Farmer Tree Skills Project

In the Northeast, agroforestry has great promise given that much of the landscape’s native vegetation includes trees. Yet tree planting is more complex than it might at first seem. Historically, large scale tree planting efforts are frequently unsuccessful due to many factors that neglect the unique context each site and farmer presents to tree planting. 

This project is based in the belief that solutions to the challenges of tree planting need to be grounded and arise from communities and individuals tending the land in a given bioregion. We are putting out collective minds and energies together to support farmers and land stewards to build their skills in tree propagation and planting through this project. 

We envision a future where a network of decentralized tree nurseries embedded in a wide range of diverse communities collect local seed and plant materials, grow and develop genetics, and distribute trees to the wider community who are well skilled to plant and maintain healthy trees in the wider landscape.

Wellspring Forest Farm (Steve & Elizabeth Gabriel), together with forester Mike DeMunn (Da hà dá nya), Silver Run Forest Farm (Jonathan McRay), Interlace Commons (Meghan Giroux), and Rafter Ferguson are pleased to announce a NE-SARE funded project titled “Building Community Capacity to Increase Agroforestry Tree Planting through Participatory Listening Sessions, Training, and Peer-to-Peer Network Building” 

The three year project is designed around the intersection of knowledge, skill building, and social connection, recognizing that interpersonal networks positively affect learning and decision making capacity for farmers and communities. 

Project Activities include:

Recent Project Resources:

Interested in participating in the project? 

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