Tonight at 7:00 pm, at Cary Hall, Lexington’s Board of Selectman will finally make their decision about the use or use(s) of the Busa Farm property. We are hopeful that they will decide in favor of a community farm, at least in part, and acknowledge the widespread support and desire for this public resource in our community. This will likely be the last opportunity for public comment before the decision is made. If you’d like to be inspired by what others have said (and sung) about this, please click on the picture and watch the video!
It’s been two years of forums, blog postings, letters to the editor, proposals and presentations…but Verena Wieloch from Gaining Ground already said everything that needs to be said about what a community farm would bring to Lexington – back in May, 2009. Everyone should watch this video (two parts totaling less than 12 minutes) …she’s amazing.
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If you are interested in LexFarm’s history, the history of farming in Lexington and/or learning about LexFarm’s proposal for a community farm, here are a couple of key links to presentations:
May 6, 2009: Presentation at Special Town Meeting prior to the purchase of Busa Farm – scroll to the bottom of this Busa Farm reference page.
April 28, 2010: Presentation at 2010 Town Meeting – Farming Resolution.
November 4, 2010: Presentation to Busa Land Use Proposal Committee for a Community Farm (video in 4 parts)
For those who did not see our presentation on November 4th to the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee, we have it here for you:
Part I – Introduction: Janet
Part II – Outreach and Education: Derek
Part III – Accessible Community Space: Janet
Part IV – Sustainable Operation : Derek ; Conclusion: Janet
Listen and watch as Margaret Heitz, Lexington Precinct 4 Town Meeting Member and member of the Waltham Fields Community Farm, relates her experience on the farm at our recent Candidates’ Night event.
Sounds like fun, right? It’s Lexington Community Farm Coalition’s mission to bring that kind of multi-generational and, yes, recreational community experience to Lexington by establishing our own community farm right here in our town.
Busa Farm CSA members, speak up! I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences so tell us about it in a comment below.
In a bit of comic relief, Candidates’ Night moderator, Meg Muckenhaupt, asked the candidates a somewhat silly question…
Look for more clips and the full length recording of our Candidates’ Night event to appear in the next couple of weeks.
I was asked to post for the record, the 2 minute slide presentation that I gave at Lexington Town Meeting during the discussion period for the purchase of Busa Farm. The context was that the Community Preservation Committee had worded the motion to purchase the property for “open space, recreation and/or affordable housing”. Knowing that farming is a valid and common use of open space in many other towns, I thought it was important that Lexington Town Meeting members see this as an option for Lexington.
Video in 2 parts, approximately 12 minutes in total.
Peter Barrer, board member the Newton Angino Community Farm, sent us links to a couple of videos that provide some great insight into how their farm got started and how it runs now.
The first of these is a short excerpt from a segment that appeared on Needham public access TV.
This second is about 30 (fascinating) minutes long. It includes lots of details about the history of the farm, the efforts to acquire the land, visits to a CSA operation in Framingham and a range of interviews with supporters.