Workshops to teach Vermonters to eat locally

EAST DORSET — Eleven years ago, Madeleine Sobel wanted to expand her small chicken farm in Connecticut, but she was allergic to most farm animals.

She decided to turn to beekeeping after reading an article on the subject, and now, after moving to East Dorset with her honey bees, she has more than 60,000 bees harvesting about 150 pounds of honey a year in the three hives in her backyard.

Art and science

"Bees have really gotten a bad reputation because of their sting," she said while feeding her bees sugar water Wednesday in the shadow of Green Peak, "but bees are delightful. There is an art and science to working with bees. You're working with an animal that's working in nature, so you get to be a part of that cycle."

Sobel will kickoff the 2008 Southwestern Eat Local Challenge this Saturday with a workshop on the basics of raising bees from 10 a.m. to noon. The workshop is one of 15 planned before the challenge week during the third week of September, where locals will be asked to eat foods grown within 100 miles of their residence, according to the event's organizer, Mary Barrosse-Schwartz.

She said the workshops will teach interested locals the

basics of growing or raising their own food.

Care and feeding

Also in May, Scott MacKenzie of Wildwood Farm will discuss the care and feeding of blueberry bushes on Saturday, May 10, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. On Sunday, May 25, Matt and Scout Proft of the Someday Farm will teach people about raising organic poultry and composting from 1 to 3 p.m.

A reservation is required ahead of time to attend the workshops, according to Barrosse-Schwartz. One can be made by calling Barrosse-Schwartz at 362-7235 or by e-mail at localzore@comcast.net. A $3 entry fee is also required to secure a spot, she said.

About 75 people took part in the week-long challenge in 2007, its inaugural year. Barrosse-Schwartz said she expects a better turnout this year, as she has had more time to organize the event and there has been raised awareness about the importance of locally grown foods.

"Everyone is seeing how expensive food is getting," said Barrosse-Schwartz, who owns a farm in East Dorset as well. "You're paying a lot, and you're not even getting great quality."

She also mentioned recent articles in the news about meat recalls scaring people away from food raised on an enormous scale.

At Someday Farm on Wednesday, Scout Proft was tending to her farm, which includes bee hives, produce, compost and more than 3,000 birds, mostly chickens. She said it has been non-stop work for the last 25 years, but in her workshop, she will teach how to raise poultry and compost on a smaller scale.

Other workshops this summer will include how to extend the growing season in Vermont (Proft was already harvesting vegetables in her greenhouses Wednesday), how to grow organic vegetables, how to raise hogs and cattle for meat and cows for milk. For more information on workshop dates and times, visit www.vteatlocal.org.