BASIC
INFO:
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Welcome to the Farmscape Ecology Program
Home Page.
Thank
you for stopping in. A Grey Wood Frog and a herd of cows & a
tractor (at the bottom) keep you company on this page. A
none-too-subtle reference to
our
program's goal of combining an understanding and appreciation of the
natural world with a realistic approach to agriculture. Of course,
we're
idealists in our own way, but we hope that the information on these
pages helps inform your interaction with the land, whether you're a
farmer, a naturalist, or a just curious inhabitant of the County.
These pages explain some of our work and
motivation. For general information, please choose from the list at
left; for more detailed information, use the menu on top.
What is farmscape
ecology?
In our books, 'farmscape ecology' refers to the patterning of life on
our landscape. It is a landscape in which farming has played and does
play a large role. We emphasize that role by calling our landscape a
farmscape. Given that the vast majority of our land was once opened for
agriculture, it is fair to say that agriculture's legacy, if not
current imprint, has defined much of the human settlement pattern and
native species ecology that we see around us today.
Farmscape ecology includes those aspects of human ecology that relate
to our use of the land and the growing of food upon it. Thus, we look
at studies of our local food system as one way of describing the nature
of our landscape. Likewise, farmscape ecology also includes description
of how other animals and how plants distribute themselves on the
land - where do they find homes? how do they get nutrients? how
do they move about? And, foremost perhaps, farmscape ecology
includes looking at how the patterning of human and non-human ecologies
interact,
how does our activity, for example, determine where plants and animals
can exist? How do those plants and animals, in turn, influence
our existence? Where are there synergies, where are there disconnects
between our own use and that of other organisms?
Our ultimate goal is to encourage the compassionate, holistic
understanding of our landscape and the active consideration of how
human and non-human ecology can best be configured on that landscape so
as to provide healthy, economically feasible (for consumer and
producer) human sustenance while also providing a livelihood for the
other species that share this land with us. We're all in this
together.
As you browse through the information available on these pages, please
ask yourself - what does this tell me about who I am as an 'ecological
agent' influencing the lives of other people and other organisms? What
does this tell me
about how those others likewise influence my life? And, how
does this begin to help me envision the 'best' future shape of this
County we all call home?
NEW
INFORMATION - Early 2012
New Farmer Narrative Project
The New
Farmer
Narrative Project is an interview and survey project that
explores the journeys of 20 new farmers in Columbia County. An
exhibit featuring these new farmers will be on display at
libraries and other public venues throughout the County this
spring, summer and fall. There will also be an opening reception,
Friday, May 18th, from 4-7pm at the Chatham Real Food Market
Co-op. To learn more, click here.
*****
Claudia recently completed a report on the ecology of Shaker Swamp in New Lebanon
for the Shaker Swamp Conservancy. To learn more about this ecologically
(and historically) interesting spot, please see
her revised report.
*****
Exciting Addition! Anna has now created her own page about the
Community Food Assessment project
she has been working on. Click here to visit this new realm.
*****
Our Weather Page is updating again!
After a snafu due to changing web infrastructure, updates are working
again. I've also added links to reports for the past month and the
year-to-date so that you can can a longer view of weather history in
the Valley. There's also now a snow report from our intrepid, ruler-bearing weather station on legs.
***
Also, we have begun a Hawthorne Valley Nature blog intended to
help residents and visitors keep track of natural and agricultural goings on:
***
Finally, don't forget our weekly opendoor evening, any Thursday (except holidays, 5-8pm)
No need to call ahead, no need to bring anything.
Just come by and we'll have a pot of
soup, chili or some such waiting.
We're located at 1075 Harlemville Road in Ghent (on the NW corner of
Hawthorne Valley Farm).
See our contact info. for more complete directions.
Call us at (518) 672 7994 if you need information.
MOSAIC OF COLUMBIA COUNTY AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS CREATED. Thanks to
the Columbia County Soil and Water Conservation District and volunteer
Otis Denner, we have essentially finished our county-wide mosaic of
1940s aerial photographs. Check out a snap-shot of the mosaic and let us know if you'd like a copy of the 1940s aerial image of your property.
HARLEMVILLE WEATHER. A periodically updated page with recent Harlemville weather.
SIGN-UP FOR ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER. We've
moved out of the Stone Age and at least into the Bronze Age: you
can now subscribe to our electronic newsletter by simply following this
link.
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