Date/Time
Date(s) - Mar 16th, 2024
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location
Two Mamas Farm
Join Two Mamas Farm, the Hilltown Land Trust, the J.S. Bryant School, and the High Five Books team for a very special family-friendly tour of queer-run Two Mamas Farm, where you’ll learn more about small-scale maple tapping and sugaring. The High Five Team will be available throughout the event in the barn with beanbags, books, and activities related to maple trees for all of the kids and kids-at-heart to enjoy! LGBTQ+ community and allies invited.
At Two Mamas Farm, home of HLT’s conserved Waterfall Trail, there will be outdoor fires, a community potluck, books and kid programming by High Five Bookstore, and maple tasting! Optional tours will be led by farmer Pepper from the barn down to some sugar lines. On these informal short tours, learn about the engineering and sustainability of sap harvesting and Two Mamas’ bird-friendly tapping practices. At the barn, join in on the community potluck and chatter. Right outside the barn, get a delicious taste of the four different grades of maple syrup from Two Mamas sugarbush! Maple games, hot beverages, and fires will be by the barn and around to enjoy throughout the event.
The rain date for this event is Sunday, March 17th.
About Our Partners
Two Mamas Farm is a queer-lead small-scale and sustainable maple farm in Cummington, MA. Initially warned off maple as a commercial farm enterprise due to dire climate change predictions, farm owner Pepper has watched as the sugar woods here have continued to thrive and decided to take the maple plunge! She appreciates the perennial cropping and symbiotic nature of harvesting sap, and creating maple products that bring joy to so many during a time when things often seem grim. Pepper loves to talk about nature, farming, and these days, especially about maple- so reach out any time.
The J.S. Bryant School is a therapeutic day high school that will energize LGBTQ+ students’ curiosity and learning passion through creative exploration, farming entrepreneurship, and climate innovation, emphasizing learning excellence. As a therapeutic high school nestled in the foothills of the Berkshires, educators, clinicians, farming professionals and artists will nurture and grow students’ personal power and wellness in a gender-affirming environment. Students will graduate ready for college or take on a job in the arts, farming, or climate innovation, among many other exciting possibilities.
The J.S. Bryant School will open Fall 2025 as a therapeutic day school, and in years to come will add a therapeutic boarding program.
High Five Bookstore is a Florence-based queer and social justice-oriented bookstore for kids that will be providing maple-related children’s books and other materials for kids.
Access Info
Optional tours with farmer Pepper will be short and gentle walks on dirt terrain with the potential of mud, snow, and ice during this late winter event. Although there will be multiple fires scattered outside, the barn is unheated and participants should wear appropriate winter layers.
- Bathroom: There is a compost toilet available in the barn, and a toilet with running water located in the house across from the barn with a ramp leading into the house.
- Barriers: There are no steps leading into or within the barn, which is accessed by a 30′ wooden ramp with railings but no dedicated handrails. There is a mown grass slope leading up to the barn ramp. The house is accessed by either a ~30-foot ramp with railings or two concrete steps. The farm stand is accessed by a ~6′ ramp. Mud, snow, and ice may be present around the farm and on optional maple tapping tours.
- Covid: KN95 or better masks required inside the barn and house. (We’ll provide ’em if you need ’em!)
- Distance traveled: 0.25- 1 mile
- Fragrances: To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, please refrain from wearing strong fragrances.
- Parking: Unmarked parking spots in a compact dirt or mown grass parking lot.
- Public transportation: Public transit is not available to Two Mamas Farm. Contact us if you are interested in coordinating a carpool.
- Seating: Seating inside the barn on a variety of wood, fabric, and plastic chairs as well as some seating by the tasting table and by the fires located outside.
- Surfaces: Mown grass, dirt driveway and paths, wooden barn ramp and barn floor, concrete steps and house ramp. Potential for snow, mud, and ice on a working farm in March!
We’re happy to discuss your access needs for this event! For questions and accommodation requests, please reach out to Juliette at juliette@hilltownlandtrust.org or (413) 628-4485.
Cost
The suggested donation for this program is $0-50. Your donation supports future programs like this at HLT and the J.S. Bryant School.
To become a member of Hilltown Land Trust for the year, make a gift in any amount to support our efforts to conserve and care for ecologically valuable land in the Hilltowns.
Questions?
Please reach out to juliette@hilltownlandtrust.org or call (413) 628-4485.
Registration Form
Register here using this link.
