Sowing Seeds
Vermonters Gather for Conservation
Among the conferences that inspired me this fall was the local Sowing Seeds Conference, in Vermont. It was held on a rainy October day at a central Vermont college, and dashing from building to building in the rain refreshed my spirits and reminded me to connect with nature, even on a long conference day.
Sowing Seeds, an annual Vermont conservation conference hosted by Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, opened with David Marvin, a sugarmaker from northern Vermont who spoke from the heart about connection to land. He echoed a previous statement: “I believe that fundamentally we need a land ethic and a stewardship ethic that recognize humans must not be conquerors of the Earth, but need to coexist with and respect all biota and the communities that support them. We need to seek understanding of the complexity and interconnections of us, them, earth, water, and sky. This is necessary for our mutual survival and demonstrates the humanity in humankind.”
David Marvin standing at the beginning of the farm road up Butternut Mountain, near his sugarhouse, in Johnson, Vermont. Photo © Dorothy Weicker, courtesy of Vermont Folklife Center
Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces and the keynote speaker for the conference, spoke passionately about the need for all people to connect with the land and the need to break down barriers to land access.
Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces. Photo © Nicholas Nichols
Attendees discussed the implementation of Vermont’s Community Resilience and Biodiversity Law, which passed in 2023. I shared the integrated work of Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities (WWF&C) with a specific focus on identifying conservation gaps in Wildlands protection. It was a pleasure to present the Wildlands report, and the ongoing research, along with Brian Hall of WWF&C, Bob Zaino of Vermont Fish and Wildlife, and Shelby Perry of Northeast WIlderness Trust.
Brian Hall, WWF&C researcher, at Pisgah Forest in New Hampshire, with colleagues Emily Johnson, left, and David Foster, right. Photo © Liz Thompson
Editors' Note: Learn about the other gatherings that connected and inspired us in the fall of 2024.
Liz Thompson is the Managing Editor of From the Ground Up. She serves on the board of Northeast Wilderness Trust and is the Coordinator of the Northeastern Old Growth Conference 2025, Wildlands and Old Growth Forests: A Vision for the Future. She has a long career in plant ecology, botany, teaching, and land conservation. She makes a habit of walking in nature daily, often with a camera in hand. She lives in northwestern Vermont.