Fundraising for Broadturn Farm receives help from Charisma Fund
Fundraising for Broadturn Farm receives help from Charisma Fund
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust recently met a challenge grant goal for its Broadturn Farm property and is now looking to complete its fundraising campaign for the property by the time the growing season begins.
In the summer of 2006, the trust began a $75,000 fundraising campaign to help pay for renovations to the Broadturn Farm property. Those involved with the Charisma Fund/Lucy R. Sprague Memorial said they would give $25,000 to the campaign if the trust raised $25,000 on its own. So far, the land trust has raised approximately $33,000.
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust purchased the 434-acre Broadturn Farm property (formerly known as the Meserve Farm) in 2004 through a partnership with the town of Scarborough, the state of Maine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Trust for Public Land.
Last year, after searching for a new tenant for the property, the land trust decided to let John Bliss and Stacy Brenner, who previously ran Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth, live on the property.
Bliss and Brenner are planning to start a community supported agriculture (CSA) program on the Broadturn Farm property this year. As part of the CSA, residents of Scarborough and other towns will be able to buy fresh produce, as well as poultry, lamb and pork at the farm, but they will also be able to volunteer and help to weed or harvest or have their children attend a “farm camp.” The CSA will give people the opportunity to sign up for an entire season’s worth of vegetables from the farm.
Brenner and Bliss have partnered with several subtenants, including the Snell Family Farm in Buxton, for the upcoming growing season. Bliss said his family is excited to be involved with the community.
“It’s a great honor to be working this land in this community. The land has good soils and has been in agricultural production for well over a hundred years,” Bliss said. “The community has been incredible with its demonstrated support for saving farmland and the enthusiasm we have seen for what will happen here in the coming seasons is wonderful. And the house…it is fast becoming our home and we love it.”
Laurene Swaney, president of SLCT, said that renovating the farmhouse and outbuildings has been “tougher than the organization expected,” she said many people have stepped up to donate money and building materials for the project, which the organization is thankful for. She said the donation by the Charisma Fund will help to give the project “more of a sense of urgency” in the eyes of the public.
“Hopefully, once people get on the farm and participate, they will understand what a great community project this is,” Swaney said.
Mrs. George Sprague, a trustee of the Charisma Fund, said, "One of the major purposes of the Charisma Fund is the preservation and maintenance of open space. The restoration of Broadturn Farm's buildings and its operation as a working farm is an enormously important project which the Charisma Fund is thrilled to support.”
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said Broadturn Farm is an important piece of what the future will hold in Scarborough.
It is important to preserve the town's agricultural heritage as we grow and become a more urban community. The preservation of open space means protecting land from development so that it can be used for recreation, for wildlife and natural habitat, and for remembering the traditions of the working family farm, which is on the verge of extinction not only in Maine but in the rest of the country,” Owens said. “As we celebrate our 350th anniversary in 2008, Broadturn Farm will be an important symbol of our heritage and our vision for the future.”
SLCT is currently working to raise the remaining $17,000 needed to finish farmhouse and barn renovations and reach the total renovation goal of $75,000. For more information on Broadturn Farm, log on to www.broadturnfarm.com. For further information about the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, visit www.scarboroughcrossroads.org/slct. Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust (attention Laurene Swaney), P.O. Box 1237, Scarborough, ME 04070-1237.
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust recently met a challenge grant goal for its Broadturn Farm property and is now looking to complete its fundraising campaign for the property by the time the growing season begins.
In the summer of 2006, the trust began a $75,000 fundraising campaign to help pay for renovations to the Broadturn Farm property. Those involved with the Charisma Fund/Lucy R. Sprague Memorial said they would give $25,000 to the campaign if the trust raised $25,000 on its own. So far, the land trust has raised approximately $33,000.
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust purchased the 434-acre Broadturn Farm property (formerly known as the Meserve Farm) in 2004 through a partnership with the town of Scarborough, the state of Maine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Trust for Public Land.
Last year, after searching for a new tenant for the property, the land trust decided to let John Bliss and Stacy Brenner, who previously ran Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth, live on the property.
Bliss and Brenner are planning to start a community supported agriculture (CSA) program on the Broadturn Farm property this year. As part of the CSA, residents of Scarborough and other towns will be able to buy fresh produce, as well as poultry, lamb and pork at the farm, but they will also be able to volunteer and help to weed or harvest or have their children attend a “farm camp.” The CSA will give people the opportunity to sign up for an entire season’s worth of vegetables from the farm.
Brenner and Bliss have partnered with several subtenants, including the Snell Family Farm in Buxton, for the upcoming growing season. Bliss said his family is excited to be involved with the community.
“It’s a great honor to be working this land in this community. The land has good soils and has been in agricultural production for well over a hundred years,” Bliss said. “The community has been incredible with its demonstrated support for saving farmland and the enthusiasm we have seen for what will happen here in the coming seasons is wonderful. And the house…it is fast becoming our home and we love it.”
Laurene Swaney, president of SLCT, said that renovating the farmhouse and outbuildings has been “tougher than the organization expected,” she said many people have stepped up to donate money and building materials for the project, which the organization is thankful for. She said the donation by the Charisma Fund will help to give the project “more of a sense of urgency” in the eyes of the public.
“Hopefully, once people get on the farm and participate, they will understand what a great community project this is,” Swaney said.
Mrs. George Sprague, a trustee of the Charisma Fund, said, "One of the major purposes of the Charisma Fund is the preservation and maintenance of open space. The restoration of Broadturn Farm's buildings and its operation as a working farm is an enormously important project which the Charisma Fund is thrilled to support.”
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said Broadturn Farm is an important piece of what the future will hold in Scarborough.
It is important to preserve the town's agricultural heritage as we grow and become a more urban community. The preservation of open space means protecting land from development so that it can be used for recreation, for wildlife and natural habitat, and for remembering the traditions of the working family farm, which is on the verge of extinction not only in Maine but in the rest of the country,” Owens said. “As we celebrate our 350th anniversary in 2008, Broadturn Farm will be an important symbol of our heritage and our vision for the future.”
SLCT is currently working to raise the remaining $17,000 needed to finish farmhouse and barn renovations and reach the total renovation goal of $75,000. For more information on Broadturn Farm, log on to www.broadturnfarm.com. For further information about the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, visit www.scarboroughcrossroads.org/slct. Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust (attention Laurene Swaney), P.O. Box 1237, Scarborough, ME 04070-1237.
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