Greensboro

GREENSBORO — David and Jenny Stoner, the 2017 Vermont Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, will be hosting a farm tour on Saturday, August 12.

The Stoner Family Tree Farm is a 361-acre farm in Greensboro. The event begins at 8:30 a.m., with a welcome at 9 a.m.

The tours depart at 9:30 a.m.

The Stoners have implemented a variety of habitat management practices. They have been an educational asset and role model to their community.

This tour will be on easy to moderate terrain with trails.

The tour is $20 for adults and $10/child 14 and younger.

GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Free Library will host a book discussion of Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro, on Wednesday, June 28, at 7 p.m., at the Greensboro Free Library, 53 Wilson Street, in Greensboro.

The discussion will be led by Stefani Cravedi.

The book is the story of Del Jordan, a young Canadian girl growing up in rural Ontario in the 1940s. It follows her through the carelessness of childhood, uneasy adolescence, the sexual awakening and joy of womanhood.

She is surrounded by women — her mother, an agnostic, opinionated woman who sells encyclopedias to local farmers; her mother’s boarder, the lusty Fern Dogherty; and her best friend, Naomi.

Del explores the dark and brigh sides of womanhood as she grows up.

The book is a statement of political as well as artistic intent.

The public is invited to discuss it with others and learn about the problems of growing up in a rural town of the 1940s.

Lives of Girls and Women is available at the library. Call Librarian Mary Metcalf at (802) 533-2531 for more information.

GREENSBORO — Brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler purchased 51 acres in Greensboro and conserved the land with the Vermont Land Trust as part of their effort to expand their cheese businesses at the Cellars at Jasper Hill.

Andy and Mateo started Jasper Hill Farm in 2003, milking 15 heifers in an old tie-stall barn. Thirteen years later, their small dairy has grown into a cheese-making phenomenon, with 85 employees, and millions of dollars in sales both nationally and internationally.

The farm has a herd of about 45 Ayrshire cows that graze the fields in warmer months. An onsite creamery produces Bayley Hazen Blue, Moses Sleeper and Winnimere cheeses from this herd, which is aged—along with cheese from herds on other Vermont dairies—at the state-of-the-art cheese caves built in 2008.

The caves, known as the Cellars at Jasper Hill, are currently at 70 percent capacity, something the brothers are trying to change.

To expand cheese production, Andy and Mateo bought two parcels of adjoining farmland on Country Club Road located on the edge of Greensboro village. The farmland will be home to a new herd and a state-of-the art cheese-making facility, which will produce cheeses that the brothers have been developing.

Andy and Mateo sold a conservation easement on the land to the Vermont Land Trust with funding from the Freeman Foundation, the Greensboro Conservation Fund, the Greensboro Land Trust and the Lookout Foundation.

“We are choosing to conserve this land to help fulfill our business mission of maintaining the working landscape,” said Andy Kehler. “This conservation project will maintain the opportunity for agriculture to exist as a central part of our community.

Andy and Mateo also conserved a portion of their main farm with the Vermont Land Trust back in 2008.

“An important piece of our work is to support a thriving farm economy,” remarked Tracy Zschau of the Vermont Land Trust. “Conserving farmland with Andy and Mateo, along with many other farmers in the Greensboro area has helped ensure there is productive land base to support farms now and in the future.”

Andy and Mateo see the new farm as a place that will allow more people to be trained in the art of high-quality cheese-making. The more artisan cheeses that are produced, the more cheese that can fill the Cellars.

There is still a lot of room for growth. If the caves were full, they would be ripening cheese from about 800 cows. This new farm will bring Andy and Mateo one step closer.

“As we as a culture become further removed from our food supply and agriculture,” remarked Andy, “we are excited to preserve the opportunity for agriculture, and dairy in particular, to be a visible and celebrated part of the activities that occur in the village.”

The conserved land has 40 acres of hayfields, all of which have prime agricultural soils. The rest of the property is wooded wetland, which will be permanently protected for water quality through restrictions in the conservation easement.

The project was the culmination of a three-farm conservation effort in Greensboro that was supported in part by the town’s conservation fund and the Greensboro Land Trust.

The other two farms protected were the former Jaffin Farm on Jaffin Flats Road, owned by Shaun and Darren Hill, and the former Fontaine Farm on Taylor and Garvin Roads owned by Todd Hardie.

“The Town of Greensboro and the Greensboro Land Trust are grateful to the VLT for its initiative in helping return three one-time farm properties to agricultural use and ensuring that they remain in that use indefinitely,” remarked Clive Gray of the Greensboro Land Trust. “The Jasper Hill easement opens up the likelihood that Greensboro villagers will see dairy farming return next door after more than 70 years.”

The Kehlers contributed a portion of the easement value by selling the development rights for less than their full assessed value.

GREENSBORO — Wonder & Wisdom of Greensboro, a multi-generational and community-based nonprofit, just received $2,500 from Green Mountain United Way (GMUW) to expand its Seniors Program.

Camaraderie, adventure, education, and fun-filled outings are hallmarks of the Wonder & Wisdom Seniors Program. Monthly outings are offered to local residents age 50 and older. Venues include museums, concerts, theaters, fitness centers, and wellness activities.

“Wonder & Wisdom is tremendously excited to partner with Green Mountain United Way to create new enrichment opportunities for Northeast Kingdom seniors,” said Jim Flint, Executive Director at Wonder & Wisdom. “The GMUW grant will help our Seniors Program continue to grow and build a strong community through gatherings and outings that promote good health, active lifestyles, and lasting social ties.”

According to a recent announcement, GMUW has awarded Community Grants to five nonprofit organizations and Micro Grants to three nonprofits for projects that align with United Way priority areas of education, income and health.

Three Micro Grants of $250 each went to Umbrella in Newport for the purchase of portable food storage containers for their Cornucopia Meals-on-Wheels program, Northeastern VT Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury for brochures for their Smoke Free Cars campaign, and the People’s Health & Wellness Clinic in Barre for dental hygiene supplies.

AWARE of Hardwick, was also awarded $2,500 for their Economic Empowerment initiative, and the Family Center of Washington Co. received $2,500 for their intensive work training program for some of their Reach Up clients with the goal of transitioning troubled parents into successful employment.

Other Community Grant recipients are the Vermont Humanities Council ($2,432) for their Never Too Early early literacy program across the GMUW five counties, and Pathways Vermont ($2,000) for a statewide phone service line that provides specialized mental health support.