FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jessica Hyman, (802) 656-9897 or jhyman@uvm.edu
Sept. 2, 2009
CRS, WNRCD launch Local Growers Guide www.vermontgrowersguide.com The UVM Center for Rural Studies (CRS) and the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District have launched the Local Growers Guide, a searchable web site that links consumers with local food, farms, and sales outlets in the Champlain Valley and central Vermont. The Local Growers Guide, at www.vermontgrowersguide.com, raises awareness about local food sources, links customers to local products, and supports Vermont farms. The guide includes farmersubmitted information about their farms, their products, and where they sell. Farmers also can access and update their listings. The web site is searchable by town, product (organically grown, certified organic, or conventional), farm name, or sales outlet. The Local Growers Guide currently contains listings from farms in Chittenden and Washington counties. CRS is working with the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN) and the Northwest Regional Planning Commission to expand the Local Growers Guide to Addison, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties this fall. This web site complements the comprehensive, searchable web sites that state-wide organizations like NOFA Vermont and Vermont Fresh Network already have for their members. Look for printed versions of the Chittenden and Washington counties Local Growers Guides in early spring 2010. The Local Growers Guide web site was designed by Gregg Banse of 7th Pixel (www.7thpixel.com). Funding for the project comes from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Northern Vermont Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., the Oakland Foundation, and a USDA CSREES special research grant with ongoing support from Senator Patrick Leahy. The Center for Rural Studies is a nonprofit, fee-for-service research organization that addresses social, economic, and resource-based problems of rural people and communities. The mission of CRS is to promote the dissemination of information through consulting, research, and community outreach.
Local Growers Guide quick facts: URL: www.vermontgrowersguide.com Farmers who want to be listed in the guide can contact Jessica Hyman at 656-9897 or jhyman@uvm.edu or go to http://www.vermontgrowersguide.com/get-listed/ ###
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, 206 Morrill Hall, 146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405-0106 Telephone (802) 656-3021, Fax (802) 656-1423, Email crs@uvm.edu, Online http://crs.uvm.edu Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer
NEWS RELEASE ‐ SEPT. 1, 2010 Please include this news release is your publications as appropriate. We welcome advance news coverage and/or day‐of coverage. MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Hyman, (802) 598‐3139 or jhyman@uvm.edu
Intervale Center Harvest Event Celebrates Abenaki Agricultural Heritage Celebrate the harvest season and the agricultural heritage of Burlington’s Intervale on Thursday, Sept. 23. The Heritage Harvest Celebration features an Abenaki Heritage garden open house at the Intervale Center with tours and activities to showcase the rich agricultural tradition of the Intervale, a Slow Food potluck, and a barn dance. The Abenaki Heritage Garden is a “three‐sisters” garden with traditional corn, beans and squash varieties grown much as the Abenaki would have cultivated them 900 years ago. The garden is intended to honor the agricultural heritage of the Abenaki at the Intervale, educate the public about Abenaki history and culture, and grow food for the Abenaki community. From 3‐5:30 p.m., the free, family‐friendly Abenaki Heritage Garden Open House features clay pot cooking demonstrations with Charlie Paquin, corn grinding with City Market, and garden tours. Come see the Abenaki Heritage garden and learn about Abenaki living culture. The day continues with a 6 p.m. Slow Food Vermont Community Potluck to highlight the bounty of the harvest season. This communal feast is free and open to everyone. Bring a dish to share. Plates, utensils and napkins will be provided, but you can bring your own to reduce waste. The Heritage Harvest Hoedown barn dance with Malcolm Sanders on fiddle, Brian Perkins on guitar and foot percussion, and calling by Mary Wesley starts at 7:30 p.m. with dancing instruction at 7 p.m. (Admission is $5 at the door.) The Abenaki Heritage Garden was established in 2009 by a group of community volunteers led by the Burlington Area Community Gardens (BACG) Advisory Board. Working closely with the St. Francis/ Sokoki band of the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, the Intervale Center, and other partners, the group developed a demonstration garden at the Intervale and a sister garden at the tribal headquarters in Swanton. The Abenaki Heritage Garden is now an Intervale Center project with a community advisory board made up of representatives from BACG ‐ a program of Burlington Parks & Recreation, the St. Francis/ Sokoki band of the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, Gardeners Supply Company, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and UVM's Environmental Program. Support for the Abenaki Heritage Garden is generously provided by New Chapter and Will & Lynette Raap. The garden is part of the Sacred Seed Network. The Abenaki Heritage Garden is open for self‐guided tours during daylight hours. Maps are available in the Intervale Information Kiosk. For more information about the garden or a guided tour, contact Rob Hunt at the Intervale Center, 660‐0440, x106 or rob@intervale.org. For more information about the Sept. 23 Heritage Harvest Celebration, visit www.intervale.org. 1
CALENDAR LISTING: WHAT: Heritage Harvest Celebration WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 23. DETAILS: 3‐5:30 p.m. Abenaki Heritage Garden Open House with tours, slide show, clay pot cooking and corn grinding (free); 6 p.m. Slow Food Potluck (free); 7 p.m. Heritage Harvest Hoedown barn dance with Malcolm Sanders and friends ($5) WHERE: Intervale Center, 180 Intervale Road, Burlington INFO: www.intervale.org, (802) 660‐0440 x101 _____________________________________________________________________________________ STORY PITCH TO MEDIA HERITAGE HARVEST CELEBRATION LIVE STORY/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: WHAT: The Intervale Center and community partners host school groups in the morning and an open house in the afternoon to showcase the Abenaki Heritage Garden. WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 23. WHY YOU SHOULD COVER IT: This event brings together members of the Intervale, greater Burlington, and Abenaki communities to honor the Abenaki agricultural heritage, the history of the Intervale, and the living culture of the Abenaki in Vermont. DETAILS: A full day of events with myriad story/photo opportunities, including… •
10 a.m.‐ 1:30 p.m. 130 students from Champlain School in Burlington and Robinson School in Starksboro explore and learn about the traditional “three sisters” (corn, beans and squash) garden, see and taste stew cooked by in clay pots with rocks heated in an open fire, and try out hand‐grinding corn.
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2‐3 p.m. reception with community partners – including the St. Francis/ Sokoki band of the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, Burlington Area Community Gardens, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, UVM's Environmental Program, volunteers, and the Intervale community.
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3‐5:30 p.m. Abenaki Heritage Garden Open House for the public with tours, slide show, clay pot cooking and corn grinding (see news release for more details).
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The day ends with a Slow Food Vermont Community Potluck at 6 p.m. and a Heritage Harvest Hoedown barn dance with Malcolm Sanders and friends at 7.
WHERE: Intervale Center, 180 Intervale Road, Burlington MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Hyman, (802) 598‐3139 or jhyman@uvm.edu 2