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Join us for an immersive journey into the fundamentals of soil health with our Physical Vitality workshop. Delve into the intricate world beneath our feet as we explore the essential components that shape soil structure and vitality. Through hands-on demonstrations and interactive activities, participants will gain a deep understanding of soil physical properties, including structure, porosity, and compaction. Equipped with tools such as penetrometers, shovels, and infiltration rings, attendees will learn how to assess and evaluate these critical aspects of soil health directly on the farm. Whether you’re a seasoned agricultural professional or a curious novice, this workshop offers valuable insights and practical skills to enhance your understanding of soil and optimize farm management practices.

If you are a beginning farmer and are a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or Person of Color) farmer, you may be able to receive a stipend from the Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Cost: Free. Light refreshments provided. Consider bringing a lunch.

 

NOFA/Mass is happy to provide travel stipends to all BIPOC and/or beginning farmer participants in this workshop. To submit a request for a travel stipend, please email Sara Riegler at [email protected] and include: 1) the event you attended (date, time, location) 2) your starting location 3) total mileage and 4) the name and address you’d like us to send a check to.

About the Farm: 

Woven Roots Farm is a traditional, hand-scale vegetable farm, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and education center located on unceded Mohican land in the present-day southern Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. Through a deep relationship with the land and one another, we commit to feeding, educating, and empowering our community members by co-creating equitable pathways to become healthier individuals, ethical growers, and caretakers of the earth and one another.

Woven Roots celebrates that agriculture itself is rooted in the long-standing cultural practices within communities of Indigenous people, people of color, and immigrants. We acknowledge that the US was built on stolen land and that all US systems are built on the stolen labor of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and other people of color.  

 

About the Instructors:

Rubén Parilla (he/him) is the Soil Technical Coordinator for NOFA/Mass and trained in microscopic soil microbial identification through the Soil Food Web School. He is a Certified Lab Tech and studied Environmental Design at the University of Puerto Rico. Rubén has 15 years’ experience working at different capacities in the environmental laboratory industry. He has been performing soil carbon proxy testing, soil health assessments, soil chemical analysis, and soil microbiological evaluations for NOFA/Mass over the past year and has extensive experience farming and working with farmers, including beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. Rubén performs soil health-related outreach and education events for NOFA/Mass by leading monthly farmer learning calls, providing hands-on workshops and instruction at soil health education events, and networking with farmers and individuals in the agricultural industry. He is a fluent and native Spanish speaker and fully English/Spanish bilingual.

 

About the Project:

These projects are made possible by the support of:

The USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program provides grants to organizations for education, mentoring and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers and ranchers. NOFA/Mass is providing this programming through a partnership with the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust.

 

Accessibility:

This event will be offered in both English and Spanish.

Cushioned folding chairs available on site. Composting toilet with one step-up is currently available.

Greyhound has a bus depot in the neighboring town of Lee. A rideshare can be arranged from that site. Contact [email protected] to make arrangements. 

This site has uneven terrain and inclines in varying areas. Accessibility parking is available as well as a golf cart that a farm member can escort an individual with.

 

More Information:

Masks are not currently required at this location but are welcomed. If you don’t feel fully healthy, we ask you to stay at home.

Parking:

Parking area is to the left of the driveway and is one-way. Please note entrance and exit signs upon arrival. Two accessibility spots are located closer to the barn. To access them, make a right once in the driveway and drive up in front of the barn. Look for blue signs on the right.

Google Map:

Woven Roots Farm

Capacity:

Capacity for this event is limited to 25 people. Register ahead of time to secure your space and please notify us if you cannot attend. 

 

Questions?

Contact Hannah at [email protected] for more information