PHOTO CREDIT: JERRY MONKMAN, ECOPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

IN THIS ISSUE A Bounty of Farms, a Harvest of Hope By Brian Hart, Executive Director

SELT is proud to be on the frontlines of conserving working farms and farmland

throughout our expanded service area. Consistent with the feedback received through our 2013 strategic planning initiative, and recognizing the still strong public interest in locally grown produce and locally raised meats, SELT has rededicated itself to conserving working farms and farmland. Our goal is to conserve at least 2 to 3 farms a year, and this year we are on track to do that and more!

In this, our autumn issue, we highlight and celebrate three of the farms that will be conserved in the coming months and years. These agrarian entrepreneurs, who tease peppers, corn, squash, strawberries, peaches, and other delicious fruits and veggies from the fertile yet rocky soils of

New Hampshire, partner with us out of their love of the land, hope for the future, and pride of its history.

The contents of this issue explore the special relationship of farmers to the land and our soci-ety’s hunger for a stronger connection to the food and fiber that land grows, emphasizing the shared core values of land conservation and farming.

Please read on to learn about the feast of farms that you are helping conserve through your support of SELT. From a horse farm in Derry, to the pick-your-own operation in East Kingston, to a reinvigorated family farm in Rochester, our region is blessed with eager farmers willing to plow the land and wrestle crops with the magic of soil, sun, water, and labor.

FALL 2015ISSUE 2

1 A Bounty of Farms, a Harvest of Hope

2 Monahan Farm: A Pick-Your-Own Paradise

3 Food and Nature: A Garden’s Lessons

4 Helpful Hands Create a Garden and Community

5 Upcoming Events6 Ted Rod Farm: The Place

that says I am Home6 SELT TrailFEST7 SELT Recognizes

Community Conservation Leaders

8 Buttonwood Farm: Protecting Farmland & Drinking Water in Urbanizing Derry

“Farming is a profession of hope.”– Brian Brett, Canadian poet, journalist and author

of Trauma Farm: a Rebel History of Rural Life

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Monahan Farm: A Pick-Your-Own ParadiseBy Jeremy Lougee, Conservation Project Manager

A happy customer shows the bounty of her labor!

In the summer and fall, there’s nothing better than a trip to the local pick-your-own farm, where you can literally hand pick your

favorite fruits. But these opportunities are becoming harder to find as more and more houses take the place of orchards and fields. The United Nations declared 2014 to be the Year of the Family Farm, and last year, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance listed “historic family farms and agricultural landscapes” as one of their seven most threatened state landmarks. Here at SELT, we couldn’t agree more, which is why we’ve chosen to focus so heavily on farmland protection. With development rising on the Seacoast, SELT is working overtime to save family farms, including the Monahan Farm in East Kingston, which contribute such a unique array of food and culture to the local landscape.

The Monahan Farm has been an active part of the community since the 1700’s. Located at the intersection of Routes 107 and 108 in East Kingston (locally known as Monahan Corner), this scenic farm has weathered countless changes and agricultural evolutions over the centuries. Once a dairy farm, three generations now share in this family tradition by growing some of the best fruits and vegetables around. In addition to pick-your-own, the family sells their produce at a small farm store on-site. Over a typical growing season, this 28-acre slice of heaven welcomes nearly 10,000 visitors to the farm. That’s a lot of hungry mouths filled with fruit and veggies!

If you stop by the farm stand, you’ll probably meet Natalie (Monahan) Walker. She’s been working here her entire life, and rarely misses a day during the growing season. Her son Jeff manages the farm, while her daughter-in-law Christine and two grandsons Kevin and Brian help in the field and at the store. Over the course of the growing season, the family offers all varieties of fresh produce including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, tomatoes, melons, and many kinds of root vegeta-bles and pumpkins. From June to October, this family farm is a food producing powerhouse!

Generations of the Walker family, including Natalie Walker, her son Jeff and grandsons Kevin and Brian (L to R), run the Monahan Farm. ALL PHOTOS CREDIT TO JEREMY LOUGEE

To ensure the Monahan Farm is a farm forever, the Walker family has agreed to permanently conserve it with SELT. With initial funding commitments from the Town of East Kingston Conservation Commission and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, this summer SELT applied to Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). SELT hopes to complete this conser-vation effort in 2016. Look for updates on our website, facebook page and e-news!

The cost of a quart of strawberries at your local grocery

chain: $5.00Average distance traveled

by store-bought strawberries: 1,800 miles

The taste of a warm, juicy, NH-grown strawberry, baked

by the sun, and eaten in the field: PRICELESS!

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Those who know me recognize that I have two passions in life: food and nature. For some, the connection between

these two interests may seem obvious, for others maybe not. I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm. A farm in New Jersey no less – yes, there ARE farms in New Jersey, it is the Garden State after all. I’d spend many summer mornings following my mother around her impressive vegetable garden (the result of her own passion). I was usually trying to avoid the very boring task of weeding, but it was in the garden that my mother taught me how to identify a variety of plants -- weeds and vegetables alike. I feel fortunate to have learned from a very young age, not only where most of our vegetables came from but also what the plants looked like. The purplish tinge of the eggplant leaves, the ruby-red stalks of chard, that funky-but-good smell you get on your hands after touching the tomato plants, the incomparable taste of a sun-warmed ripe strawberry.

The learning didn’t end with the plants. My mother also taught me to identify insects – some pests, some beneficial – all were recognized and pointed out. The tomato hornworm caterpillar was one of my favorites, as it was both repulsive and fascinating. The caterpillar, though destruc-tive, was quite impressive and beautiful in its own way. It is often parasitized by braconid wasps and therein lies the repulsive part: the wasps lay their eggs just under the caterpillar’s skin. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the caterpillar’s muscles, but leave the heart and organs intact so that the caterpillar is paralyzed but doesn’t die (yet). Once mature, the larvae form small white cocoons on the back of the caterpillar, where they stay until they turn into adult wasps and emerge from their cocoons. Am I right? Fascinating, but gross! An amazing lesson in ecology - the drama, the action, the heartache - all wrapped into one little caterpillar. The caterpillar eats the tomato plants, the wasp eats the caterpillar, and we eat the tomatoes (thank goodness we don’t eat those caterpillars!).

When we were done weeding and harvesting in the garden, where did I follow my mom? To the kitchen, of course. Here I would help trim the green beans, shell the peas, and chop all manner of things. I watched and learned how to freeze, can, and cook all of those delicious vegetables. Between my mother’s French upbringing and my father’s Italian heritage, to say we ate well in our household is an understatement. I was that kid at school. The one who brought in all manner of bizarre leftovers for lunch: ratatouille, moussaka, tabbouleh salad, salade nicoise. I opened my lunchbox most days to “What is thhhaaat?” accom-panied by upturned noses among my friends. I never minded this much – I knew where my food came from, I probably helped make it, and I knew it was GOOD.

Where am I going with all this? No, I’m not trying to make the case that I was way ahead of the trend, a foodie before

such a term existed. Just the opposite. I couldn’t be happier that knowing about food and where it comes from has become trendy, and seems to be an especially fast-growing movement in the southeastern part of New Hampshire. I am particularly grateful that SELT has taken, as part of its strategic plan, the charge to conserve more farmland.

Conserving farmland can provide a way to engage and connect with more members of our communities. Allowing more people to experience an intimate connection to food and where it grows is a great thing. I hope people also begin to see that small local farms are not just producing wonderful food, but often providing important habitat to wildlife, flowers for insects and pollinators, and beautiful open space for us to enjoy.

I feel very fortunate that my parents still own their farm. The amount of development that has taken place in NJ during my lifetime is staggering. With their beautiful open fields,

farms are particularly vulnerable: no trees to cut, boulders to move, or soil to level. While land conservation did gain a foothold in New Jersey, it seemed to happen largely behind the curve of development. Here in New Hampshire, we have the opportunity to conserve farmland ahead of the curve, and that is exciting to behold.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to learn more about the local farms conserved by SELT. Visit your local farmers’ market and get to know the farmers there. Take a walk through the hayfields at Cole Farm on the Piscassic Greenway in Newfields. Stop by the farm stand at Stout Oak Farm in Brentwood or Tendercrop Farm at the Red Barn in Dover. Check out the corn maze at Scamman Farm this fall. Enjoy the view as you drive by Tecce’s Amber Acres in Durham, and taste the vegetables at the farmstand down the road. Go for a stroll at Flag Hill Winery in Lee. You may find a new passion of your own.

Food and Nature: A Garden’s LessonsBy Emma Carcagno, Board Member

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSH LEONARD

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Helpful Hands Create a Garden and CommunityBy Ellen Snyder

Barn swallows cruise low over the fields catching insects on the fly.

Monarchs and fritillaries flit from flower to flower gathering nectar. Deer, turkeys, and even a black bear wander through the meadow eating grass, seeds, insects, or fruits. The bobolink’s bubbling song is heard from a corner of the field. Later in summer hay bales appear. A neighbor has a lease to hay the fields and graze a small flock of sheep. The fields at SELT’s Cole Farm in Newfields are full of activity.

Since 2014, something new is happening. On a three-quarter acre patch of the field a community garden has emerged through the collaboration of SELT and Newfields Helpful Hands, a coordinated effort of the Newfields Police, local churches, and individuals that provides families in need with meals at holidays, presents for Christmas, and other support.

Vern Cole moved to Newfields after being severely wounded both physi-cally and emotionally in World War II. “He became very attached to his land on Bald Hill Road because he loved to grow crops, cut firewood, and take long walks in the woods, which helped him forget the war” said Phil Auger, SELT Land Manager, who met with Vern and his wife Ruth in the early 2000s to discuss their desire to conserve their land. In 2006, in partnership with the Town, SELT acquired the 69-acre Cole Farm, fulfilling their wish.

Visitors to the Cole Farm enter at the Will Mraz Memorial Trailhead off Bald Hill Road. The trail leads through an old orchard of apples and pears planted by Vern, and continues through a meadow and hayfields.

“When we created the parking lot there was 24 inches of topsoil and no rocks,” says Auger. “We knew this was good farm-land and we’ve always wanted to lease a portion of it for agriculture.” That vision is now a reality with sheep grazing in the pasture and the creation of the Newfields Helpful Hands Community Garden, located just past the trailhead kiosk.

A few years ago Newfields resident Dennis Boyle suggested to Police Chief Art Reed that Helpful Hands should provide additional help during the summer by growing and sharing fresh food. They approached SELT with the idea and in 2014 the community garden began. In the first year, with a lot of hard work and donations from local businesses, Boyle and Reed and other volunteers plowed up a patch of field, installed an underground water line from

the old pump house, erected an electric fence, tilled and planted rows of vege-tables, and spent much of the summer trying to control grass and other weeds.

“The water from the pump house is pure and clear and a huge benefit to the garden.” says Boyle. He is feeling better about the weed control this summer, his second year of tending the garden. Still, he has more ideas for improving the soil, planting more perennials such as berry bushes, along with the asparagus already in the ground, and inspiring others to get involved.

If you visit the Cole Farm from May to October you will often find Boyle planting, weeding, watering, and tending the Community Garden. He pauses to welcome people into the garden and to share his enthusiasm for helping people in need in his community. By August the garden is overflowing with fresh produce: squash, cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, melons, carrots, corn, cucumbers, garlic, herbs and flowers. From June to October Chief Reed and his officers help deliver the weekly shares of produce to 15 fami-lies in need.

Boyle and Reed welcome more volun-teers, to lend a hand with planting and weeding or other activities. As I chatted with them about their enthusiasm for the garden and helping people in need in their community, I knelt down to pull some weeds. It’s infectious and a beautiful setting.

“It was an easy decision for the Board to say yes to the request from Newfields,” explains Brian Hart, SELT’s Executive Director. “The Community Garden is a perfect fit for the Cole Farm and our mission.”

During an early meeting with the Coles before the land was conserved, Vern informed Auger and Hart that, “If I look down from heaven and see a bulldozer on my land, I’m coming back.” Surely Vern is smiling down on the Helpful Hands Community Garden, enjoying the sight of produce once again growing on his former land.

Newfields residents established the Helpful Hands Community Garden on SELT’s Cole Farm to grow fresh fruit and veggies for local families in need.

“ There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”

– Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Mother and daughter pick kale at the Helpful Hands Community Garden. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSH LEONARD

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Forest Stand Improvement & Forest Trails WorkshopFriday, October 16 · 1–4pm · EppingJoin landowner and easement donor Phil Primack, UNH Cooperative Extension Forester Fred Borman, and SELT’s Deborah Goard to walk and discuss recently completed forest stand improvement on 15 acres of the property and the more than 3,200 feet of trails constructed in 2013. Primack actively manages his land along the Pawtuckaway River for wildlife, recreation, and forest products.

Fall Foliage Walk at Stonehouse Pond Saturday, October 24 · 11am–1pm · BarringtonA fall favorite! Board member Kevin McEneany will take you along the wooded trails of this spectacular SELT owned 240-acre conservation area and to the top of the cliffs overlooking the pond. Bring water and your binoculars and wear sturdy walking shoes to enjoy this special place.

Skywatch at Ten Rod FarmIn partnership with the NH Astronomical Society

Wednesday, November 11 (with cloudy date of November 12) · 6:30–8pm · RochesterJoin volunteer expert skywatchers from the New Hampshire Astronomical Society for an evening of star gazing during November’s new moon! Telescopes will be provided. Please be prepared for the weather as you will be outdoors on the farm’s open fields.

Live “Birds of Prey” Talk with Jane KelleySaturday, November 14 · 11:30am–1pm · Kingston Public Library, KingstonCome learn about and see birds of prey with raptor expert and sport falconer, Jane Kelley. Jane, with the help of some live birds, will share what led her to dedicate herself to the rehabilitation of raptors and why it’s so important.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE KELLEY

Upcoming EventsFor a complete calendar of events, please visit www.seltnh.orgWe request registration for all events via emailing register@seltnh.org or calling 603.778.6088. Suggested donation to attend SELT’s outreach events is $5 per person or $10 per family. We hope you’ll join us!

Our public outreach events are generously sponsored

by ReVision Energy!

Learn more about your options for solar at

www.revisionenergy.com or call 603.679.1777.

CONNECT WITH US!• Sign up for our free monthly e-news on our

website or by emailing info@seltnh.org

• Become a monthly sustaining member by joining the Evergreen Member Program at just $5/month (or any amount you choose!) Learn more at seltnh.org.

• Interested in including SELT in your will? Give us a call at 603.778.6088 and we can assist you. Thank you!

Find SELT on Facebook to stay in touch with us daily!

Saturday, November 7 · 6–10pm · Portsmouth Harbor Events, 100 Deer St., PortsmouthSave the date for SELT’s 13th Annual Fall Foliage Fundraiser where you can enjoy an evening with friends, live music, delicious food, and bidding on a myriad of donated goods and services! Preview auction items and buy your tickets online at www.501auctions.com/seltFFF2015

Join UsC E L E B R A T E I T T O S A V E I T F O R T O D A Y & T O M O R R O W

SAVE THE

DATE!For our

Fall Foliage Fundraiser

Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

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Ten Rod Farm: The Place that says I am HomeBy Beth Hall

All of us have a place that tells us we’ve made it home. No matter how long we’ve been away or how far we’ve traveled,

there’s a bend in the road or funny colored house that serves as a beacon, telling you it won’t be long until you’re resting comfortably and eating a home cooked meal. To me, that place is the Ten Rod Farm.

I grew up not far from the 181-acre parcel, formerly known as the Laverdiere Farm, in the rural northwest edge of Rochester. One of my earliest memories is of sitting next to my father in his brown Chevy pickup, looking at a cluster of deer gathered for a twilight feed at the far-off edge of the Ten Rod Farm fields. I saw cows drink from the stream in the hot summer sun and went sledding there in the whipping cold. I admired the beautiful rolling fields every day on the way to school and home again. It was not just a working farm to me, but land that everyone enjoyed in some way or another.

Last year when I saw the “for sale” sign go up on a farm fence post, my heart sank. I had seen houses built in other nearby fields for years. I knew the location – in the country, yet close to the highway – would make Ten Rod Farm a spot developers would desire. I was quietly resigned to the farm’s fate, until my parents told me what Matthew Scruton was working on.

Thanks to collaboration and significant expertise from SELT and funding from the City of Rochester, Matthew Scruton and his wife Gretchen have secured the Ten Rod Farm as a working farm for the future. Over the coming months, the Scrutons will place nearly the entire parcel under a conservation easement, ensuring the property will be safe from development and can continue as a working farm. I’ve known Matthew since grade school and visited his family’s dairy farm as a child. Knowing that the land was not only safe, but that someone who has farming in his blood would be overseeing the property made me feel even more at ease.

I went to visit Matthew and Gretchen recently and the three of us took a four-wheeler ride so I could tour the Ten Rod Farm property. We bounced over a stream that provides a rich habitat

for birds and other wildlife. We drove up to a flock of Canada geese, and Matthew told me there were usually turkey there, too, as well as deer, coyote, porcupines and hawks. The forested side of the farm stretches back almost to Route 11, a commercial area Rochester is quickly developing. The farm was threatened by residential development, Matthew said, as well as commercial development on the backside. “It was a double whammy,” he said.

Matthew and Gretchen hope to plant fruit trees or strawberry fields in the coming years, and maybe even a corn maze. This year they have focused on haying and a small vegetable garden that feeds their honor-system farm stand. This fall, they’ll be selling pumpkins. For the holidays, they’ll have Christmas trees and wreaths, and next spring expect maple syrup.

Buying a farm is not something many people have the where-withal to do, but Matthew is the son of a minister and a man of faith. He knew trying to protect this land and work it as a func-tioning farm was a long shot. Even Gretchen’s initial response was that it was a pipe dream.

“I thought, if it’s God’s will, then it’ll happen,” Matthew said. You may not believe in divine intervention, but I’m certain it was Matthew’s faith that gave him the courage to try.

Commissioner Lorraine Merrill of the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food recently visited the Scrutons.PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN PORTER

Ten Rod Farm. PHOTO CREDIT: MATT SCRUTON

Many THANKS to the sponsors of the inaugural SELT TrailFEST on August 29, 2015!Northland Forest ProductsGary Blake MotorcarsGraham Tire & Auto

Ameriprise FinancialFriends of Kingston Open SpaceThe Merrill Bartlett Group Real Estate

The Shirt Factory

See great photos online!

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Board Members Roger Stephenson President, StrathamTerry Coyle Vice President, PortsmouthAnn Smith Treasurer, Kensington Sam Reid Secretary, DoverDon Briselden ExeterBill Campbell ExeterEmma Carcagno NewmarketTom Chamberlin ExeterBob Eaton RyeDavid Kirkpatrick PortsmouthScott Marion RyeKevin McEneaney DoverLinda McGivern RollinsfordRobin Najar PortsmouthJoan Pratt ExeterRick Russman KingstonLaurie Smith DoverAnn Welsh Durham

StaffZoe Aldag Development and Operations

SpecialistIsabel Aley Development and

Communications ManagerPhil Auger Land ManagerDani Christopher Conservation Easement

StewardDeborah Goard Easement Stewardship

DirectorBrian Hart Executive DirectorDuane Hyde Land Conservation Director Jeremy Lougee Conservation Project

Manager David Viale Conservation Project Manager

Questions, Comments, Concerns?To contact the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire, please call 603.778.6088 or email info@seltnh.org.PO Box 675, Exeter, NH 03833 Website: www.seltnh.orgThe Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible. SELT VIEWS is published quarterly and is the newsletter of the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire. Edited by Brian Hart and Isabel Aley. Printed on recycled paper.

SELT is proud to be accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. This accreditation seal recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. To learn more visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org.

Board & StaffSELT Recognizes Community Conservation Leaders

The 2015 Conservation Celebration was held on Saturday, June 6th at the Madbury Town Hall, where SELT awarded the Ashton Hallet Award and the Jack Heath

Conservation Award. The 2015 Conservation Celebration was generously sponsored by BayRing Communications and Belle’s on Wheels.

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investment Strategies Since 1987

Proud sponsor of the Southeast Land Trust of NH!

Align your money with your values!

Hunter D. Brownlie Michael S. Smith Registered Principal Financial Advisor

hbrownlie@fwg.com msmith@fwg.com

55 Main St, Suite 415 Newmarket, NH 03857 603-659-7626

Representative of and securities offered through Financial West Group, Member FINRA/SIPC.

Sam Reid accepts The Ashton Hallet Award, awarded annually to a person or organization that has made a significant contribution to land conservation in Strafford County. PHOTO BY JOSH LENT

Jill Senter, Plaistow Conservation Chairman, accepts the The Jack Heath Conservation Award for the Town of Plaistow, awarded annually to an individual, organization, or community for vision, leadership and enduring support of conservation in Rockingham County. PHOTO BY JOSH LENT

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NON PROFITORGANIZATION

US POSTAGE PAIDPERMIT #182

MANCHESTER, NH

PO Box 675 Exeter, NH 03833ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Formed through the merger of Strafford Rivers Conservancy and Southeast Land Trust of NH

Food and Nature: A Garden’s Lessonssee page 3

Helpful Hands Create a Garden and Communitysee page 4

Buttonwood Farm: Protecting Farmland & Drinking Water in Urbanizing DerryBy David Viale, Conservation Project Manager

Though technically still a town, and not a city, Derry’s population of over 33,000

is the 4th highest in the State. Within a 30-minute drive of any one of its “big brothers” Manchester, Nashua, and Concord, Derry is steadily growing, and may soon join its siblings amongst the few NH communities that have achieved an urban status. In such a changing landscape opportunities to conserve farms and water resources are critical, but sometimes few and far between. That’s why SELT is pursing the conservation of Buttonwood Farm, a beautiful 110-acre horse boarding farm along Ballard Pond in Derry.

Just a short distance from Ballard State Forest and the Taylor Mill historic site, Buttonwood Farm stretches from the southern shores of Ballard Pond to the summit of Brandy Rock Hill, offering scenic views from the Rockingham Recreational trail and as you pass by the fields along Island Pond Rd. The Farm is a local and regional priority, scoring highly in the Town of Derry’s

conservation criteria and the Conservation Plan for the Merrimack River Watershed. The entire property is also within a source water protection area for the Arlington Mill Reservoir.

With funding from the Town, the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES), and a State Conservation Committee’s Moose Plate grant, SELT will purchase a conservation easement this fall, forever keeping the farm undeveloped and available for agriculture, forestry, and passive recre-ation. These allowed uses will be required to follow best management practices that protect the important water resources both on the farm and downstream.

Protection of the Farm’s productive soils, fields, and forest ensures that the opportu-nity for local agriculture will continue – even within an urbanizing landscape – and that future generations thirsty for clean drinking water and recreation opportunities will have a place to turn.

Land Conservation

by the numbers

238Special Places

Conserved

13,470Total Acres

10,418Acres via

Easement and Executory Interests

3,018Acres

Owned by theLand Trust

As of September 1, 2015