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UT Student Volunteers at Community Farm

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On a chilly March morning, the beloved SAHC Community farm was graced by the assistance of ten students from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville embarking on an alternative Spring […]

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Farm workshop: Agroforestry Maintenance

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Contour Lines, a nonprofit, that specializes in efficient establishment of agroforestry systems with a high seedling survival rate.  Contour Lines has planted over 7,000 agroforestry systems in three countries.   Come learn how to and help plan and plant a silvopasture agroforestry site that includes about 4,000 trees and excavated berms and swales planted on contour.

This workshop is great for anyone who is interested in learning more about silvopasture and agroforestry systems in the southern Appalachian mountains.

SAHC received a $6,000 Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant to support this project, and Contour Lines is donating plant material, design and expertise for the workshops. The Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program is focused on implementing silvopastures and forest farming practices; the ultimate goal of the effort is to increase ecosystem sustainability and diversity by scaling up agroforestry practices. This project will also develop an Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange that serves as a framework for future growth of agroforestry adoption. The ARK Exchange will support ecocultural learning, workforce development, and networking of producer peers, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and governmental and nongovernmental partners.

Cost: $20/per person (No one turned away for inability to pay)

This class will focus on the termination and management of cover crops, pruning, organic pest management, and mulching practices.

Register for This Workshop

  • By providing your phone number, you ensure that we have a way to contact you in the rare event of any last-minute changes to the workshop.
  • First NameLast NameEmailPhone # and Emergency Contact Info 
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Click HERE to pay for this workshop AFTER REGISTERING

Silvopasture at the Community Farm

Goal:

Our aim with this acreage is to make productive and educational/demonstrative use of our hilly pasture which sees a lot of visitors (both adults and school groups from the community). We currently have no agroforestry or silvopasture production open to the public in our community, and feel it will be a valuable learning site for current and future growers in the area! Carbon sequestration, value added products and perennial/no till crops are just a few of the beneficial environmental and economic factors which lead us to initiate this specific multi crop plan, and we are confident it will be a great fit for our farm and the needs of our region.

During our first phase we will begin converting 8 acres of pasture land into silvopasture by cutting in swales slightly of contour.  We will be planting a multi-species perennial crop of trees and shrubs for multiple outputs.  Varieties being planted include locust, mulberry, paw-paw, hazelnut, sycamore, indigo, cottonwood, elderberry and others.  We will produce food, fodder, fuel, shade, habitat, water conservation and other impacts.

Partnership with Contour Lines:

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) and  Contour Lines Corp will plant a demonstration agroforestry plot. The site is designed as a educational tool that will demonstrate regenerative agriculture and soil conservation techniques. This site will serve as a model for larger scale land restoration projects including native species reforestation, diversified fruit and nut production, and silvopasture farming.

 

Farm Workshop: Planning and Planting Agroforestry Systems on Contour

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Please join us, rain or shine, for any part of the day so that you’re able to learn, observe and take part in PLANTING DAY of our first phase (8 acres!) of what will be a long standing vision at our Community Farm property: the first and only demonstration project currently in NC which will be open to the public and managed in perpetuity, so that we can all learn about the numerous benefits and beauty of a perennial agroforestry and silvopasture system on conservation land.

Contour Lines is the nonprofit we’re fortunate to be working with for this workshop series. They have planted over 7,000 agroforestry systems in three countries and offer a multitude of expertise of this fascinating, progressive farming practice.

Folks will get a good introduction on how to plan and plant a silvopasture agroforestry site that includes thousands of fruit and nut trees (hazelnut, mulberry, and several others) on a berm and swale contour system which will be grazed in future.

SAHC received a Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant to support this project; the ultimate goal of the effort is to increase ecosystem sustainability and diversity by scaling up agroforestry practices on historic livestock pastures like ours.

Suggested donation: $20 (No one turned away for inability to pay)

Lunch will be provided midway between our morning classroom portion and then the rest of the day will be hands-on work in the adjacent field learning as we plant with the team from Contour Lines! Again, we want everyone to feel welcome, so if you leave early/come late or just observe the team during the active planting, please feel free. Children welcome as well, and if you register after 3/8 please BYO lunch as that’s the date we’ll place orders, thanks!

Please bring a waterbottle, gloves, raincoat/work clothes if you’re planting, tools will be provided.

Location: SAHC Community Farm Education Center on Mag Sluder Rd in Alexander, NC (20 minutes from central Asheville)

Register for This Workshop

  • By providing your phone number, you ensure that we have a way to contact you in the rare event of any last-minute changes to the workshop.
  • First NameLast NameEmailPhone # and Emergency Contact Info 
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Click HERE to pay for this workshop AFTER REGISTERING

Silvopasture at the Community Farm

SAHC received a $6,000 Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant to support this project, and Contour Lines is donating plant material, design and expertise for hands-on workshops to help execute a silvopasture project on the SAHC Community Farm. This demonstration agroforestry plot is designed as an educational tool that will demonstrate regenerative agriculture and soil conservation techniques. This site will serve as a model for larger scale land restoration projects including native species reforestation, diversified fruit and nut production, and silvopasture farming.

The Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program is focused on implementing silvopastures and forest farming practices; the ultimate goal of the effort is to increase ecosystem sustainability and diversity by scaling up agroforestry practices. SAHC’s project is part of a growing Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange that serves as a framework for future growth of agroforestry adoption. The ARK Exchange will support ecocultural learning, workforce development, and networking of producer peers, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and governmental and nongovernmental partners.

Our aim with the silvopasture acreage on the SAHC Community Farm is to make productive and educational/demonstrative use of our hilly pasture, which sees a lot of visitors (both adults and school groups from the community). We currently have no agroforestry or silvopasture production open to the public in our community, and SAHC feels it will be a valuable learning site for current and future growers in the area! Carbon sequestration, value added products and perennial/no till crops are just a few of the beneficial environmental and economic factors which lead us to initiate this specific multi crop plan, and we are confident it will be a great fit for our farm and the needs of our region.

During our first phase we will begin converting 8 acres of pasture land into silvopasture by cutting in swales slightly of contour.  We will be planting a multi-species perennial crop of trees and shrubs for multiple outputs.  Varieties being planted include locust, mulberry, paw-paw, hazelnut, sycamore, indigo, cottonwood, elderberry and others.  We will produce food, fodder, fuel, shade, habitat, water conservation and other positive impacts.

Events

Farm workshop: Agroforestry Maintenance

/in , /by

Contour Lines, a nonprofit, that specializes in efficient establishment of agroforestry systems with a high seedling survival rate.  Contour Lines has planted over 7,000 agroforestry systems in three countries.   Come learn how to and help plan and plant a silvopasture agroforestry site that includes about 4,000 trees and excavated berms and swales planted on contour.

This workshop is great for anyone who is interested in learning more about silvopasture and agroforestry systems in the southern Appalachian mountains.

SAHC received a $6,000 Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant to support this project, and Contour Lines is donating plant material, design and expertise for the workshops. The Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program is focused on implementing silvopastures and forest farming practices; the ultimate goal of the effort is to increase ecosystem sustainability and diversity by scaling up agroforestry practices. This project will also develop an Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange that serves as a framework for future growth of agroforestry adoption. The ARK Exchange will support ecocultural learning, workforce development, and networking of producer peers, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and governmental and nongovernmental partners.

Cost: $20/per person (No one turned away for inability to pay)

This class will focus on the termination and management of cover crops, pruning, organic pest management, and mulching practices.

Register for This Workshop

  • By providing your phone number, you ensure that we have a way to contact you in the rare event of any last-minute changes to the workshop.
  • First NameLast NameEmailPhone # and Emergency Contact Info 
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Click HERE to pay for this workshop AFTER REGISTERING

Silvopasture at the Community Farm

Goal:

Our aim with this acreage is to make productive and educational/demonstrative use of our hilly pasture which sees a lot of visitors (both adults and school groups from the community). We currently have no agroforestry or silvopasture production open to the public in our community, and feel it will be a valuable learning site for current and future growers in the area! Carbon sequestration, value added products and perennial/no till crops are just a few of the beneficial environmental and economic factors which lead us to initiate this specific multi crop plan, and we are confident it will be a great fit for our farm and the needs of our region.

During our first phase we will begin converting 8 acres of pasture land into silvopasture by cutting in swales slightly of contour.  We will be planting a multi-species perennial crop of trees and shrubs for multiple outputs.  Varieties being planted include locust, mulberry, paw-paw, hazelnut, sycamore, indigo, cottonwood, elderberry and others.  We will produce food, fodder, fuel, shade, habitat, water conservation and other impacts.

Partnership with Contour Lines:

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) and  Contour Lines Corp will plant a demonstration agroforestry plot. The site is designed as a educational tool that will demonstrate regenerative agriculture and soil conservation techniques. This site will serve as a model for larger scale land restoration projects including native species reforestation, diversified fruit and nut production, and silvopasture farming.