Concerned about how a more extreme climate is impacting your farm or landscape? Too much or too little water? Concerned about soil erosion, wind impacts or shifting seasons? Come learn about Climate Adaptation Planning as a tool to assess risks and identify solutions to increase resilience and mitigate problems related to unpredictable climate and weather patterns. In this workshop, technical service providers from Maine Farmland Trust, American Farmland Trust, and MOFGA will give an overview of the climate trends in the state, discuss the process of climate adaptation planning using Aldermere Farm as a test case, and walk you through the steps you can apply to your farm. Aldermere Farm has been part of a pilot project with MFT and Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design to explore incorporating additional site analyses used in landscape design into the climate adaptation planning process. Aldermere Farm staff will share their experience working through this process and how it has informed their thinking.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension has partnered with Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Farmland Trust, Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District and other local and national nonprofits to deliver a spring workshop series exploring climate resilient production practices, planning and design solutions for farms.
Adaptation in Action will take place at Aldermere Farm Welcome Center, 20 Russell Avenue in Rockport from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on March 5; 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on March 19; and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on April 2. The final workshop in the series is scheduled for April 30 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Brodis Blueberries, 87 Jones Hill Road in Hope.
The series will cover topics including climate adaptation planning with technical service providers from Maine Farmland Trust, American Farmland Trust and Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA); ecological design using Erickson Fields Preserve as a case study; climate-smart fertility management with educators from UMaine and UMaine Extension; and farm pond construction, health and maintenance at Brodis Blueberries with Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District.
Register on the event webpage or by phone at 207.342.5971. Workshop fee is $25 per session. Scholarships from American Farmland Trust and Maine Farmland Trust are available. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Billiejo Pendleton at billiejo.pendleton@maine.edu or 207.342.5971.
