Where you can view in person a new multimedia exhibit celebrating Upper Valley farmers whose methods help the climate.
From June through November, about a dozen Upper Valley libraries and other public locations will display “Climate Farmer Stories,” a new multimedia exhibit that shares the stories and portraits of 13 Upper Valley farmers who are using agricultural methods that mitigate and adapt to climate change and help build a food supply that can withstand the impact of climate disruption. “Climate Farmer Stories” was displayed during April 2023 at BALE Commons in South Royalton, VT, and the Vermont State House.
Guests will be able to browse portraits – made by esteemed artists from this region – and informational panels on climate-friendly agriculture and use their phones to play audio interviews with the farmers depicted in the portraits. Farmers from some of the 13 farms featured in the exhibit will be there to meet people and answer questions about their farms and methods.
The exhibit celebrates some of the Upper Valley farmers who are integral to their communities, the health of the land, and our future landscape.; it combines portraits made by Vermont and New Hampshire artists with climate and soil health educational content and audio interviews to show how farmers in our community are drawing down carbon, bolstering biodiversity, and resilience to extreme weather, and building our food security in the face of climate change.
The exhibit is one part of Vital Communities’ Climate Farmer Stories project, a three-year effort to increase farmer income while changing the perception about farming and climate change. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture, the project brings together Upper Valley farmers, artists, and nonprofit staff to change the story of farming and climate change, while increasing the marketing skills and resources for participating farmers. The project began work with the first cohort of farmers — who are featured in the new exhibit — in May 2022 and is now starting a second phase with a new cohort of a dozen farmers.
“Addressing climate change through food requires us to get back to the roots of farming,” said Nancy LaRowe, Vital Communities’ Director of Food & Farm and Economy. “Climate farmers can help mitigate climate change by returning to farming practices that strive to support natural systems, as opposed to scaling up with more ‘efficient’ technologies that are denigrating natural ecosystems. This is the hopeful story that needs to be shared as we see and experience the impacts of the climate crisis. People can choose how to spend their food dollars, and buying local food from climate conscious farmers is an investment in community resilience and climate action.”
Where the Exhibit Will Be
Check with these libraries for speakers, activities, book groups, and other activities they will offer
in conjunction with the Climate Farmer Stories Exhibit!
June 2023
Royalton Memorial Library, 23 Alexander Pl, South Royalton, VT
Kimball Public Library, 67 N Main St, Randolph, VT
King Arthur Baking Company, 135 US-5 #135, Norwich, VT
July 2023
Norwich Public Library, 368 Main St, Norwich, VT
Farlee Public Library, 221 US-5, Fairlee, VT
King Arthur Baking Company, 135 US-5 #135, Norwich, VT
August 2023
Kilton Public Library, 80 S Main St, West Lebanon, NH
Walpole Town Library, 48 Main St, Walpole, NH
King Arthur Baking Company, 135 US-5 #135, Norwich, VT
September 2023
Hartland Public Library, 153 US-5, Hartland, VT
Windsor Public Library, 43 State St, Windsor, VT
Brown Public Library, 93 S Main St, Northfield, VT
October 2023
Latham Library, 16 Library Rd., Thetford, VT
Tunbridge Public Library, 289 VT-110, Tunbridge, VT
JAM (Junction Arts & Media; formerly CATV), 5 South Main St., White River Junction, VT
November 2023
Fiske Free Library, 108 Broad St, Claremont, NH