On June 6, 2018, 22 members and friends of the Sierra Club community came together for a tour and cookout at Leaning Pine Farm in Mt. Savage, MD, ancestral Shawnee land. Leaning Pine Farmers are leading the way in advocating for a more sustainable food system that is climate change resilient, while also learning the indigenous history of the land.
Community members gather together around the milkhouse at Leaning Pine Farm for a casual cookout potluck before embarking on the tour.
The outing was hosted by Sam White, a long-time Maryland Sierra Club volunteer leader, and Deirdre Lally, Western Maryland’s Sierra Club Conservation Organizer. After a delicious potluck cookout meal, Sam and Amanda White gave a fantastic tour of Leaning Pine Farm, describing their innovative farming practices to build resilience to climate change, restore animal, soil and water health, and provide healthy food to the immediate local community (which is currently classified as a USDA Food Desert).
The group gathering around inside the barn to hear Sam and Amanda White speak about their farming practices.
Following the tour, representatives from Wholesome Harvest Co-Op provided updates on the inclusive food cooperative opening in Frostburg and a leader from Frack Free Frostburg spoke about updates on conservation work in the region, including support of the No Potomac Pipeline campaign and ending single use plastic consumption.
The farm tour was a great outing that sparked productive discussions and developed next steps for future work - stay tuned!
A group of 22 people stand on a hillside field of tall green grass observing a large herd of cattle moving into fresh pasture.
Contact Deirdre.Lally@mdsierra.org to help plan next the Western MD Sierra Club event
*Special thanks to local volunteer Jenna Linhart for photographing the event!