ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Growing Community NEW FARM MANAGER BRIDGET LAWRENCE-MEIGS IS SOWING SEEDS OF SUSTAINABILITY B Y W E N DY C A R L S O N
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ridget Lawrence-Meigs has been immersed in the natural world virtually all her life. She grew up at nearby Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY, where her father was the director of The Trevor Zoo and her mother promoted sustainability initiatives and taught environmental science. In their backyard they kept a garden where she pulled weeds and marveled at the power of earthworms to nurture the soil. She learned that a farm is an ecosystem comprising many different organisms –– some of them friend and others, foe. These early lessons in agriculture served her well when she became the new farm manager at Fairfield Farm last summer. Since arriving, she has dealt with an invasion of potato beetles, chased off raccoons preying on baby chicks, managed a particularly wet growing season, and adapted to the Farm’s persnickety 1952 Farmall tractor. Those daily challenges are constant reminders that farm life is unpredictable. But her role at Hotchkiss extends far beyond managing Fairfield Farm’s 287 acres of farmland and fields. This fall, she is engaged in sharing her extensive knowledge of sustainable agriculture, equitable food systems, and good stewardship practices with the Hotchkiss community. “Bridget is a rockstar,” says Director of Dining Services Mike Webster. “She has a breadth of experience. Not only is she working in the fields and processing our food, she is thinking about big picture environmental issues.” Lawrence-Meigs earned her B.S. in biology in 2001 from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her real passion for farming took root in Kenya during a semester abroad program with the Canadian
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