notes from wilderness

looking forward to laugh out loud afternoons into our summer & fall

Vermont Photographer Seth Butler

These images are part of a long-form documentary project I have undertaken on sustainable living in Vermont with the working title: Defining Sustainability

Source: fablefarm.org #Barnard #Christopher Piana #Community #Fable Farm #Organic Farming #Photo #Seth Butler #Sustainable Living #Vermont #Defining Sustainability

Defining Sustainability: Homesteading

A homesteading party in Barnard, Vermont brought together many individuals focused on setting the foundation sill, knee brace and first floor joists in place for a new farming project founded this past year. A large group gathered to volunteer together during the course of the day, staging upon a new foundation in what once was a parcel of the founding homestead in Barnard’s rural agrarian community. A majority of the wooden structure for this timber frame was both locally and sustainably harvested with the guidance of a neighborhood forester and milled by the homesteaders’ hands on site.

These images are part of a long-form documentary project I have undertaken on sustainable living in Vermont with the working title: Defining Sustainability

Source: sethbutler.com #Seth Butler #Defining Sustainability #Vermont Photographer #Vermont Photojournalist #Barnard

The Aurora Borealis shines in red with hints of green in the Western sky during the autumn of 2001 over Silver Lake in Barnard, Vermont, United States.
© Copyright 2011 Seth Butler. All Rights Reserved. http://www.sethbutler.com

2 notes #Aurora Borealis #Barnard #Northern Lights (Aurora)#Photo #Vermont Photographer #Vermont Photojournalist #View from My Window

Nice to see so many folks from Barnard, Vermont at Fable Farm CSA again this year.

Community Supported Agriculture Farmers. Barnard, Vermont (VT). 2009.
© Seth Butler for the 50 States Project.

Jon and Christopher Piana pose for portrait in their greenhouse at Fable Farm in Barnard, VT. Fable Farm is a community supported agriculture (CSA) project started in 2008 on the site of the first homestead in the town on land leased from Joe Ladoucer, an organic beef farmer and the owner of the Bowman Road Farm. At a 2008 legislative hearing on the future of agriculture at the Vermont State House, Jon Piana stated “The average farmer in this state is 56 years old. Clearly, we need more young farmers to sustain us now and into the future. This means that some how we must make farming more profitable, and land more affordable and accessible. Young folks should be encouraged to take up the trade and art of farming, not discouraged. During this period of economic meltdown and job loss, there is lots of work to be done on farms. It is critical that we, as a state, begin taking charge in the local production of food, energy, and other raw materials that are used day to day.” Historically, Vermont has been a primarily agrarian economy but with the current economic crisis, many farms are now folding under the added financial pressure of this economic downturn. Community supported agriculture projects may present a very plausible solution for supporting farms and helping to stabilize the diverse local economies of Vermont.