2020 Summer Ridgeline

Celebrating 70 years of connecting people to the land.

Summer 2020

Visiting MFFC during Covid-19

Merck Forest & Farmland Center has remained open during Covid-19, requesting that visitors adhere to all suitably appropriate physical and social distancing protocols. The farm and trail network have been and remain open to all. As of June 22, limited programs are now open to the public and cabin bookings are available on weekends. Out buildings, outhouses and Visitor Center remain closed to the public at this time.

MFFC is continuing to carefully follow Be Smart, Stay Safe recommendations by the State of Vermont. MFFC is now offering scaled-back public recreation and educational programming - a tapered selection of events, programs, workshops and volunteer opportunities - all with policies in place to ensure the safety of both MFFC staff and participants. Cabin bookings are being taken for weekends and will open up further when MFFC staff feels safe to do so.

As Vermont’s protocols for re-opening continue to evolve, visit Merck Forest’s Covid-19 webpage at www.merckforest.org/Covidresponse for updates and details. MFFC staff remains dedicated to ensuring that all outdoor recreation protocols and best practices are messaged and implemented on site and on-line.

Racial Justice & Equity

At Merck Forest & Farmland Center, as for so many, recent events have brought into sharp focus the horrific indignities that black members of our community are subjected to on a daily basis, as well as the systemic inequalities relentlessly taxing their lives and livelihoods. We are listening, and committed to deepening our work to unpack and understand the role we play in this inequitable system.

We will expand our efforts to identify and eliminate implicit bias in our practices and programs while ensuring that the voices of people of color are represented, and heard, at all levels of our organization. Through this work, we further commit to exploring ways to more equitably utilize and allocate our resources to support marginalized populations.

From the Director’s Desk

by Rob Terry, Executive Director

On July 1st, we’ll be celebrating Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s 70th anniversary— 70 years of conservation, exploration, outdoor recreation, ecological study, camping, farming, forestry, sugaring, educational programs, birding, internships, creek play, summer camp, phenological observation, cabin stays, pancake breakfasts, stewardship, and more. In many ways, the world is a fundamentally different place than it was 70 years ago. The US population has doubled, while there are 1,000,000 fewer farms. Since 1950, explorers have summited the earth’s tallest mountain, descended to the ocean’s deepest point, and walked on the moon; today technologies like ArcGIS and Google Earth even bring these remote places right into people’s homes. Further advances in technology have brought unprecedented access to information and eased communication, leading to a shift towards digital culture.

In the face of these changes, many things have remained the same. Time spent outdoors still replenishes the soul. The sunset from the Sap House deck continues to humble and amaze. Catching frogs by the pond delivers the same unparalleled joy that it did seventy years ago. Sap runs in the spring, and fall colors paint the landscape after summer’s heat recedes. A night out, under the stars, with a campfire blazing brings people as close as it did a thousand years age.

As we look forward to the next 70 years, we see both challenges and opportunities. Rising temperatures mean unprecedented uncertainty for our forests. Increasing urbanization and ubiquitous digital media are creating a gap between people and the natural world—so much so that studies tell us that the average American spends 90% of their time indoors, while the typical American youth spends fewer than seven minutes a day outdoors in unstructured play. Meanwhile, we are in the midst of a global pandemic as voices are rising from all around our nation demanding justice and equal treatment under the law. These challenges are real, and in many ways will define Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s next 70 years.

In the face of these challenges, we will continue to serve as a champion for working and natural lands. We will launch new and innovative programs and educational resources, both on property and digitally, deliberately designed to pique curiosity. We will maintain and improve our trails and cabins, enhancing the recreational resources that facilitate experiences that inspire a love of the land. Through our landscape level conservation, renewable energy, and forest and soil carbon sequestration work, workforce development and food system equity work we will take responsibility for doing everything we can to make our corner of the world a better place while reaching across perceived boundaries, be they socioeconomic or cultural, to ensure that this work is for the benefit of all.

As always, thank you for joining us on this adventure and supporting our continued efforts to inspire curiosity, love, and responsibility for working and natural lands. Together, we will ensure that 70 years from today, when someone sits down to draft a similar retrospective, they will be overwhelmed by what we’ve been able to accomplish.

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

Rachel Batz

Recreation Management Assistant

Darla Belevich

Visitor Center

Stephanie Breed Visitor Center

Eli Crumley

Grounds/Maintenance

Cara Davenport

Program Coordinator

Kim Davis

Weekend/Visitor Center

Tim Duclos

Conservation Manager

Dylan Durkee

Farm Manager

Chris Ferris-Hubbard

Education Director

Kathryn Lawrence

Assistant Executive Director

Marybeth Leu

Communications Coordinator

PHOTO CREDITS:

Cara Davenport: pp. 13, 16. Montana Drummond: pp. 10, 11.

Tim Duclos: pp. 6, 7. June Woodland photos: Chris Ferris-Hubbard: pp. 4, 9, 22.

Chris Ferris-Hubbard: pp. 12. Liz Ruffa: pp. 11. Anna Terry: pp. 5, 21.

Rob Terry: pp. 14, 15, 20. MFFC Photo Archive: pp. 2, 14. Tom & Bri Lyons: pp. 14

Front Cover: George and Serena Merck, courtesy of Dinah Buechner-Vischer.

Back Cover: Mettowee Valley looking South, courtesy of Philip Ackerman-Leist

Liz Ruffa

Director Of Institutional Advancement

Rob Terry Executive Director

at Merck Forest—in

Summertime fun

your back yard—or in your local park!

• Spread out a blanket and watch the clouds… what shapes can you see?

• Collect tree leaves and make rubbings of them with crayons.

• Catch some fireflies in a glass jar… and be sure to let them go!

• Learn some constellations.

• Stay up late and watch for a meteorite shower.

• String a hammock up, and settle in to read a book.

• Make a campfire and roast marshmallows or make s’mores.

• Get up early to watch the sunrise and listen to the birds singing.

• Plant some flower seeds in a pot, water them, and watch them grow.

• Set out a hummingbird feeder.

• Skip rocks in a pond.

• Go wading in a stream.

• Pitch a tent in your backyard and camp out.

• Stomp in a mud puddle.

• Run in the rain.

• Watch a thunderstorm from a safe place.

• Collect leaves and make a bouquet.

• Have a friend cast a shadow and fill in the shadow with rocks, flowers, and other items of interest.

• Make a hopscotch board with chalk on the pavement or use a stick in a dirt driveway.

• Play a game of flashlight tag.

• Find a hill and watch the sunset.

• Make a fort...out of sticks, or an old blanket, or in a shrubby part of your yard.

• Using painter’s tape, wrap a piece, sticky side out around your wrist. Pick flowers and leaves and stick them to the tape. When done, cut the tape and save it, along with the flowers and greens.

Shifting Ground

by Chris Hubbard, Education Director

The world shifted under our feet in mid-March. As we were poised and ready to hold numerous Sap to Syrup programs and with our MFFC/NGSS School Partnership program scheduled and ready to go, schools began to cancel field trips, ultimately closing for the year. National and state emergency orders were put into place, and people were asked to “Stay Home, Stay Safe.” Our spring education season was not going to be business as usual. For an organization that is focused on experiential, hands-on learning, we were facing a major shift in how we delivered content.

Realizing that going digital was the best way to reach out to the wider world, we began producing our “Nearby Nature” video series, which were uploaded onto our Facebook page and our website, and populated into a newly launched YouTube channel (info Merck Forest). These videos range in topic from nature journaling and phenology to vernal pools and moss and lichen. Our goal was to give students content they would enjoy and learn from and allow them to go into their own backyards to explore the natural world.

Our annual Meet the Lambs became a digital celebration, as we sought to bring the joys of spring and new lambs to the wider world. Videos of wooly lambs, strutting chickens, pond explorations, and our mighty machines were rolled out the day of, and those videos continue to be available for viewing. The technical challenges of a remote landscape were overcome, and we were able to provide a livestream of our youngest lambs. Our reach for our digital version of Meet the Lambs proved to be more widespread than the number of visitors we typically see for that event.

The tide is beginning to turn, and we’re slowly opening up for programming. Our efforts in the digital realm have slowed, as we concentrate on visitors coming back onto the property, with early morning bird walks, our new “Meet and Feed”, a wilderness first aid course, and chainsaw safety courses. As we move into summer, we’ll be adding our summer camps and our Thursday Farm Chores. What this fall will bring is anyone’s guess. We do know that Vermont schools are scheduled to reopen in the fall.

Digital content can’t take the place of hands-on experiences, but it can certainly supplement them. As we move forward, we’ll be exploring how we can support teachers as they move into a new world of social distancing, how we can incorporate our public events with digital content, and how we can reach a wider audience that goes beyond those who are able to come and visit us up on the mountain. As people are being urged to “stay local” this summer, I invite you to explore our digital content and explore what is in your backyard, since nature is closer than you may think.

Merck Forest & Farmland Center Biodiversity Project BioBlitz 2020 (second Annual!)

The Quest Begins Here

Saturday and Sunday, July 25th – 26th

Fun, easy, safe, and at your own pace.

by Tim Duclos, Conservation Manager

Join fellow naturalists of all experience levels at Merck Forest & Farmland Center for any or all of two days of exploration of everything natural on the nearly 3200 acres of forests, fields, and waters. From experts to novice, all curious minds are welcome. Participation is as easy as taking a photo and recording date, time, location and uploading to iNaturalist via the app or web. Adapting to the times, this year’s BioBlitz will take on a new form than last. We are expanding the effort to the whole weekend and expanding our focal area to the whole property, with special quests available for the taking. Quests, of varying levels of challenge, will set folks up with a task and a map to seek out what may be found- or yet to be found across the property; kind of like geocaching or playing Pokémon Go- but with real life organisms.

This event will be fun, easy, safe, and at your own pace. It will also be a shared experience, don’t you worry- a BioBlitz is about community after all! We will have live displays of findings at the Visitor Center, maps and status updates on quests, naturalists and Merck Forest staff on hand, and equipment available for borrow during the event, including: guide books, magnifying glasses, specimen jars (for photographing those hard to contain insects), bug nets, dip nets, buckets, moth light sheets, etc. We will also have disinfecting solutions on hand to keep all equipment clean.

Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) biologists and volunteers convene at Merck Forest for VCE’s annual Biothon this past May. Hundreds of species of plants and animals were documented on iNaturalist and eBird during this event in 2019.

How to Participate

Step 1—Make an account on iNaturalist.org

Step 2—While at iNaturalist.org, search “Merck Forest BioBlitz 2020”. Once on the page, click “Join”. Make sure to then follow the link in the project page description to RSVP with your name and email to our Conservation Manager. We will use your email to communicate prior to the event. We will be sending out iNaturalist tutorials and will set up the quests and make available maps of cover type/natural communities, geophysical features, unique ecological features, and anything else we think you may want to know.

Step 3—Visit Merck Forest at any time on July 25th and/or 26th and make an observation; make many! You can submit findings (or save them) in real time using the iNaturalist app on your smartphone, or upload them later on a computer. Please, no collection, observations must be wild, and practice quality stewardship.

You do not need to be an expert naturalist. While we encourage all participants to attempt to identify their findings themselves, the beauty of iNaturalist is that it employs artificial intelligence to help identify your finding for you. It also allows other other users, including experts in their field, to view and identify your uploaded observation for you, from any place in the world. You do not need to identify what you find, just share it.

Also, please note that there are plenty of camping options at Merck Forestincluding dispersed camping. Reservations can be made through merckforest.org

This BioBlitz will also contribute toward the overall Merck Forest Biodiversity Project, another iNaturalist project that is ongoing year round. To date, we are up to an astounding 664 species from 42 observers contributing almost 2000 observations for Merck Forest!

Q) What is a BioBlitz?

A) It is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.

Q) Do you need to be an experienced naturalist to participate?

A) No! You, yourself, do not even need to identify what you find, although it is encouraged of course. Using iNaturalist, experts will review and identify what you find for you.

Q) Why conduct a BioBlitz?

A) To discover and document new species living at Merck Forest; to monitor for the existence of species seen before and possibly those lost, for both Merck Forest and the region.

Findings from last year’s BioBlitz revealed new and exciting species never before seen at Merck Forest- including observations not seen before in the region!

This Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta), found by Nathaniel Sharp at Page Pond during the 2019 BioBlitz was the first documented finding of the species for Bennington County, Vermont.

Stats from 2019 BioBltiz:

Event period: 24 hours

Number of observations: 539

Number of species identified: 282

Number of iNaturalist participants: 17

©Nathaniel Sharp – some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

HISTORIC VICTORY AS U.S SENATE VOTES TO FULLY FUND LWCF, RESTORE OUR NATIONAL PARKS

June 17, 2020: The United States Senate today overwhelmingly voted to pass legislation to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and invest in critical repair needs within national parks and other public lands. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) passed the Senate by a vote of (73-25), and will now move on to the House of Representatives, where the two issues have the support of a bipartisan majority.

Northshire Grown: Direct Makes a Difference

By Liz Ruffa, Director of Institutional Advancement

When Covid-19 hit our region, it immediately became clear that agricultural business market channels would be stressed. Restaurants and institutional accounts dried up and all regular channels for accessing local food were shuttered. Farms and food businesses faced very tough realities at the exact time when planning and purchasing for summer production was underway.

An idea was born. What if we leveraged the contacts and context we had gained from the Regional Producer Forums held in early 2020 for good during the crisis? Mara Hearst and Liz Ruffa - quickly joined by Maria Reade - got to work to develop a single point of contact system for both supply and demand sides. A pilot order form was distributed - would people want to support area farms and food businesses, eat healthy local produce procured in a safe way and help build a community-wide effort to provide these products to neighbors in need? This is the theory we set out to test.

It has worked! Thanks to Merck Forest’s willingness to incubate this program, since April 1, Northshire Grown: Direct has:

• Developed a network of 40+ area farms, producers, and food business

• Organized 10 markets (JK Adams April & May; Dorset Playhouse since June)

• Served over 1400 customers, including 200 Neighbors in Need Boxes

• Put over $90,000 into the local food economy through sales; of which

• $7,500 has directly supported Neighbors boxes via customer donations

• Attracted Covid-19 relief funding for the project’s critical food access work

• Highlighted ways to support racial justice and equity in the food system

The secret sauce? Our farmers, our volunteers and our community partners! Northshire and Mettowee Valley farms are full of talent, commitment and tenacity. Their willingness to jump into this new pop-up market channel was been nothing short of remarkable. Equally amazing is the incredible energy and commitment of our growing team of volunteers, local businesses and community connectors. Because of them, Northshire Grown: Direct has been able to grow quickly and nimbly and make a difference. This community action project has supported our local economy, provided fresh, nutritious food to our whole Northshire and Mettowee Valley community, and incubated a new market channel for regional food producers as Vermont’s “new normal” takes root. Merck Forest’s role as a community leader in Covid-19 Response efforts is palpable and scores of people are grateful both for the service and for Merck Forest’s role in it.

Learn more at www.merckforest.org/northshiregrown

MFFC salutes the farms, producers and food businesses that have participated in Northshire Grown: Direct. We appreciate their collective willingness to make a difference for our community in these trying, uncertain times.

Battenkill Wholesome Foods, Arlington

Black Rose Creamery, Rupert

Ceres Greens, Barre

Champlain Valley Mushrooms, Orwell

Dorset Daughters, Dorset

Dorset Union Store, Dorset

Dutchess Farm, Castleton

Dutton’s Farm Stand, Manchester

Earth Sky Time Community Farm, Manchester

Evening Song Farm, Shrewsbury

Food Connects, Brattleboro

Green Mountain Smokehouse, Springfield

Jack’s Crackers, Keene, NH

Jasper Hill Farms, Hardwick

Larson Farm, Wells

Maplebrook Farm, North Bennington

Maple Mama Beverages, Wendell, MA

Maple Meadows Farm, Salisbury

Mettowee Valley Maple, Rupert

Mettawee Brook Farm, Pawlet

Middletown Farm, Londonderry

Mighty Food Farm, Shaftsbury

Mountbrook Farm, Dorset

Naga Bakehouse, Middletown Springs

Nolan Farm, Arlington

North Meadow Farm, Manchester

Peachblow Farm, Charlestown, NH

Pitchfork Preserves, Pawlet

Ploughgate Farm, Waitsfield

Radicle Farm, Utica, NY

Rupert Rising Bakery, Rupert

Someday Farm, East Dorset

Sykes Hollow Land & Livestock, Pawlet

Tall Cat Coffee, Dorset

Tost Beverages, Dorset

Tout de Sweets, Jamaica

True Love Farm, North Bennington

Up Tunket Farm, Pawlet

Vermont Bean Crafters, Waitsfield

Vermont Bread Company, Brattleboro

Vermont Creamery, Barre

Vermont Fresh Pasta, Proctorsville

Vermont Quince Company, Newfane

Vermont Soy, Hardwick

Walnut Hill Farm, Pawlet

Yoder Farm, Danby

Buy local and support these businesses!

No farms, no food!

Why Summer Camp this Year?

by Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Camp is on at Merck Forest! After much deliberation and research, the decision was made to run our summer camps this year, despite seeing organizations near and far cancel their summer programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of our “new normal.”

So why run summer camp? Why go out on a limb to offer something we could so easily let go of? The documented guidelines from the American Camp Association (ACA) alone was enough to give one pause, as I sifted through the multiple pages of recommendations and best practices of managing a camp in the midst of this upheaval.

With the closing of schools for in-person instruction and the dramatic shift to online learning, children have had their routines upended, as they spend more time in front of a screen rather than engaging face-to-face with their peers and teachers, often isolated from their friends. Being outside has a myriad of benefits. Children play harder than they would inside, allowing for improved motor development and reduced obesity rates. Children who spend more time exploring in natural settings have improved learning outcomes, as well as less anger and aggression, and being outside has been shown to reduce stress and depression.

We decided that the benefits outweigh the challenges, so we’re running summer camp. Modifications are being made to address the recommendations from the ACA, and the size of our camps will be much smaller than in previous years. So this summer, we’ll be turning over rocks in search of salamanders and catching frogs in the pond as we explore about our environment and learn what lives in our corner of Vermont, providing some kids with happy summer-time memories in the great outdoors.

M cr o Merck

Below are some pictures of things that you can find at Merck Forest this time of year. Can you identify what is in each of the pictures?

G. Buff Orphington hen H. Burdock burr

Fern the draft horse

Firewood

Answer Key: A. Spittlebug foam B. Red clover flower C. Moss on a log

seed

A C

B D F H

MFFC Farm Update

“Arrivals” is the theme of this summer season, as both new and returning appearances continue to freshen the landscape, especially here at Merck Forest. New farm animals have been settling into our pastures and barns in the last couple of months, a firewood processor visited to help us provide firewood for all of our cabins, and every day brings sightings of increased animal and insect activity and new flowering plants and trees. During the month of May we welcomed about 30 lambs to our flock, and many of them are already nibbling grass right alongside their mothers as we begin to rotate the flock of ewes and lambs from pasture to pasture, following the fresh growth of grass and leaving behind fertilizer for the fields in their wake. Five pigs have taken up residence for the summer and fall in the spruce tree pasture uphill from the windmill, and at about 10 weeks old they are growing fast. In the beginning of June we also had an exciting morning visit to the post office in Rupert, where a cardboard box full of Buff Orphington chicks waited, practically vibrating with the scratching of tiny feet and a chorus of shrill cheeping.

Raspberries and blueberries are on the way as well, and an experimental addition to several of the raspberry rows is wool mulch, sheared from our own flock of sheep. This spring some MFFC staff spent time spreading wool out between the raspberry canes, in an attempt to stifle the weeds and keep the soil moist. If you find yourself picking berries here this summer, look for the fuzzy carpet of white, brown and gray wool underneath the raspberries!

Every day that I walk up to the farm I notice something that I didn’t see the day or week before. Spittlebugs, tiny insect larvae that feed on plant sap and produce little bubble houses for themselves that look like wads of spit, are everywhere. Daisies, hawkweed, Bird’s foot trefoil, and asters provide flecks of color on a landscape that is finally green, and new flowers continue to appear all the time.

Whether you make it up to Merck Forest this summer or are spending time at home or elsewhere, take note of the new arrivals; on the farm, in the fields, and in the woods. The landscape is constantly and rhythmically changing, familiar in many ways from previous summers but no less exciting and fresh.

BBA Students Design and Build a Chicken Tractor

by Rob Terry, Executive Director

Keep your eyes on our pastures for the introduction of a chicken tractor—essentially a mobile coop.

At present, our flock of sheep is rotationally grazed, moving between our three fenced pastures on a regular schedule in order to reduce soil compaction and over grazing while limiting the flocks exposure to parasites, all well as naturally fertilizing the fields and helping maximize below ground carbon sequestration. Starting this summer, a test flock of 25 hens living in a mobile coop constructed on a rehabilitated hay wagon will be following the flock. These hard-working hens will serve two primary purposes. First, they will act as a sanitation crew, by picking through the sheep waste for grubs as well as eating grass hoppers and other potentially undesirable insects. Secondly, the mobile clean-up crew will be converting everything they eat to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium rich fertilizer.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this experiment is that it is being undertaken as a capstone project by two Mountain Campus students from Burr and Burton Academy (thank you both so much). Their project will include research leading to the design and construction of the trailer. In an effort to minimize the impact of the project, they worked together with MFFC farm staff to salvage and rebuild a retired hay wagon with wood that was harvested and milled on site. As of mid-June, the chicken tractor is under construction, and there are 25 chicks in the brooder that will be ready to hit the field midSummer. If you are interested in learning more about getting involved in a volunteer project, big or small, feel free to let us know by reaching out to info@merckforest.org.

“A land ethic reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land. Health is the capacity of the land for self renewal. Conservation is an effort to understand and preserve this capacity.”

—Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Maple Mocha Popsicles

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups cream/milk or dairy-substitute

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

12 freezer pop molds or 12 paper cups (3 ounces each) and wooden pop sticks

Directions:

1. Combine cream, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, and instant coffee, mixing until instant coffee granules dissolve in the liquid. (If you don’t have instant coffee, substitute 4 tablespoons of brewed coffee and decrease the amount of cream/milk to about 2 ¼ cups.)

2. Pour ¼ cup of mixture into each pop mold or paper cup and insert pop sticks into the tops.

3. Place in freezer in molds or on a tray or sheet pan until firm.

Frappuccino option: top frozen popsicle with whipped cream!

Maple Popcorn Snack Balls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup popping corn

Directions:

1 1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons butter

1. Heat the salt and oil in a large pot and test by putting in a couple popcorn kernels. Once they pop, turn off the heat. Pour the rest or the kernels in, shake to coat with the oil, and cover. Turn the heat back up to medium high, and shake the pot occasionally. Wait until several seconds pass between ‘pops’ and turn off the heat. Pour popcorn into a separate bowl.

2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Pour ¾ cup of maple syrup and the butter into a small saucepan and cook on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t let the syrup boil over!

4. Pour the syrup over the popcorn and toss with a wooden spoon or spatula, until popcorn is evenly coated. Line one or two baking trays with parchment and spread the popcorn onto them. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes while completing the next step.

5. Put the rest of the maple syrup into the saucepan and heat to 250 degrees.

6. Take the popcorn out of the oven and put it back into the bowl, then pour the heated syrup over it.

Recipes from Cara Davenport

7. Working quickly, toss the popcorn with the maple syrup and then form the popcorn into balls, lightly compressing them to help them stick together. Place them on a baking sheet as you finish each one. You can make 10-12 smaller, golf-ball-sized popcorn balls, or 4-5 baseball-sized balls.

8. Let them cool on the trays and store in an airtight container.

Meet Henry!

by Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Imagine playful, lovable bears hopping from rock to rock, cleaning chicken coops, building cabins, or planting beans. Author and illustrator D. B. Johnson draws upon short passages from Henry David Thoreau’s writings for inspiration in his charming “Henry” series, with bears front and center, giving children an accessible introduction to Thoreau’s work. Johnson’s angular, earth-toned illustrations echo the Cubist art movement and M.C. Escher’s works, with streets, staircases, and fences skewing the rules of perspective as readers get a glimpse of what life was like in Concord, Massachusetts in the mid-1800’s. “15 cents. 18 miles to Fitchburg.”

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, Johnson’s first Henry book and winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, is based on a brief paragraph in Walden, and explores the idea of living simply. Thoreau writes, “Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at; as railroads lead to Boston or New York.” Henry and his friend decide to go to Fitchburg to see the country. The challenge is to see who will get to Fitchburg first. Henry decides to walk and enjoy all that the day has to offer, while his friend opts to work until he has the money to purchase a train ticket.

“It’s bigger than it looks,” said Henry. Thoreau’s iconic cabin at Walden Pond comes to life in Henry Builds a Cabin, as Henry, with the help and advice from his friends, sets to building his cabin by Walden Pond. While everyone insists the cabin is lacking, Henry proves them wrong time and time again, as he shares the great outdoors where he plans to spend his time. The progression of the seasons is laid out, as Henry sets his plan in motion. Wildlife native to Massachusetts can be found scampering through the pages, and children will delight in searching for the various creatures that make their appearances.

Through their rollicking antics, Johnson’s bears give us a glimpse of life of in a simpler by-gone era with messages that resonate through the ages, as he makes Thoreau’s words come alive in a manner accessible for all.

Walk on a stone wall.

Climb a tree.

Make a raft and try paddling it.

Cross a swamp.

Find a bird’s nest (and leave it where you find it!)

Find a honey tree. Jump into a pond.

Eat berries from a berry patch. Take a shortcut.

From Henry Hikes to Fitchburg:

“A tree is nice to plant. You dig the biggest hole you can and put the little tree in. Then you pour in lots of water and then the dirt. You hang the shovel back in the garage. Everyday for years and YEARS you watch the little tree grow. You say to people, “I planted that tree.” They wish they had one so they go home and plant a tree too.”

—from “A Tree is Nice”, by Janice May Undry. 1956

The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move

by Sonia Shah, 2020

by Stephanie Breed, Visitor Center

While listening to NPR on the drive home, there was a promo for an upcoming author interview concerning migration. The author had studied movement patterns of plants, animals and humans. Her finding showed a dynamic evolution. The interview can be found online at NPR’s Fresh Air broadcast- Rethinking the Migration of All Living Things. Sonia Shah is a journalist whose focus is on science, politics and human rights. Her 2026 book, Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond is discussed at the beginning of the interview.

I was beyond happy to venture into the newly reopened Northshire Bookstore to buy this book! At over 300 pages it seemed a bit daunting at first. However, she writes for the layperson and clearly outlines the history of migration theory. She discusses at length Carl Linnaeus who is best known for his plant classification based on characteristics and assumed place of origin. He is lesser known for his grim view on the taxonomy of humans.

Plants, animals and humans were thought to remain stationary. Bird migration wasn’t considered in the 1800’s. It was thought birds went into caves, underground or into the water during the winter. Eventual observations and tracking of floral and fauna changed how people saw their world and challenged religious beliefs that all living things were meant to remain where they were created.

I haven’t yet finished this book, I am absorbing it slowly. It is a fascinating study on migration patterns, cultural interactions and biodiversity. Flora, fauna and humans interact constantly and can alter the environment on a daily basis. Our job is to understand this interconnectedness, appreciate change and to realize when certain changes can pose a negative outcome.

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Here’s a brief rundown of activities and programs for you and your family to enjoy during the summer months up at Merck Forest & Farmland Center. Full details may be found at www.merckforest.org/product/events. Register for events online at https://www.merckforest.org/shop/.

The August Bluegrass Concert has been cancelled, but MFFC hopes to organize the Annual Harvest Festival in September. We are taking a wait-and-see approach - stay tuned!

Especially for Youngsters

Wilderness Day Camp for Rising 4-6th Graders. 7/13 through 7/17 @ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, $250/child. Week-long summer day camp for kids going into Grades 4 – 6 in the fall. Our focus will be on the wild creatures who inhabit the forest, fields, and pond.

Forest Day Camp for Rising 1st to 3rd Graders.

Session 1): 7/20 through 7/24, 9 am to 3:00 pm, $250 per child.

(Session 2): 8/3 through 8/7, 9 am to 3:00 pm, $250 per child. Adventures in the forest are in store for rising first-, second- and third-grade campers. Our woodland classroom — the new yurt — will be our forest base camp, and a Vermont-certified educator will be on the ground with the children.

Mushroom Hunt for Youngsters, 8/23 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am, $5pp. Find elusive woodland mushrooms with your youngsters. Bring a basket to gather them up.

Under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian

Summer events, hikes and volunteer opportunities

Bio-Blitz at Merck Forest. 7/25 - 7/26, noon to noon, FREE.

Calling all adventurers, naturalists and curious minds! Join experts and friends at Merck Forest & Farmland Center between noon Saturday, July 25th, to noon on Sunday, July 26th, for both guided and self-led exploration of life on MFFC’s 3200acre property.

Mushroom Identification. 8/23 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm, $10pp. A workshop focusing on identifying mushrooms: mycologist Sue Hook will have mushrooms to identify; participants may bring in their own mushrooms as well. Mushroom Hunt for Youngsters is on 8/23 10am - 11:30 am. See above for details.

Farm Chores. Thursday afternoons, 7/2 through 8/13, 2 to 4:00 pm, $5pp. Participate in daily farm chores with MFFC staff, including feeding the chickens and collecting eggs, and feeding the sheep, horses and pigs. Maybe we’ll weed the children’s garden or pick berries!

Meet & Feed Afternoons for Families. Sunday afternoons, 6/28 through 10/11, 3pm to 4:00 pm, $5pp. Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine.

Second Saturday Hikes

7/11 @ 2 to 4 pm, $5pp.

8/8 @ 2 to 4 pm, $5pp.

9/12 @ 2 to 4pm, $5pp.

Staff-guided hikes of only moderate difficulty; routes are selected to feature a particularly beautiful feature of the landscape.

Volunteer Work Parties

8/29 @ 10am - 3pm 9/26 @ 10am - 3pm

Join MFFC Field Staff for the day to have an invigorating time on the property undertaking maintenance and improvement projects. Details of monthly projects can be found on our website.

From The Advancement Office

by Liz Ruffa, Director of Institutional Advancement

Though it has been very quiet at the Visitor Center this spring, Merck Forest’s team has steadfastly been working to advance our mission. How does an educational institution rooted in connecting people with nature and aligned with environmental stewardship keep its mission relevant during a global pandemic?

Here’s what we’ve accomplished since March:

• pivoted to offer online learning modules to our educational and online communities

• offered “virtual” programming to introduce our farm animals to a large online audience

• designed new entrance and welcome signage, kiosks to be constructed this summer!

• safely and seamlessly produced over 1,400 gallons of organic maple syrup

• processed and delivered over 60 cords of firewood for buildings, cabins and VC use

• continued to recruit new members and donors and stay relevant in our region

• encouraged use of MFFC trails within the context of state COVID regulations

• worked hard to welcome program attendees and campers back onto the property

These tasks and efforts summoned our collective curiosity, love and responsibility - to the institution that we are proud to work at as well as to working and natural lands education and management.

I’d like to thank MFFC’s Advancement CommitteeMerrill Bent, Austin Chinn, Ann Jackson, George Hatch, Bob McCafferty and Rob Terry - for their commitment to strategy and innovation during challenging times. Philanthropic efforts are, in large part, rooted in spirit and generosity and this team embodies these values to a T.

I’d also like to welcome Dinah Buechner-Vischer to the Board of Directors and to thank her for interviewing her mother Judy Buechner and her aunt Bambi Hatch, daughters of MFFC founder George W. Merck, before this property became Merck Forest and Farmland Center. We plan to honor and celebrate MFFC’s past, present and future in the next issue of the Ridgeline. Do you have a special memory or story about Merck Forest? Please reach out! liz@merckforest.org.

Have a wonderful summer, be well, stay safe and enjoy the great outdoors - here if you can - or wherever you hang your hat. Nature is always open…and has so much to teach us all.

Summer Advancement Goals

Philanthropy - the act of giving - has never been more in play. There is systemic, structural need across communities and sectors - in Vermont and elsewhere- and with it, opportunities for collective action. Let’s all do our part. As you continue to adjust to the “new normal”, feel free to partner with us as we deliver our mission in new ways. In the coming months, MFFC will continue to undertake ongoing trail & visitor experience enhancements, strategize as how to best support nature-based learning for K-12 students and continue to assist in COVID-19 community resilience initiatives.

Any financial support for these initiatives is welcome. Please contact liz@merckforest.org or rob@merckforest.org for more information.

Save The Date

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Second Annual Twilight on the Mountain

Frank Hatch Sap House, Merck Forest & Farmland Center

Celebrating 70 Years of Connecting People and Nature

For Sponsorship information, contact liz@merckforest.org

Twilight On The Mountain

Membership at MFFC has never mattered more!

Our members help keep the gate open, the trails clear and our animals cared for. Memberships at Merck Forest provide the essential “glue” that allows us to operate safely and effectively. Thank you for your support! Help us grow our membership base by sharing your enthusiasm for the institution with others. Ideas? Contact liz@merckforest.org

“In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair.“

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Merck Forest at 70: Highlights from the Archives

Compiled by Melanie Mislo, a recent Bennington College graduate who interned at Merck Forest winter 2020.

1940s George W. Merck purchases land in Rupert, Vermont

1950 George & Serena Merck donate 2,600 acres to create the VT Forest Foundation

1951 Dedication of Carl A. Schenck Tree Farm

1950s Scholarship growth plots established to fund a year of college for a local student

1952 First participation in Soil Bank program

1952 Distinguished Farmer Award established

1952 Advisory Council established

1954 Deer browse research initiated

1955 Vermont Governor Johnson visited for tour

1957 Hosted statewide land use conference

1957 Death of George W. Merck

1959 Dedication of George W. Merck Memorial Forest

1966 Vermont Forest Foundation renamed Merck Forest & Farmland Center

1967 Vote to close roads to public vehicles

1967 Partnership with Student Conservation Association (SCA) initiated

1967 First cabin built at Clark’s

1970 First caretakers hired

1971 Battenkill Watershed Study established

1975 Summer camps established

1976 Winter Study Program established

1977 First sugar house built, now Dunc’s Place

1978 Intern wildlife studies conducted

1981 Record 450 gallons of maple syrup produced

1983 Resource manager & program positions established

1983 Ridge Cabin built

1984 First ever endowment established by Futures Campaign

1989 Joy Green Visitor Center built

1996 Community support tops 500 members, donors, and business sponsors

1997 310 acres of adjoining forest donated in memory of George Merck

1997 Strawbale maintenance building built

1997 Merck Forest celebrates 30 year partnership with SCA

1998 Ned’s Place, a cabin in memory of Ned Winpenny, built

1998 Farm Manager position established

1999 Smartwood® certification of forests awarded by The National Wildlife Foundation

2000 Ecosystem Management Plan established

2000 Bergey wind powered electrical system was installed (wind turbine)

2001 1st ever Smartwood® certification for sugaring awarded to Merck

2001 340-acre Wildlife Demonstration Area established

2002 Merck supports Plant a Row for the Hungry

2002 Merck named Vermont Tree Farm of the Year

2003 Merck develops Stewardship Program

2005 First Annual Sheepdog Trial

2005 Merck celebrates 10 years of community-supported Agriculture (CSA shares)

2005 A rare red Randall Lineback calf is born on Merck Farm

2005 Two year Beekeeping initiative at Merck Forest

2007 Prescribed burn at Merck Forest

2007 SCA/Merck Forest partnership celebrates 40 year

2008 Merck begins the adopt a cabin program

2008 Merck hosts archeology programs for both kids and adults

2009 Merck hosts Burr & Burton Academy as they participate in service learning

2009 Merck demonstrates an entirely fossil fuel-free wheat harvest

2014 The Jersey Boys (Jersey oxen Zeus and Apollo) come to Merck

2014 10th year of Sheepdog trials

2015 Merck adds sustainable mushroom packaging for maple products

2015 Next Generation Science Standards educational program implemented at MFFC

2016 Merck hosts Be Brave Hike-A-Thon

2016 Conservation easement with Vermont Land Trust expands conserved acreage

2016 MFFC hosts United Nations Retreat for a group of 77 delegates

2017 Merck presents at the National Farm-Based Educational Network conference in Concord, MA

2017 Planting of the Vicki McInerney Memorial Garden

2019 Completion of the Thoreau Cabin at Rasey Pond

2019 Maple Celebration Pancake Breakfast surpasses 900 people over 2 days

2019 Twilight on the Mountain establishes annual institutional celebration

2019 BioBlitz organized with assistance from Vermont Center for Ecostudies

2020 High Meadows Fund awards funding through its Forest Heath & Integrity Initiative.