Greetings Community,
We hope that your summer is finding you all well and nourished in these times. Some updates from Green Valley are below such as upcoming events like Climate Farm School, our work to bring good fire back to the land in partnership with Fire Forward, and info about what’s happening with onsite farms Bramble Tail Homestead and Shao Shan Farm.
Happy summer and may your corn be knee high by the 4th of July!
Green Valley Farm + Mill
SHAO SHAN FARM
A collaborator with Second Generation Seeds, a Kitchen Table Advisors client farmer, and a part-time employee of Berkeley Food Institute, the hats that Scott Chang-Fleeman wears on-farm and off-farm are equally inspiring. Since he started farming in his twenties after completing the U.C. Santa Cruz Farm and Garden program, he's been focused on crops that nourish the Asian American diaspora of the Bay Area while cultivating biodiversity and increasing soil health.
It was right around his first day getting set up at Green Valley when we happened to be hosting CAFF's Small Farm Conference regional workshop and mixer when two tours of 50 or more attendees started passing through his field (photo above of that day). Scott comfortably stepped out from behind the tractor, knew several people in the audience, and shared a a few stories about what he's up to with his crops and plans here at Green Valley. A wonderful fit, we're so happy he's landed here!
More to come soon. For now, we encourage you to follow along on Scott's farming journey on Instagram @shaoshanfarm or at his website here.
Slated for last fall and but delayed several times due to weather conditions, the 14-acre burn happened on May 21, just over one year in the making.
Jeremy Fisher, co-founder at Green Valley and Forestree Collective, started working with Sasha Berleman of Fire Forward in January of 2021 to discuss the possibility of bringing "good fire" back to the land here.
In 2021 alone there were five small fires within a ten mile radius of Green Valley, including one 2-acre wildfire in a steep section of the 85-acres mixed evergreen forest. "It could have been catastrophic had the winds been blowing," said Fisher. "That fire, in particular, put the pressure on to get started on forest health and fuel load reduction and collaboration with Fire Forward made that possible for us."
We're working on a write up of the process and our experience and will be sharing more here soon.
The grasslands have been quickly turning golden over the past month, with these heat wave temperature swings, but the bit of rain and mist has gotten some new grass sprouts greening up the lowlands. We continue to move our cows around the land here and on neighboring pastures, keeping down fuel load for the upcoming fire season, incorporating manure for soil health, and doing our best to manage for biodiversity.
Up in the terraced herb garden, we've been busy planting out rows and rows of perennial medicinal plants, weeding the weeds that inevitably want to grow, and installing a fancy irrigation system to keep low amounts of water directed right at the roots of intended plants, moisture kept in the soil under a heavy mulch layer. Our herb CSA members are oriented to garden, in order to come harvest, tend, and deepen relationship with the plants throughout the growing season as they like. We've had some sweet tending parties, discussing our various experiences and knowledge with the plants as we tend. Over 100 varieties of medicinal plants are now in the ground, only to establish themselves more fully over the coming years.
Follow us on instagram @brambletail, or email Aubrie at BrambleTailHomestead@gmail.com if you're interested in being a part of the Herdshare, Beef Share, or Herb Share!
UPCOMING EVENTS
CLIMATE FARM SCHOOL | Join Green Valley and Terra.do this July
The last session of Climate Farm School was fantastic and there are a few more spots available in July!
Climate Farm School is a hybrid on-farm and online learning experience meant to bring farmers and non-farmers together for a deep dive into climate change intersections with food and farming systems. Green Valley has partnered with Terra.do since 2021 and this year several additional sessions have been added.
If you've always wanted to live and work on an innovative regenerative farm while learning about climate change, this is your chance. Sign-ups are open for the July course and people can go to the course homepage to apply or reach out to course director Ryan Peterson here for more information. We hope that you'll join us and Terra.do!
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FARM CYCLE | June 26
Bring your bike and join us for some of the best road riding West County has to offer. Due to the climbing involved in these parts, rides are recommended for more experienced riders.
Send us a note to get on the Farm Cycle list for updates and ride events at hello@gvfam.com.
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LOCAL AUTHOR EVENT AT LAGUNA FOUNDATION | August 2
An Evening with Greg Sarris: Memoir on Homeland and Belonging
Modified from the website description: Please join The Laguna Foundation, Graton Rancheria and Heyday Books for an intimate evening of reading and conversation with award-winning author and tribal leader Greg Sarris for his new memoir, Becoming Story: A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors. In this powerful new work, Sarris offers a searching portrait of his own life, from his upbringing in Santa Rosa’s Indian Country to the discovery of his own Indigenous ancestry to his work as an elected leader of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribes. Tickets are sliding scale, $10 - $25, and are available here.
THE MARKETPLACE | Local Food + Artisans
If you haven't made it to The Marketplace located over in the East Mill, it's a great stop to grab items when on your way from here to there! We're right in the middle of Guerneville, Forestville and Sebastopol, so whether you're heading to the river or the ocean, we've got some goodies for you.
Books, beverages, herbal skin care products, ceramics, pantry items, ferments and more await!
Located at 13024 E Green Valley Road, pass by the main entrance and keep going down to driveway "E". Park and walk in towards the industrial buildings, and look for a sign that says "The Marketplace."