ALDO LEOPOLD WEEKEND

NORTHWOOD N.H., April 1 and 2, 2011

Please join Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (NALMC), the Friends of Northwood Meadows State Park, and the Northwood Conservation Commission in celebrating the first Aldo Leopold Weekend in New Hampshire.

Considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a forester, conservationist, educator, writer, philosopher and outdoor enthusiast. One of Aldo Leopold’s most significant contributions was his vision of a “Land Ethic” expressed in his classic book on conservation, A Sand County Almanac. The Almanac is a collection of nature sketches and philosophical essays recognized as one of the enduring expressions of an ecological attitude toward people and the land.

The Aldo Leopold Weekend in Northwood offers the opportunity to consider and reflect on a land ethic in our local communities. The event culminates in a screening of the first ever full-length, high definition film about Leopold: Green Fire—Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for our Time. The one hour film premiered in February 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attracting 1000 people. The movie explores Aldo Leopold's life in the context of American conservation and environmental history, while also illustrating how Leopold's legacy lives on today in the work of people and organizations across the nation and around the world.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Potluck Supper, followed by a presentation -- Who is Aldo Leopold? -- by UNH Professor of Forest Ecology Dr. Tom Lee, and Public Readings from Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac

Northwood Community Hall, 135 Main Street (Route 107 N), 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

To join us for the potluck, please RSVP to Steve Bailey at acornvally@hotmail.com. In the spirit of the land ethic, please bring a dish to share and your own place setting.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bird Walk, Woodcock Sky Dances, and Aldo Leopold Readings with Ellen Snyder and Carl Wallman

Harmony Hill Farm, corner of Harmony Road and Blake’s Hill Road, Northwood, 6:30 am – 8:30 am

Saturday, April 2, 2011

New England Premiere of the Documentary Film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time followed by refreshments and a facilitated discussion led by Karen Bennett, UNH Cooperative Extension Forester

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, Route 4, Northwood, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information or if you plan to attend the movie, Green Fire, please contact Carl Wallman, Chair, Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (603-435-5209;  info@nalmc.net or Ellen Snyder, Board Member, Bear-Paw Regional Greenways (603-659-6250; ellen.snyder@comcast.net).  The sponsors give special thanks to The Aldo Leopold Foundation (www.aldoleopold.org) in Baraboo, Wisconsin for providing planning materials, the movie Green Fire, and inspiration for this event.

Meeting on farmland conservation and access

New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture
Monday, March 7th
9am to 11am

Located at:
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
54 Portsmouth Street
Concord, NH 03301

The focus is on farmland conservation and access.

First on the agenda is a discussion of the recently concluded Installment Purchase Agreement study and what needs to be done in order to make this land conservation tool available to farmers and municipalities in NH.

Second, learn more about the Land Access Project, a multi-year, multi-state, multi-organizational effort to facilitate farmer access to farmland in our region.  (see note below)

The Land Access Project

Access to land is one of the most pressing challenges facing New England’s beginning farmers. Land Here! Assuring Access to Land for New England’s Beginning Farmers (the Land Access Project) tackles the land access issue from all angles.  This 2.5-year project, funded by a grant to Land for Good from USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, brings collaborating partners from agencies and organizations in the six New England states to:

1. Prepare and support beginning farmers to acquire land (increase “readiness”);
2. Help farmers and landowners find and engage each other;
3. Help landowners (individuals, families, corporations, land conservation organizations) and farmers develop rewarding tenure agreements;
4. Make more agricultural land available;
5. Help exiting farmers successfully transfer their farms and farmland to new farmers; and
6. Create, test, and encourage innovative secure and affordable acquisition and tenure arrangements and partnerships.

The Land Access project is organized into task forces to:

1. Improve the way farm seekers and farmland holders find one another,
2. Increase successful farm transfers from retiring to entering farmers,
3. Increase the amount of land held by private, institutional and public non-farming landowners available for beginners to farm,
4. Expand the use of innovative tenure models and agreements to enable more beginning farmers to access secure and affordable land and housing.

For more information contact SPNHF.

Looking for a great volunteer opportunity?

Look no further.  The Northwood Farmers Market group is looking for a few great volunteers for the 2011 season. Our summer markets will begin on Thursday, May 12th and run through October 6th.  The summer markets are at the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Rts. 4 and 202/9.  Our winter markets will be on Saturdays from October 15th through November 19th, and are held in the Masonic Hall on Rt. 4 next to the municipal parking lot.

If you are interested in helping run the farmers market by acting as a market manager, helping to arrange music and other entertainment, creating special events, or other tasks, please call Lucy Edwards on her cell phone at 603-312-6049 (please leave a message) or e-mail the market.  We will arrange for a meeting with you to discuss this opportunity.

Best wishes for the holiday season

The Northwood Farmers Market wishes you all the very best at this season of celebration.  We look forward to the New Year and all the bounty it will bring.

Holiday Farmers Market in Rollinsford!

Fresh, healthy local food, plus more parking options!
This Saturday, December 18th, over 50 farmers and food producers will be indoors at the Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford, NH from 10am-2pm, selling their vegetables, meats, cheeses, milk, eggs, prepared foods, baked goods, honey and maple syrup! You can find a full list of participating vendors and the products they will be selling at www.seacoasteatlocal.org

Additional parking and a shuttle will be available from 10am-12pm at Salmon Falls Stoneware, just around the corner from the greenhouse! The shuttle will run for the first two hours of the market - the parking and greenhouse are less than a mile apart, making it a quick 2 minute ride. An additional 50 parking spaces are available at Salmon Falls. Salmon Falls Stoneware is located at 75 Oak St, Dover, NH. Here's a map!

Thanks to 45 Market Street Bakery for the idea and legwork to make this happen, and the generosity of Salmon Falls Stoneware for sharing their parking.

Winter markets in our area

If you need a farmers market "fix" here's a listing that will make you feel better!

Goodbye til spring 2011!

Yup, that was the last market for 2010 yesterday!  Here are pictures from the market.

Until we see you again in the spring here's a place to find out what markets will be going on all winter.  And keep your eye on this blog for further news and announcements after the holidays, as we gear up for 2011.  Who knows what will be new next year?