Aldermere Farm marks its 10th Anniversary with MCHT
In 1999, Mr. Albert Chatfield’s generously bequeathed to Maine Coast Heritage Trust his 136-acre saltwater farm in Rockport. Over the past decade, Aldermere Farm has grown into a thriving community hub, hosting dozens of public events each year—ranging from natural history walks and youth farming programs to moonlit cross-country ski outings. Aldermere Farm has also strengthened its reputation as a statewide leader in sustainable agriculture—offering educational workshops and helping establish and manage the Northeast Livestock Expo (marketing beef, sheep and goat farms) and new Knox County Farmer’s Alliance.
In addition to helping area farmers achieve economic and ecological sustainability, Aldermere Farm has strengthened its own operations. It has nearly quadrupled annual farm revenues through the sale of beef and hay. Construction of a manure storage building greatly reduced runoff, and MCHT received State Department of Environmental Protection support to fence cattle out of sensitive areas in the Lily Pond watershed. Staff members have begun work to eliminate Japanese barberry, honeysuckle and bittersweet, thanks to a grant from the Maine Forest Service.
Aldermere Farm takes an active role encouraging community gardening, providing more than 20 raised beds tended by area families and volunteers (some of which supply produce to the local elementary and high school). The Farm hosts “how to garden” workshops, a youth gardening project, and an agricultural poster contest for children. It helps support the annual garden tour organized by the Camden Garden Club and solicits gardening help at the Farm from Master Gardeners trained through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service.
The acquisition of the Erickson Fields property in 2008, with more than 70 acres of hayfields and woods in a prominent location near Aldermere Farm, has furthered MCHT’s partnership with the local community. More than 375 area residents and businesses helped support the purchase of this prime farmland, which was secured in partnership with Maine Farmland Trust and the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.
Aldermere Farm’s most impressive achievement over the last decade may well be the diversity of community support it has garnered—from local businesses and families to livestock owners and managers throughout the Northeast. That support is likely to grow in the coming decades. As Catherine Tanzer, whose daughter participated in the Aldermere Achievers 4-H Club notes, “I look forward to many years of supporting the Farm and its imaginative endeavors to involve the community.”
