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LAKEVILLE — Harvest is in full swing at Fairfield Farm, the 287-acre farm and cattle pasture owned by The Hotchkiss School and located just a mile from campus in Lakeville.
Peppers and tomatoes are crowding the vines in the hoop houses while corn dries in the Grange, a multi-purpose structure that serves as a storage facility, teaching kitchen, ad hoc classroom and concert venue.
With classes back in session as of earlier this month, Bridget Lawrence-Meigs, the farm manager and programs director, is ready to get students involved.
“The farm is this place that, like a lot of campus farms, has a mission,” said Lawrence-Meigs. “At Hotchkiss, it’s very much about production and education.”
Acquired by the school in 2004, Fairfield Farm has become a major producer for Hotchkiss’ dining hall and today supplies 20-25% of the produce and 100% of the beef served on campus each fall.
According to Joshua Hahn, Hotchkiss’ assistant head of school and director of strategic initiatives, the farm fits into the school’s broader efforts over the past several years to reduce its carbon emissions.
“The school’s grass-fed beef has a much lower carbon footprint than conventional beef,” said Hahn. “So decisions we’re making in terms of where the food’s coming from [have] an impact, not just nutritionally and economically, but also on the climate.”
Beyond a full-production farm, Hahn said the space acts as an “interdisciplinary laboratory for the school.” Teachers and visiting instructors have utilized Fairfield as a classroom “en plein air,” teaching on topics from English and social science to engineering. One group of engineering students designed an overhead irrigation system for seedlings; another designed a composter.
For Lawrence-Meigs, a seasoned educator and co-leader of a gathering of campus farms called the Campus Farmer Network, the farm is an opportunity to make complex dimensions of the food system more tangible for students.
“One of the big problems with our food system is that the human element is often lost,” she said. “Like, who grew this tomato?”
By involving students in multiple steps of the food production process, Lawrence-Meigs says the farm can foster conversations about the “social, environmental, and political” aspects of food production both on the farm and off.
The goal is “helping the kids really understand that the farm isn’t in a bubble, and food systems aren’t in bubbles,” she said.
As part of that education, students can help harvest the roughly 10% of Fairfield Farm’s product that gets donated to groups like The Corner Food Pantry and Northeast Community Center, which work to alleviate hunger in the communities surrounding Hotchkiss’ campus.
According to a study by Connecticut United Ways, 10% of Connecticut residents said they experienced food insufficiency in 2022: a statistic due in part to the 25% increase in U.S. food prices between 2019 and 2023, as reported by the Consumer Price Index.
At Hotchkiss, where the student body represents 31 countries, food security and sustainability are issues that resonate.
The Hotchkiss Food Access Society, a student group which works with the farm, was formed by a student who learned about food insecurity in Ghana and wanted to help address similar issues in Connecticut.
For other students, engagement with the farm may be limited to two visits over their four-year tenure: the annual potato harvest for first-year students and senior prom, which is held on the grounds. Hahn hopes that, for these students, the visibility of farm-grown food at the dining hall will invite critical thinking about what they eat.
“We’re not going to graduate 175 seniors who are gonna go on to be farmers next year,” he said, offering politics and business as more likely career paths. “But everybody eats. As Wendell Berry says, ‘Eating is an agricultural act.’”
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Torrington defeats GNH under the lights
Sep 30, 2024
WINSTED — In a rivalry game that came down to the wire, the Torrington Raiders won 28-25 against the Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic Yellowjackets Friday, Sept. 28.
Torrington's wildcat offense produced break-out runs and established an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter. GNH battled back with two touchdowns, a two-point conversion and an onside kick recovery in the final minutes.
Torrington's defense held on for the win to remain undefeated in 2024. The Raider victory marked Torrington's first win over GNH since the 12-town co-op formed in 2021.
More than 1,000 were in attendance at Van Why Field in Winsted for the Friday night game between these two regional rivals. It was "Neon Night" in the student section, and gas-powered lights hummed on the field for a rare GNH night game.
Ty Devita threw for 63 yards and ran for 47 yards against Torrington.Photo by Riley Klein
GNH opened the game with a defensive fumble recovery on the opening possession followed by a strong drive down the field to give the Yellowjackets an early lead. Mason Sobol ran in the first score for GNH and then Esten Ryan kicked a field goal in the second quarter.
Torrington found success with its shotgun split back formations and convincing run fakes. The Raiders rushed in three touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-10 lead at the break.
The margin grew to 28-10 by the start of the fourth quarter. GNH came alive in the final 15 minutes.
Mason Sobol scored his second touchdown of the game with 9:40 remaining in the game. The Yellowjacket defense forced a punt on the next drive. QB Ty Devita then connected with WR Owen Riemer for a 35-yard touchdown pass. GNH converted for 2-ponts and brought the score to 28-25 with 3:37 left.
On the kickoff, Tyler Roberts recovered an onside kick to give GNH the ball at midfield. Torrington's defense held strong with a sack, a tackle-for-loss and two successful pass coverages to secure a turnover-on-downs with two minutes to play and knelt for the win.
The Raiders advanced to 3-0 with the victory in Winsted, while GNH moved to 0-3. Torrington totaled 239 rushing yards and 80 passing yards in the game.
GNH was led offensively by Owen Riemer with 74 rushing yards, 59 reception yards and a touchdown. Mason Sobol scored two touchdowns on 29 rushing yards. QB Ty Devita rushed for 47 yards and threw for 63 yards.
The Yellowjackets will host Woodland Regional High School on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. at HVRHS Game Field in Falls Village.
GNH congratulates Tyler Roberts after recovering an onside kick late in the fourth quarter.Photo by Riley Klein
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Humans welcome too at ‘Dogs Only Hike’
Sep 25, 2024
Alec Linden
Rusty maple leaves shook overhead in a light morning breeze as hikers both human and dog mingled at the edge of a large field. Residents and their canine companions congregated the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Hart Farm Preserve for the Cornwall Conservation Trust’s (CCT) “Dogs Only Hike,” and pleasant chit-chat filled the air, interrupted by the occasional bark or whine.
Previously, the CCT’s guided walks did not allow dogs to join due to logistical and safety concerns such as trip hazards from leashes and excitable pets, CCT board member Katherine Freygang explained. She organized this outing so that residents could finally enjoy a guided walk on CCT managed land without leaving their furry friends at home.
Before the group embarked on the short walk, Phil Hart, whose family owned the land before it was purchased by the CCT in 2003, gave a brief overview of the layout of the property and various hiking opportunities either directly within the preserve or immediately adjacent. “There’s so much the Trust can do with this,” he said, alluding the many possible uses for the property, which is composed of fields and woodland.
The group set off down the field’s edge and descended into a meadow brimming with milkweed for monarch butterfly habitat. The trail then passed into a woodland, where people happily ambled along as dogs flitted back and forth among the group. At one point, Freygang stopped to clear a spiky branch of invasive multiflora rose from the path, then shortly after identified a growth of bittersweet, which she explained is also invasive.
Freygang noted that while she usually organizes guided walks around a theme or focus, she felt this specific outing called for a more relaxed format. “I just decided to let this one be open and social and fun,” she said, adding that she plans to use this structure more in future hikes.
After a brief but steep uphill climb over rugged terrain, the group emerged in a spacious oak grove at the top of Cherry Hill. Humans and dogs regathered themselves into their respective family units before heading to the main viewpoint of the excursion, a picnic clearing looking south over a field toward West Cornwall’s rolling green hills, now lightly speckled with orange and red.
Here, people relaxed and chatted while dogs, some recently freed of their leashes, chased each other and rolled in the grass. The canine personalities in the group were as diverse as their owners’: golden retrievers Chester and Rufus burst with excitement and social energy, while wirehaired pointing griffon Dottie was more reserved and stayed close to her owner Todd’s side.
Not all participants brought dogs. Leslie Middlebrook of Cornwall was simply there to enjoy the morning and watch the dogs play. “I have cats,” she said. Another hiker recently had a dog pass away, and had joined for a “puppy hit,” as Freygang termed it.
The group eventually descended the hillside back to the cars, where the walkers said their goodbyes. While the group parted ways, Freygang assured that future “Dogs Only” hikes are coming – we just have to hope that humans are invited to the next one as well.
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Charlie Brown comes to town
Sep 25, 2024
Matthew Kreta
The Sharon Playhouse opened the final production of their main season, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” on Friday, Sept 20. The show will be open until Sept 29 and has a run time of one hour and forty minutes.
The popular “Peanuts” comic strip upon which the show is based lends an inspiration far beyond the characters and their likenesses. The vast majority of the play flows quickly from scene to scene. Most scenes are structured like a four panel comic strip and no central plot point in the show stays for more than a few minutes. These quick changes are intermingled with delightful musical numbers that cover a number of different styles in nearly every song, from opera, slow ballads, dream ballets and high energy showstoppers. Ultimately, this heavily works in the musical adventure’s favor. This snappy, ever shifting approach to the show gives the audience plenty of different vignettes to see these iconic characters interact in. There are plenty of laughs and a full range of antics to enjoy.
Every minute of the show is absolutely packed with charm, thanks in no small part to the Sharon Playhouse’s efforts by its cast and crew. The set is stylized with bright colors and sharp shadowing like a cartoon, and the iconic costumes of the “Peanuts” gang keep each cast member distinct and really make them show against the backdrop. Charlie Brown’s striped shirt finds its way into several layers of the set design as well, contributing to the angles of the set as well as some clever lighting.
The members of the six person show each have a few moments where they really get to shine, and the simple charm of the show has clearly rubbed off on them as much as it had the audience. Daniel Plimpton (Charlie Brown), Nicolas Alan Fernandez (Snoopy), Courtney Balan (Lucy), Sammy Pignalosa (Linus), Jason Williams (Schroeder) and Hayley Podschun (Sally) each bring their all to the performance and won the hearts of the opening night crowd thoroughly. Some musical standouts include “Suppertime”, “My Blanket and Me”, “T-E-A-M” and the absolutely incredible end of Act I, “The Book Report”. Despite the hall being only about half full, the laughter and applause bouncing off the walls felt like a full house.
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