With more than 70 applications, we were overwhelmed and overjoyed by the incredible applications we received for our inaugural year of grant giving. The grant committee and our staff poured over every application, ultimately awarding grants to 8 organizations representing the important work of transitioning to regenerative land and sea management.
You’ve probably heard that flaxseed is good for you, but did you know the plant can also produce fibers that make clothing, twine, and boat parts? Better yet, this environmentally important fiber, which can be part of circular design, can help small growers in our region as our climate changes. Hawk and Handsaw Farm and Wood Spoon Farm have teamed up to develop the knowledge base of flax growing, harvesting, and production to empower small farmers and BIPOC-led organizations to partake in the national movement to replace plastic materials with regenerative fibers. This project is purposely designed to be scalable, replicable, and shareable.
Raising cattle for beef can be done respectfully for the planet and the animal by allowing them to roam the land and feed on grass, which is well supported in New England with our fast-growing grasses. When we process an animal to go to market, the best thing we can do to honor its life is to use every piece of that animal. For the farmer, it’s also the best way to ensure an economic return. But in the Northeast, the systems for processing meat have siloed, and most cow hides go to waste, adding expenses for the farmer and greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. The Northeast Grass-Fed Beef Initiative helps farmers transition to regenerative, cattle-based systems that help restore ecosystem health and revitalize rural economies. With this grant, they will develop an operational roadmap for creating a regenerative leather value chain in Southeastern Massachusetts to prevent hides from going to landfills.
Photo credit: Northeast Grass-Fed Beef Initiative
Photo credit: Northeast Grass-Fed Beef Initiative
When colonizers arrived in North America, they found beautiful, bountiful forests. Indigenous people long managed these lands strategically supporting nature to produce a plentiful diet. Fast forward four hundred years, systemic racism has forced tribal members in the region to be last in most economic and health-related metrics. The Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust is a tribally-led non-profit dedicated to reconnecting communities of American Indian tribes, clans, Urban Indians, and indigenous people across the Northeast. They embody an American Indian cosmology that holds Mother Earth and all living beings with deep reverence. This project will preserve traditional ecological knowledge and regenerative farming skill development among tribal participants by training them to grow their produce and build more economic self-sufficiency among families. This project is led by Narragansett Clan Chief Musquant Nompashim Netas (Rocky Johnson) and his son Ahtomp (Bow Johnson). The long-term goal is to create food sovereignty for indigenous families in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Photo credit for images below: Terri Johnson and Karen Radkiewic
What happens when you feed a cow kelp? From fewer farts to less acidic oceans, kelp can sometimes feel like the miracle plant we all need. But, transitioning fisherfolk to farmers and sheep to seafood connoisseurs takes time. Rhody Wild Sea Gardens is a Rhode Island-based, female-owned company that grows kelp and farms oysters. With this grant, they are purchasing kelp from the up-and-coming industry and providing it to (land) farmers to provide minerals, vitamins and digestion aids for cattle, pigs, chickens and more. In exchange, farmers will share data and observations on how the animals benefit from the new feedstock.
Did you get sore the last time you spent the day in the garden? Even if you can run a marathon, you can easily understand how hand tending to a farm could be hard on the body. Due to the plot size and viable markets in Southern New England, many farms focus on high-value vegetable crops that are hand-harvested and often require long hours in uncomfortable positions. Roots Farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island, is a no-till, regenerative farm focused on building healthy soil. Their project will design, build, trial, and share an open-source design for a practical harvesting device that reduces wear and tear on farmers’ bodies. Expected outcomes of the project would be less back strain, higher quality of life, and the ability to stay in farming long-term. The preliminary concept will be trialed with local farmers to perfect the design. Once complete, the designs will be shared, and workshops will be offered so more farmers can build their own devices.
Photo credit for images below: Roots Farm
When you drive past a tidy field with bare soil shining in the winter sun, you’re witnessing one of the quickest ways to diminish soil health. Without roots in the ground, topsoil, the nutrient-rich earth, erodes due to wind and water. Cover cropping is a relatively simple process that protects topsoil, builds soil mass, reduces soil erosion, and is particularly useful in a long New England winter when cash crops aren’t covering the ground. The Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership strengthens connections between farms, communities and the land to create a regional food system that is equitable, resilient and accessible. This project will improve farmland soil health by addressing barriers preventing farmers from successfully implementing cover crop plans by increasing knowledge, systems and infrastructure for cover cropping. It aims to cover 1,000 acres with cover crop and outreach, problem solve or provide technical assistance to 75 farmers, focusing on BIPOC farmers and larger-scale dairy and corn farmers that do not currently use the practice.
Around 10,000 years ago, some of our ancestors looked up at bees and said, “I bet I can learn to work with them in exchange for a little bit of that sweetness.” And thus, the honey bee & human relationship was born. They Keep Bees is an LGBTQIA+ run beekeeping business in Massachusetts on a mission to raise mite-resistant queen bees, lead climate-adaptive beekeeping research, facilitate skill shares and build collaborative networks of beekeepers on the East Coast. With this grant, They Keep Bees will train and mentor a diverse cohort of 50+ bee stewards to raise resilient queen bees in the Northeast.
Photo credit for images below: They Keep Bees
Imagine walking along a coastal landscape dotted with sheep. Do you feel a nostalgic dose of farming practices before heavy machinery? Humans have partnered with animals to graze land for 10,000 years, and different breeds of sheep have adapted to unique landscapes all around the globe. Why? Because their movement and grazing create essential disturbance to the land, they build healthy topsoil and manage plant populations, and we get the added benefit of sustainable fiber.
Woven Tide is a female-founded company passionate about healthy food and beautiful fiber. They’ve partnered with The Island Heritage Trust, a non-profit private land trust in Deer Isle, Maine, to discover, “Does partnership between farmer and land trust achieve a greater ecological and community benefit than each group acting in isolation?” The team will trial using sheep on land trust property to graze. They will collect data on sheep health, its impact on the land and how this visible partnership piques the interest of neighboring landowners.
Photo credit for images below: Robin Cook O’Connor
Read more about our grant giving program. Applications for 2025 open on November 1st, 2024.
