Work Song Sing-a-Long with Max Godfrey and Friends

Join us for a long evening of song. Learn to sing worksongs, practice worksongs you know, warm up your lungs for the fields. The evening will include dinner.

Worksongs are an appropriate technology for small scale farmers, makes the work go faster, the heart lighter, the mood merry. Farmers all over the country have learned a few songs that help them get through planting, weeding, harvesting, washing — and Max is a beloved song leader and performer of traditional songs.

Learn some new songs, meet some new people.

Max is a Georgia farm apprentice and folk singer.  He’s learned many worksongs from field recordings of prisons and chain gangs throughout the south and has been teaching them at workshops in addition to teaching them at the farms he’s worked on.  He’s also done enough research on these these songs to provide some insight into their historical context.  His goal  is to bring people together around old songs with the hope that farmers will take these songs and put them to use in the fields again this coming growing season.

The Williams College Sustainable Food Program will also be hosting Max on Wednesday January 9th at 7 PM at Goodrich Hall on the Williams campus.  Contact Brent Wasser for info or to reserve: brent.wasser@williams.edu. 

It takes positive outdoor experiences to ignite a passion for the land and its inhabitants, especially among our children.  We find this critical if we are to develop a generation of conservation stewards who as adults will be prepared to take on the conservation challenges of the future.  To this end, WRLF initiated several new programs during the year. One such program, called “Woodchuck Wednesdays” brought first through fourth graders to Sheep Hill after school for outdoor play and projects. With the help of two Williams students, the program was a successful blend of exploring the hill, pond and brook, and woodlands, baking in the outdoor clay oven, and making nature crafts.  The photo shows the “woodchucks”, faces painted with clay from Hemlock Brook, on such an afternoon. One parent wrote:   The kids have been having so much fun– especially yesterday! It’s so nice to have them running around in such beautiful surroundings without having to play a sport!   The program will run again in the spring, and is just one element of the expanded programming WRLF will implement next year when the Interpretive Center opens and a summer interpreter joins the staff.

Land Protection Update: The WRLF is working on several land protection projects, including a proposed Conservation Restriction on 40 acres of the former Carmelite property along Oblong Road. The restriction will permanently preserve an historic agricultural parcel used by several neighboring farmers as well as a rare plant habitat.  It is critical to provide secure access for farmers to these smaller parcels which may otherwise become unavailable, impacting their ability to maintain sustainable farm businesses. We will have more information for you as the projects move forward in the coming year.

A reminder: we can now accept credit card donations.  You may call the office with your information or donate and renew on-line through our Website, www.wrlf.org.  Do we have your email?  Would you like to receive future newsletters electronically? Let us know!   For more current information about programs, nature happenings and local events of interest, sign up for e-news, like us on Facebook (accessible from the Website homepage) or ask to be added to our email notice list. Don’t worry though -as we move toward a more complete electronic presence, we won’t be entirely leaving print behind!

Benefit Rug Sale a great success!

Nicholas Wright, proprietor of East of the Bosphorus Rugs and Flatweaves, (wrightnh@adelphia.net) had the idea of a benefit rug sale for the WRLF a few years ago, but we couldn’t find the perfect space for showcasing his beautiful wares. His kilims and rugs from the Caucasus, Baluchistan, Tibet and Turkey showcase the long-standing tradition of weaving and tying to create colorful and useful works of art.

Thanks to Williams College, who arranged the use of the summer Lickety Split space at the Denison Gatehouse over Williamstown’s Holiday Walk weekend, the pop-up rug store drew the attention of aficionados from around the area. The space was a lot like a bazaar, with rugs and kilims spread or piled on the floor, hung on the walls and draped on chairs and tables.Each one had a story; some were new, some new made with old wool, and others semi-antique (less than 100 years old). Mr. Wright’s passion for the rugs is evident, and as the traditional way of life in some of these countries changes (with daughters no longer wanting to stay home and weave) the art  and craft may diminish.

The sale netted $2800 for the WRLF and we are very grateful for Mr. Wright’s generosity, and to all who purchased the one-of-a-kind wares, complete with the wonderful stories of their origin.