On June 3rd, LexFarm will submit our proposal for a community farm!
It’s been over four years since we dared to dream that we could save Busa Farm as a community farm for everyone.
With tremendous community support, a farm was saved.Now it’s time for the community to build its farm:
Add your name as a supporter of our proposal by making a Pledge to Build the Farm
If you didn’t know, the Lexington Board of Selectmen have declared May 5 – 11, 2013 Lexington’s first annual Bike Walk ‘n Bus Week to promote healthy, sustainable, and safe transportation options! A wide variety of activities are scheduled this week to celebrate the many alternative transportation resources available in town. This event is being organized by the Bicycle Advisory Committee, Greenways Corridor Committee, and Safe Routes to School Committee, in conjunction with Town staff. Check out the full-schedule here.
Every spring Saturday in New England should be devoted to digging in the dirt. This past weekend it seemed particularly important for some of us to come together as a community and not only dig…but plant some seeds for the future.
In our “Learn and Work: Pasture Planting” Day, we loosened up some soil at the goat yard, and planted some oats, red clover and chicory – future forage for the goats, improved soil for the earth, and renewed hope for the rest of us! LexFarm’s tagline is: “Growing Community, Community Grown” – this past weekend we did both! Happy Earth Day Every Day for Everyone!
If there were ever any doubt that LexFarm is a fun group, you only had to see us with our giant vegetables in the Patriot’s Day parade yesterday…
In addition to winning 3rd place in the Civic category, we also handed out hundreds of organic seed packets to children from “Seeds of Change“: let’s get those gardens growing! Are you someone who found this website after seeing us in the parade?
Help us Grow: Please Donate or become a Member today !
In 2009, LexFarm had a vision to save a farm for the community. It’s been a long haul, but now in 2013:
Our vision could soon be a reality: we are responding to a Request for Proposals from the Town of Lexington for a community farm on the now town-owned Busa Farm land.
Our proposal, if accepted , will provide a new public resource for the Lexington/Arlington area.
And… we need your help now to help it grow.
Please consider a membership and/or a donation today for our future community farm!
We had a great turnout and great feedback for our “Farming: Then and Now” farm history panel last Sunday. We are hoping to make it available OnDemand through LexMedia for those who missed it. Meanwhile, Carolyn Goldstein reports that the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. has launched a new initiative to collect farm history stories from around the country. These stories are part of the development of a new exhibition entitled “American Enterprise,” which will open in a few years. We hope that some Lexington farmers will participate. Spread the word by sharing this link:
americanhistory.si.edu/agheritage
Shown here is the Busa Farmily certificate of Farm War Service from WWII.
On Sunday, March 17 at 1:00 pm at Lexington High School:
We invite you to celebrate Lexington’s 300th anniversary with us during the 300th Anniversary LexCelebrate! Incorporation Weekend. LexFarm has assembled a distinguished panel of speakers to present “Farming Then and Now” – a look at agriculture in Lexington over three centuries:
Speakers will include:
• Mary Babson Fuhrer, public historian specializing in New England before the Civil War.
Read one of Ms. Fuhrer’s works online:
“From Sources to Stories: Reconstructing Revolutionary Lexington in the Classroom”
• Richard Kollen, local historian and former archivist for the Lexington Historical Society
Read essays from Mr. Kollen here, including a history of Irish farmers in Lexington
• Donald Wilson, a third-generation farmer and co-owner of Wilson Farm in Lexington.
Read about Mr. Wilson and his award for lifetime service to agriculture
• August “Gus” Schumacher, Jr., who grew up on a farm in Lexington, served as Commissioner of Food and Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Massachusettsm and currently serves on the 21st Century Sustainable Agricultural Task Force of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read “Gus Schumacher and the Future of Food” on FoodRepublic.com
Read details on our Event page . Event is FREE but seating is limited.
Our herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats enjoyed beautiful views on a sunny Sunday afternoon, thanks to owners, caretakers and volunteers who variously plowed and shoveled paths to the barn doors and climbing structures. Click picture for close-up – Left to right: Ella, Naya, Pepper, Sapphire (rear), Ionia and Salt.
The LexFarm annual meeting is coming up on Sunday March 24. If you’d like to vote on our new incoming board and celebrate our progress so far and the future ahead, join or renew by February 20 in order to participate.
We enjoyed public visiting hours at the goat yard on Sunday, after holidays and weather had kept us away. Ionia and the herd enjoyed some green branches and met some new friends – those enjoying a walk on a beautiful winter’s day, along with many new “adopters”. This photo taken by Richard Jenson, of Lexington. The goat yard will continue to be open to the public for visits on Sundays from 1 – 3 pm, weather permitting, and as volunteers are available. Learn more about the LexFarm goat yard.