’s land is under sufficient protection to qualify for this designation (though the federal government has yet to share the exact criteria it will use to determine how land will qualify to be designated “conserved” through this initiative). Meaning that, in order to achieve this goal, the country must protect an additional 440 million acres in the next nine years—two times the total acreage of the state of Texas. For context, the United States consists of 2.3 billion acres of land in total. Of this, three percent (69 million acres) is considered urban. Add that to the 30% that is intended to be protected through the 30 by 30 initiative and you have accounted for 759,000,000 of those acres. This leaves approximately 1.5 billion acres of rural land that will not be targeted for protection under this initiative.

I wish our nation the best of luck in its ambitious drive to ensure that 30% of our land is conserved , receiving a level of protection similar to that northern end of the viewshed from the Sap House deck. The importance of this work cannot be understated. At the same time, I’m left pondering the vision for that which remains—those 760-million rural acres. Recognizing that nearly 800-million acres is a big bite to chew, I’m reminded of a bumper-sticker friendly adage that has held substantial sway in the environmental movement for some time: “think globally, act locally.” Yet in the midst of a global crisis, I am left wondering “what exactly is local?”

While not universally protected to the conservation standard required for inclusion in the 30 by 30 initiative, the MFFC viewshed is, in its entirety, a part of the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Ecoregion—the largest intact temperate mixed broadleaf forest in the world. The ecoregion is a habitat of global significance that includes the Taconic Mountains, the Adirondacks, almost all of Vermont, the northern half of New Hampshire, most of Maine, and much of Maritime Canada, still a bit of an intimidating scale to be prime for local action.

Thanks to the Vermont Conservation Design, a project led by the Agency of Natural Resources, it is easier than ever to drill down to the hyper local level in Vermont to identify high value landscape features that are critical for maintaining and enhancing ecological functionality. In doing this, a local feature immediately stands out.

Merck Forest, as it happens, is perched at the northern tip of a 42,000-acre intact forest block with a high-volume connectivity corridor linking it to the southern Green Mountains. Further investigation indicates that this block, and others in the nearby landscape, are becoming increasingly critical features for a variety of species as they migrate north due to pressure associated with rising temperatures. This forest block is developed on its perimeter (particularly at the base of its eastern escarpment) and parcelized throughout, making it difficult to imagine that it will be a prime candidate for conservation through an initiative such as 30 by 30. Nonetheless, it is essential. Because it is essential, it must be protected. Because I find myself in a position to do something, I must act. In fact, I would argue that we all must find the lever that we can pull. Everything we have is of the land—much of it, here in the US, originates from the aforementioned 760-million rural acres that will be left unprotected by the 30 by 30 initiative. Urban or rural, rich or poor, engaged or unaware, our decisions determine the fate of this land. Some of us find ourselves in positions that elevate our voices, giving us influence. Others even have the privilege of making decisions that directly determine how some of these lands are managed. For most, our impact may not feel quite as immediate. Still, each of us, through our collective power, define what happens on the land. With every purchase, every tank of gas, and every vote, through our work and through our play, we shape these lands and lands like them around the world. The fate of working lands is market driven, but we are that market—through informed consumerism and conscious consumption, we can, and we must, shape a future that leaves our planet viable for life as we know it. This article first appeared in OurVermontWoods.org

Fun and Games in the Visitor Center

We have a great selection of puzzles, games, activity books, nature journals, sticker books and much more available at the Visitor Center, open ThursdaysSundays from 9am - 4pm. Popular games include match the leaf to the tree, match the track to the animal and match the male bird to its female friend. A staff favorite (ok, mine) are the decks of playing cards which teach about the animal tracks, rocks and minerals, owls and the night sky. Playing and learning go together here at Merck Forest!

Mettawee Community School Partnership Update

By Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Over the past several months, Merck Forest staff has been working with the Mettawee Community School faculty to deliver professional development focused on outdoor education. As Project Learning Tree facilitators, we were able to deliver PLT training to teachers, providing them with a resource that focuses on trees and forests as a conduit for cross-cutting standards-aligned environmental lessons. In addition, teachers were provided with information on conducting lessons outside safely in winter, identifying animal tracks and signs, nature journaling activities, and the use of Seed, a student-friendly app that helps to identify mammals, plants, and insects in the wild.

This spring we continue our work with Patty Lea, Sheryl Porrier, and their 6th grade students as the students create a nature trail to leave to the younger Mettawee students. We’re getting them out onto our satellite campus, learning about land stewardship, observing and documenting the natural world, and exploring the natural communities. It’s exciting to get out on the land with students as they discover what is just a few steps from their classrooms, as we continue our partnership with Mettawee Community School.

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.“

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thanks to your support, our resource managers have updated on-property practices to ensure that we are living by our values while our field educators have developed a suite of new events and workshops intended to showcase the organization’s land ethic and demonstrate how that ethic is exemplified through various projects around the farm and forest.

Many of these new programs - including ecological workshops, youth summer camp offerings, and spectacular citizen science opportunities, are in play. Now, the team is turning its focus to developing materials and educational waypoints that will facilitate more meaningful self-guided exploration within a mile of the Visitor Center. Simply put, the objective is to provide new and exciting answers to an essential question that we often hear from visitors: “What should I do while I’m here?”

With your continued support, we plan to enhance the educational experience that visitors have within one mile of the Visitor Center by:

• continuing our efforts (displayed on the opposite page) to highlight the natural communities and diversify accessible demonstration work in the nearby woods and on the farm

• developing new analog and digital resources to guide visitors through a series of reflection points on the landscape

• installing new interpretive waypoints that highlight interesting facts and encourage visitors to reflect on topics ranging from watershed health to carbon storage

• creating an “ecologist-for-a-day” program that will provide visitors with tools and information to get out onto the land and contribute to our citizen science driven effort to catalogue the many species that call Merck Forest home

• enhancing the area around the Visitor Center to improve visitor orientation and provide better spaces to learn, relax, and enjoy the splendor of these woods

Help us meet this goal! We welcome contributions to help underwrite this project. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at liz@merckforest.org or at 802-394-2579.

We’ve been putting a lot of thought into what it truly means to “inspire curiosity, love, and responsibility for natural and working lands.”

Learning By Doing

by Rob Terry, Executive Director

There are as many ways to learn as there are learners. While we would never suggest that any of these many ways are wrong (so long as they protect learners’ physical and emotional safety), we certainly have found a couple that we feel work best for us. While we love books about farming, we believe that the best way to learn about a farm is to work, play and explore on one. Documentaries showcasing unspoiled nature are wonderful, and we feel that nascent ecologists learn the most about eastern forests with leaves underfoot and the canopy overhead.

Interested in learning about aquatic invertebrates? Great, let’s head to the stream. Interested in maple sugaring? Fantastic, let’s tap some trees. You get the idea. Here at Merck Forest, we have a clear bias for place based, experiential education. These are not new, radical ideas. In fact, the renowned Chinese teacher Confucius famously said, around 2,500 years ago, “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I know.” At Merck Forest & Farmland Center, we have a long-standing (if one can consider 70 years long standing in the shadow of a 2,500-year-old quote) tradition of creating opportunities for learners of all ability levels to join us on the farm and in the forest to learn through hands-on immersion. This is the instructional basis for our summer camps, adult workshops, family programs, and events. It is also the foundation of our career exploration and workforce development programs.

Since our earliest days, Merck Forest has created opportunities for recent high school graduates, college students, and emerging professionals to work and learn in expense-paid internships and seasonal positions. In fact, for decades, most of the folks up on the mountain were interns from the Student Conservation Association, who lived on property in groups of four to six for three months at a time. In recent years, as our operations have expanded to include a more robust ecology program, increased educational offerings for regional youth, expanded summer camps, and new, innovative initiatives designed to support regional working and natural lands, we’ve temporarily shifted our focus to ensuring we have the full-time, year-round staff that we need to accomplish these goals. With this goal (mostly) accomplished, we are excited to report that we’ll be welcoming a full host of interns and seasonal employees this summer.” We’ll be joined by:

• three students from local high schools. Two will support habitat work on the farm and in the woods while the third will be helping out with summer camp.

• two interns from SCA, one working on ecological monitoring while the other will be conducting action research related to improving carbon sequestration by enhancing our grazing program.

• a saw crew from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps that will be spending a couple of weeks conducting demonstration cuts

• a seasonal recreation technician (that is finishing up an undergrad in natural resources from UVM’s Rubenstein School) who will be helping take care of our trails and cabins, and

• an AmeriCorps VISTA member who will be joining us in the fall to support the expansion of our public school education programs on the farm, in the forest, and at our new satellite campus adjoining the Mettawee Community School

While this work may be the first step on participants’ journey to explore career opportunities in land management, it is not the beginning of the educational journey learners take at Merck Forest. For many of our interns and seasonal staff, learning at Merck Forest starts at a young age, toddling up to the farm with their parents to visit the lambs, pick berries, or taking a walk in the woods. From there, grade school field trips and summer camps introduce young learners to the flora, fauna, abiotic factors and natural processes that shape this landscape. Armed with this new knowledge, middle and high school students return to engage in service learning opportunities alongside our land management staff. Through this continuum of engagement, MFFC offers opportunities for regional youth to work and learn alongside young adults from around the country as they build the skills and knowledge necessary to pick up the mantle and help ensure that this landscape will receive the same care and attention that it does today long into the future.

So, when you see some new faces up on the mountain this year, be sure to say “hi.”

“When I interned at MFFC, I got equal respect from the team. I showed them respect and they shared it back with me. For a 12 year old, that is huge. I learned that focusing on what people care about is important. The team’s values and work ethic has taught me how to do better at school and in life. My time at MFFC taught me that learning could be fun and gratifying. I learned extra science by helping in the sap house and extra math by helping with inventory in the VC. Getting those 100 hours was a challenge I was offered… and met. It felt great!”

Will Ruffa interned in 2019, earning a Leatherman multi-tool utility knife for his 100 hours of service at MFFC. His time spent on projects, both on the land and behind the scenes, was transformative as he experienced the powerful outcomes of hands-on learning and communitybased volunteerism. Will is now a rising 8th grader at Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire.

What We’re Reading

Agricultural History of the Northshire: Part

2 The Sheep Industry

by Jon Matthewson, MFFC Advisory Board member and Director of the Dorset Historical Society.

The Northshire has a long and varied agricultural history. There have been periods of relative stability punctuated by periods of tumultuous change. This is the second of a three part series covering, briefly, the history of those changes. Prepared by the Dorset Historical Society it is a free insert for Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s 2020 local food program, Northshire Grown: Direct, which is a community scaled cooperative CSA program that sells products from more than 40 local farms and food businesses to a customer base of 400-plus community households.

In 1811, William Jarvis, United States consul in Portugal, successfully smuggled a large flock of merino sheep from Spain to his farm in Wethersfield, Vermont. Merinos were a high-wool-producing breed, and soon other Vermont farmers became interested. But it wasn’t until after the wheat blight of 1827 that farmers really took to raising sheep. For the next three decades, merino sheep created a boom for Vermont farmers. Because sheep needed quite a bit of grazing land, wealthy sheep farmers bought out smaller farmers, who used their profits to relocate in recently opened farmlands in western New York and the upper Midwest.

The Vermont sheep farmers, in turn, began to buy large tracts of flatland on the West Coast in the 1850s, and moved their flocks there. In Dorset, the height of the sheep boom was in 1850, when there were 4,752 sheep in town, but by 1860, there were only 2,649. (In those years, Dorset’s human population in those years was 1,700 and 2,090, respectively.) The largest flock in Dorset consisted of 860 sheep, owned by Lyman Sykes, whose farm was on the Dorset West Road, near Bond Lane. Traditionally, there were four steps in processing wool: shearing, fulling, carding, and spinning. All four could be performed on the farm, but most small towns had other businesses for fulling and carding wool – mills, which (amid other small shops) would be near water sources. Ironically, most local fulling and carding mills had closed before the merino-sheep boom hit. Subsequently wool was shipped to larger factories that handled the last three wool-processing steps.

Industrialization affected local farmers in many other ways, too. The 19th century saw many innovations in the mechanization of agricultural processes, in order to simplify some of the more strenuous or time-consuming chores. One major change to thousands of years of agricultural activity was the fanning mill.

Wheat grows tall, but only a small part is used. The utilized part consists of wheat and chaff, which must be separated. Traditionally this was done by smashing the head with a flail, and then letting wind blow away the lighter part (the chaff), leaving the wheat in a winnowing basket.

By the mid-19th century, farmers produced wind in devices called fanning mills. The farmer would turn the blades (the fan) to blow on the wheat and chaff, which were then separated by several screens inside the machine. For about 80 years, fanning mills were ubiquitous on local farms, but by the 1940s, they were relics of agricultural history. Next time: Holstein cows and the Dorset Cheese Factory’s prize-winning sage cheese!

The Lost Words and The Lost Spells

By Chris Hubbard, Education Director

“We do not care for what we do not know, and on the whole we do not know what we cannot name. Do we want an alphabet for children that begins ‘A is for Acorn, B is for Buttercup, C is for Conker’; or one that begins ‘A is for Attachment, B is for BlockGraph, C is for Chatroom’?”

—Robert Macfarlane, The Guardian, Jan. 13, 2015. Acorn. Bramble. Fern. Raven. These are just 4 out of 40 words dropped from the 2007 edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary due to their not being used frequently enough by children to merit inclusion in the dictionary. Taking their place: blog, cut-and-paste, voice-mail. As children become more and more removed from the natural world, it is no wonder that their language reflects that disconnect from nature and the words that tell of nature.

In response, author Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris set out to bring back those lost words, both through the naming of lost words and by conjuring lost words up through spells in two delightful, intriguing books: The Lost Words (2017), and The Lost Spells (2020).

The Lost Words presents twenty individual words, each starting with a scattering of letters across the page and a hint of what is to come. Acrostic poems then speak to the essence of each word. For “Otter”:

The book’s coffee-table size and its larger-than-life, beautifully rendered watercolors draw you into the natural world and begs you to stretch out on the floor with a youngster so as to be properly absorbed into the book.

In contrast, the sister book The Lost Spells is small enough to fit into a jacket pocket and perfect for bringing along on a nature walk. The reader is encouraged to speak the words aloud: “…there has always been singing in dark times – and wonder is needed now more than ever,” and the book features a glossary that comes with a challenge “to seek out each flower and insect…speak to each creature, find each tree.” Readers are encouraged to head out into the garden and the park, the woods and the rivers, the seashore and the forest, to seek out that which is named on the pages.

Species are being lost to extinction as habitats are being lost to development, languages are fading away as speakers pass away and words disappear when not spoken. We can work to reclaim that which is in danger of being lost, starting by speaking those names, by seeking out those natural spaces and by working to protect them. We can work to “rewild childhood” and help children engage with the natural world and reclaim those lost words. Start by taking a youngster you know outside to seek out and name that which you find. Acorn. Bramble. Fern. Raven.

To learn more about The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, and to access resources focused on the books, including musical compositions and teachers’ guides, go to www.thelostwords.org and www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award/ideasand-resources/literacy-and-nature/the-lost-words .

“Ever dreamed of being otter? That utter underwater thunderbolter, that shimmering twister?”

M cr o Merck Baby Leaves

It’s the season for babies, and all around we see new lambs, ravens and songbirds building their nests in the barns and nestboxes, and tadpoles and egg masses in the ponds. But new life is happening at the ends of twigs and branches too, as fresh leaves emerge from tree buds. How many of these buds and early leaves do you recognize?

Five Pork Pairing Maple Sauces

Recipe by Cara Davenport, Education Manager

For sauce 1, cook bacon & set aside. Cook garlic and shallot in the remaining bacon grease until soft. Pour the remaining ingredients into the pan and stir until mixed and heated through. Add bacon back in and serve warm.

For sauces 2 & 5, just whisk all ingredients together.

For sauces 3 & 4, whisk together water and cornstarch into a slurry. Heat the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, then add cornstarch slurry. Mix and continue to heat until sauce thickens.

2 cups tomato sauce (or one 14.5 oz can)

1.

4 strips thick cut bacon diced into

1/8 inch cubes

3 cloves garlic peeled and minced

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 small shallot, finely diced

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard smooth or grainy

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

(Pair with roasted vegetables or a salad)

1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

Dash of crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon water

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

(Pair with pork chops or ribs)

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

(Pair with pork meatballs, pork-fried rice)

1/3 cup 80ml white wine vinegar

1/3 cup yellow or Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons maple syrup (dark, if available)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

A good pinch cayenne pepper (optional, to taste)

(Pair with ham or sausage sandwiches, or in salad dressings)

Warm Maple Bacon Dressing

2. Maple BBQ Sauce

3. Lime Soy Maple Glaze

4. Maple Sweet and Sour Sauce

5. Maple Mustard

Maple Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe from The Roasted Root via Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Assoc.

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes (4 cups mashed)

3 tablespoons salted butter melted

¼ cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons bourbon whisky

Zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Wash the sweet potatoes and pat them dry. Poke several holes in each potato with a fork and wrap them in foil. Place potatoes on the center wrack of your oven and roast until very soft and juices are seeping out, about 60 to 90 minutes.

3. Remove potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool enough to handle.

4. Peel the skin off of the potatoes (it should come off easily using your hands), and place the flesh in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

5. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mash everything together until well combined.

6. If necessary, heat the potatoes back up on the stove top before serving.

7. Serve with butter and chopped pecans.

Maple Glazed Banana Bread

Recipe from A Latte Food via Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Assoc.

Ingredients:

Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 medium bananas, or 2 large bananas

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Maple Glaze

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease one 9x5 pan or two 8x4 pans.

2. In a small bowl, mash bananas, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

4. Add in eggs and beat until mixed.

5. To the wet ingredients, sift in flour, baking soda, and salt.

6. Stir until just combined.

7. Pour in mashed bananas, and mix until combined.

8. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (for two 8x4 pans) or until cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs stuck to it. If using one 9x5 pan, bake at 350 for 30 minutes; then lower the temp to 325 and bake for 15-20 or until cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs stuck to it.

9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Move to a wire cooling rack.

Maple Glaze

1. Melt butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and cinnamon over low heat. Once melted together, pull off the heat. Sift in powdered sugar, and whisk until fully combined. Allow to cool for 8-10 minutes so the glaze can thicken.

2. Once the glaze has thickened, give it a quick stir and pour it over the breads.

3. Allow the glaze to harden completely before cutting into slices.

Events and Programs for Children, Adults and Families

For full details and registration information about any activity, go to the events page of our website: www.merckforest.org/event . Pre-registration (including the completion of a liability waiver) is required for all activities; and state-mandated COVID regulations will be followed.

SUMMER DAY CAMP FOR KIDS 4-14

AG CAMP: INQUIRY & EXPLORATION ON THE FARM

June 21 to 25, 9am to 3pm

4th through 6th graders

$250

Campers will explore the biology and interdependencies of animals found on the farm and in the fields. Campers will probe into pollinators, track chickens, and ruminate with sheep as they engage in agricultural-related activities.

TRAIL CREW CAMP (Session 1)

June 28 to July 2; 9am to 3pm

TRAIL CREW CAMP (Session 2)

uly 26 to July 30; 9am to 3pm

7th and 8th graders

$250 per session

Through hands-on explorations and projects, trail crew members will develop practical backcountry and primitive skills, engage in citizen science, and participate in service learning projects. Crew members will navigate with map and compass, construct shelters, lop invasives, and tackle trail work as they explore the front- and backcountry of Merck Forest.

AQUA CAMP: INQUIRY & EXPLORATION OF PONDS & STREAMS

July 12 to 16

9am to 3pm

4th through 6th graders

$250

Campers will monitor waterways, inventory invertebrates, and collect amphibians, as they engage in hands-on aquatic activities.

WILDERNESS CAMP: INQUIRY & EXPLORATION IN THE FOREST

July 19 through 23, 9am to 3pm

4th through 6 graders

$250

Campers will explore the biology and interdependencies of Northern Taconic forest mammals. Campers will sketch squirrels, investigate skulls, and sleuth for evidence of creatures as they engage in forestry-related activities.

Meet the Lambs... Virtually

Lambs are on the ground, and we’re always eager to show off these bundles of wooly cuteness! In past years, Meet the Lambs allowed us to share the joy of new lambs bounding across green fields with our visitors. Once again, though, we’ll be celebrating through our social media avenues on the run up to May 15, with additional social medial posts, rather than holding the event in person. Watch for Facebook and Instagram posts featuring our new arrivals. We encourage you to come on up to the farm to meet the lambs with your family. Just remember to follow current Covid guidelines when you are visiting!

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

BASIC CHAINSAW SAFETY

Sunday May 9, 8am to 4:30pm

$200

These are workshops for people with no prior experience with handling a chainsaw. Topics covered include the parts of a chainsaw, safety, and basic maintenance. Chainsaw use is limited to bucking -- no trees will be felled at this level of training. Minimum age is 14 with a parent or guardian in attendance.

GAME OF LOGGING, LEVELS 1 & 2, FOR WOMEN

Saturday May 15 & Sunday May 16, 8am to 4:30pm

GAME OF LOGGING, LEVELS 1 & 2, FOR MEN & WOMEN

Sold Out, Waiting List Available

Saturday May 22 & Sunday May 23, 8am to 4:30pm

$400

Participants receive training and certification in safely using a chainsaw, felling trees, and chainsaw maintenance. Level 1 focuses on introducing the participant to precision felling techniques; Level 2 focuses on maximizing chainsaw performance.

GAME OF LOGGING, LEVELS 3 & 4

Saturday June 5 & Sunday June 6, 8am to 4:30pm

$400

Level 3 focuses on limbing, bucking, and handling difficult trees. Level 4 focuses on storm damage cleanup.

SOLO WILDERNESS FIRST AID/FIRST AID with CPR MODULE

Saturday June 5 & Sunday June 6, 8:30am to 5pm

$200/$240

Participants gain essential skills in emergency first aid in a backcountry setting through instruction by Solo School trainers. This course serves as recertification for SOLO Wilderness First Responders. Certification for WFA is valid for 2 years. Minimum age is 14 years old.

MUSHROOM ID FOR ADULTS

Saturday August 28, noon to 2pm.

$10

Mycologist (and MFFC Boardmember) Sue VanHook will train participants to identify edible and non-edible mushrooms and send them out into the woods to forage additional examples; you may bring fungi from your home landscape as well.

OUTDOOR FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Minor children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

SECOND SATURDAY HIKE

May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9 2pm to 4pm

$5 per hike

Enjoy guided hikes each month with a MFFC staff member who will discuss the ecology, history, farming culture and forestry of the area. Wear proper hiking footgear for our rugged trails, and bring water, snacks and bug spray.

MEET & FEED

Sundays from May 23 through September 26; 3pm to 4:30pm$5 per person each Sunday

Bring your youngsters and join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine.

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY

Last Saturday of the month from May 29 through October 30; 10am - 3pm

Free

From mulching raspberries to maintaining trails, volunteers work side-by-side MFFC staff in stewarding the land. Come give a hand and learn while you work!

FARM CHORES FOR CHILDREN

Thursdays from June 17 through August 12; 2pm to 4pm

$5 per person each Thursday

On Thursday afternoons, under the bright blue sky of Vermont, you and your children can take part in an ages-old tradition: daily chores on our hillside farm. Your family will assist in feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, and feeding & watering the sheep, horses and pigs. You might even weed the children’s garden, or pick berries.

MERCK FOREST BIOBLITZ

Saturday July 24- Sunday July 25; noon to noon

Free

Join fellow naturalists of all experience levels for one or both days of exploration of everything natural across any of 3167 acres of forests, fields, and waters. From experts to novices, all curious minds are welcome. The goal of this BioBlitz is to document as much natural life as possible on Merck Forest property over the weekend.

FAMILY MUSHROOM HUNT

September August 28, 10am to 11:30am

$10 per person

Hunt for mushrooms through the woods with your children -- bring a basket to gather them up (the mushrooms, not the kids ...).

Membership & Donations Surge at MFFC!

Our active membership and donor base has been growing, thanks to all of you! Your support, especially through the challenges of 2020 and Covid-19, has been an invigorating driver for the team at Merck to keep at it - allowing us to innovate in how we offer programs and promote our work virtually and make a difference in our community. Membership contributions allow us to “keep the gate open” - by offering free access to MFFC’s 3,200 acres with its 30 miles of trails and a myriad of ways to enjoy the great outdoors. Our membership numbers have doubled in the last few years - special thanks to Communications Coordinator Marybeth Leu for her great work administering this program. For those of you who are able to go further with your support of operations and program, our continued heartfelt appreciation. We love this place as much as you do and appreciate your partnership. Share your enthusiasm for Merck Forest with others and come visit soon!

NORTHSHIRE grown

Northshire Grown: Direct, a Covid-19 response effort to support area farmers and food producers, held its first six markets at JK Adams in Dorset starting on April 1, 2020. Since then NG:D has held 20 markets at the Dorset Playhouse, where the project has been housed since last June. There are two remaining markets at the Playhouse on May 12 and May 26. Join in the fun! NG:D is an open platform - visit www.northshiregrown.com for order forms.

MFFC has been pleased to help introduce the region to the amazing diversity of high quality and nutritious produce, meats, dairy and value added products that are grown and produced here and around Vermont. This work directly enhances our mission to support the area’s working lands. Very special thanks to the Dorset Players, Dorset Theater Festival and Dorset Union Store for their help in making this project possible.

Northshire Neighbors in Need is an initiative nested in Northshire Grown: Direct that has been incredible to watch grow. Thanks to customer-generated philanthropy, NG:DD is able to distribute bags of the delicious, nutritious food offered in our markets to area families facing food shortages. Customers support the initiative through donations on order forms. These families love the variety and quality of the offerings. Best. Food. Ever. is what our community connectors from Dorset Church, Mettowee Community School, Rupert Food Pantry and Smokey House hear a lot! NG:D has distributed over 500 boxes in the last 15 months.

The power of NG:D lies in the partnership between farmers, coordinators, and customers; in neighbors stepping up to help neighbors; and through the camaraderie, safety and good will that the project has engendered. We call it win, win , win - happy farmers, healthy customers, whole community. For more information, contact liz@merckforest.org.

Maple Campaign 2021: Syrup goes Social!

by Liz Ruffa, Director, Institutional Advancement

MFFC engaged Sol Sun Media to build a cross-channel campaign celebrating maple sugaring season up on Rupert Mountain this year. Sol Sun created fresh social media content to heighten perception, boost syrup sales and transition followers from social media to our house mailing list. The project focused on sharing and promoting maple syrup content across Facebook, Instagram, email and the web. An Instagram storefront was established, landing pages linking directly to our Mailchimp email platform were launched and thematic posts focused on the sap to syrup production process and product. A documentary style merged with polished production shots, making for diverse content in addition to posts and videos that centered around the people who make this miraculous product available to the public..

Results: +17,000 people reached on Facebook; +17,000 reached on Instagram; +250 interactions on Instagram story quiz and poll; +40 new subscribers to mailing list; +45 syrup orders processed through website.

Social media is a great conversion tool and Advancement looks forward to continuing to grow program participation, product sales, memberships and donations with campaigns like this. Look for the second one this summer promoting the 3rd annual BioBlitz in July!

3270 Route 315

Merck Forest & Farmland Center

is on a mission to inspire curiosity, love and responsibility for natural and working lands