Farmland Preservation at the Field Station

by Dee Kricker, Community Farms Outreach and Friends of Waltham Field Station Steering Committee (originally appeared in Community Farms Outreach Fall 2004 Newsletter

Last April, CFO submitted a proposal for a joint UMass-CFO planning task force to UMass Outreach and Extension administration. The proposal is an initiative to develop a viable business plan for the Waltham Field Station with the input and support of current users. Hoping to engage the university in a process to address our concerns regarding all aspects of the site, our primary goal is to keep the facility open and fully operational. A Steering Committee formed to guide the planning process includes Dee Kricker (CFO), Judy Fallows (CFO), Deb Guttormsen (GROW), Charles McColough, and advisory members from the extended Friends of Waltham Field Station group: Steve Tracy, Jeff Cole, Amy Meblin, Lynn Harris, Molly Anderson, and Marc Rudnick. The Steering Committee has met nine times since April.

In order to formulate a business plan that describes current usage, the SC is collecting and analyzing data about who uses the site, how often, and for what reasons. We are also assessing the physical plant, operational and administrative costs, and staffing levels. For example, the committee has obtained the FY05 site budget and we had a specialist in historic greenhouse restoration provide an assessment of the greenhouses built in the '20s and 30s. There is a recently installed new boiler system for heat, but the roof of the office building leaks, as does the roof of the historic nineteenth century barn. We know that the Field Station is underutilized and some programs have been reduced as greenhouse space has been closed. Among the things we want to know is the amount of revenue currently being generated by fees and leases and the capacity for generating more revenue. We are very interested in finding out how users' needs can be better met through improved services, equipment, and structures.

Information provided by users indicates that more than thirty groups with a total membership of almost 5000 people use the facilities on a regular basis for agricultural purposes. Among these groups are chapters of national horticultural societies, a farm, community gardeners, a nursery/greenhouse vocational project, and a local land trust. Weekly activities at the site range from demonstrations, workshops, training, and certification exams to farming, gardening, plant sales, standard flower shows and specialized agricultural research projects. For all these users, the Waltham site is preferred over other venues. After all, as the Eastern Field Station for the Massachusetts College of Agriculture, it was built specifically for agricultural users eighty years ago.

The results of our work will be compiled and presented to the CFO board by the end of this year. The plan is intended to reflect the interests of the current users and to allow adjustments and modifications as needs change. It will be responsive to community input. Future work of the SC includes exploring various options for increasing revenue by expanding programs and building upon current uses. One such program is a direct farmer's co-op that links small farmers with consumers by acting as a depot for weekly deliveries. On Tuesday, October 26, at 9:00 AM, the SC invites anyone who is interested to attend an informational program by the founders of EcoFarm, a twelve-year-old farmer's co-op in Marblehead and Salem. For more information about this program or related activities of the SC please contact: the CFO Board of Directors at board@communityfarms.org.