Tree Fodder Seminars


Tree Fodder Seminar 2021

Tree Fodder Seminar 2021 will start Monday evening, July 5th and run thru Saturday, July 10th. The Seminar will be in-person. The moon will be decreasing, so appropriate for the cutting of fodder. 



*Schedule is somewhat flexible based upon the wishes of attendees*



 COVID precautions will be mutually decided by attendees, and a few Zoom opportunities will be available for those who can't be here.

$130 full week, includes humble accommodations and food! 
Partial attendance okay:  Single events $0 to $30;
Single day, $30 to $60
Two days, $55 to $75

We have plenty of indoor accommodation & room for tents outside. 


Please Call to register, (207) 338-3301.
Send checks to: Shana Hanson, 209 Back Belmont Rd., Belfast, ME 04915

__________________________________________________________________________________

Tree Fodder Seminar 2020:

 

Woody Pollards to Stimulate Green Growth for Climate:  Practical Scaling Up.

Monday, July 6 thru Friday, July 10th

SOME CHANGES IN SCHEDULE: PLEASE LOOK BELOW.
 
 
 
Still room, plus ZOOM.  If more numbers of folks want to come, or if folks are hiding more carefully from the virus, we offer one-on-one leaf fodder tutoring by appointment outdoors with white cedar and usnea (strong anti-viral medicines) to chew, at another time of your choice. 
 
My own contact is mostly with goats, cow, hog, and trees.  I also suspect prior exposure and immunity, plus trust my woods to provide and care for us.  
 
Call (207)338-3301 to register (voicemail 24/7 - it's unplugged when I sleep).
 
$130 full week, includes humble accommodations and food! 
Partial attendance okay:  Single events $0 to $30;
Single day, $30 to $60
Two days, $55 to $75 

 
Zooming from Home: Suggested Donations $5 to $10 per event (free if the donation discourages your participation, but know that we are paying each presenter a $50 Speaker Stipend in respect for their time and preparations). 

 
ZOOM registration and PayPal payment:  

Amelia Tracy <amelia@conduciveforlife.com>


In-person attendance:  Please Call to register, (207) 338-3301. 

Send checks to: Shana Hanson, 209 Back Belmont Rd., Belfast, ME 04915, or

PayPal to: shanahanson@gmail.com

 

Attendance in Person:

Limited to 4 individuals or families, includes: well-spaced camping with your own gear and meals, shift access to well-ventilated room with small indoor cook-stove in case of rain, and various sheltered spaces to hang out.



SCHEDULE (still somewhat flexible, plus subject to changes at wishes of attendees – CALL TO CONFIRM):




Monday, June 29 POSTPONED; Please call because we are re-scheduling: on Zoom or recording, 6 to 8 pm: Food Choices (and Growing Methods!) for Climate BenefitAmelia Tracy and Shana Hanson and present and lead discussion.





Sunday, July 5, MOFGA Day-tripping Tour of 3 Streams Farm, 8:30 - 10 am: Free public event.


I will try to video for those who want to watch later.


Up to 4 people or small families may come in person and we will maintain outdoor distance.


Campers, all day, any time: Arrive, settle, cook, swim, read leaf fodder literature (select then quaranine after).

6 – 7 pm: Supper

7 – 9 pm: Participants present about their home places, spaced outdoors in clearcut with goats.



Monday July 6, Fodder Opportunities at MOFGA in Unity not open to public but possibly Shana and one helper will go for Shana's annual volunteering to do at least the willows

9 to 11:30 am: Prune willows and pack barrels of Willow Silage.

11:45 to 12:45 : Lunch picnic

1 to 5 pm: Single” Coppiced Hardwoods and Harvest “Invasives” to make Drying Piles. Try

Rigging MOFGA’s PTO-driven Chipper for Leaf - Wood Separation, and make Chipped Silage (with or without wood chips included). Probably won't get to this piece this time, but we may at least check out MOFGA's chipper with Jack Kertesz.

5 pm to 6 pm: Collect plant samples on the way home, and

Goat-, Hog-, and Cow-test Palatability of “Invasives” back at 3 Streams Farm.

6:15 to 7:15 pm: Supper at 3 Streams Farm

7:15 to 8:30: Invasive” Plants and Soil/Climate Remediation, Shana Hanson leades discussion and literature review. (Can attend remotely by Zoom).

Tues. July 7, Fodder Production in Woodlands at 3 Streams Farm in Belfast (am) and Belmont (pm):  No one is signed up so Shana is here farming, inc. climbing.   Feel free to leave a phone voicemail and/or come find me, if you would like to climb! 

8 am to Noon: Spikes, Ropes and Safety for pollarding woodland ash -
skills, tree physiology etc. 

Noon to 1 pm: Lunch

1 or 1:15 pm: Drive or bike from 3 Streams Farm, Belfast to 3 Streams Belmont land (3 miles).

1:30 to 5 pm: Pollarding a Younger Woodland, and Rigging a Chipper for Leaf - Wood Separation.

5:30 to 6:30 pm: Supper (back at 3 Streams Farm, Belfast)

7 to 8:30 pm:  Probably cancelled.  Cliff Davis, Spiral Ridge Permaculture/Pig & Leaf Farm presentation (Zoom from TN)

Wednesday, July 8, Soils and Fungi at 3 Streams lands in Belfast, Belmont, and Lincolnville:

9 to Noon: What Trees Grow Where? With Dave Roque, State Soil Scientist (going all 3 places).

Noon to 1 pm: Lunch picnic, on the blueberry field, east end Levenseller Mt., WALKING PATH FROM Belmont/Lincolnville TOWN LINE ON LINCOLNVILLE/GREENACRE Rd., Lincolnville

1:15 to 4 pm, CANCELLED due to couldn't get mushroom spawn, logs not cut in time, low attendance sign-up.  We may do in late FALL.  Call if interested.  Belmont: Red Oak Shitake Production from Pollards with Geoff Nosach and Lizzy Hayes of Mercer Mushroom Museum, at oak lot on Crie Rd. off Lincolnville Rd.
4:30 to 6 pm, Demo Plot at 3 Streams Farm, Belfast (eastward down front stream) Inventory of Plants and Other Life that have appeared.

6: 05 to 7 pm: Supper


Thursday, July 9, Farm Tours Teltane Farm (am) and the Great Farm in Jackson (pm):

10:00 to 11:30: Mark Fulford's Orchard at Teltane Farm in Monroe?

Midday: Lunch picnic at the river.

12:30 or 1:30 to 3 or 4 pm: Graham Mallory leads tour of Silvopasture at the Great Farm in Jackson, feller-buncher discussiono for thinning or pollarding.  Then we will fill a barrel or two with ash silage from singling or pruning young stump sprouts.  

4:30 to 5:30 pm: Seaweed Harvest at Sandy Point Beach, Stockton.

6 -7 pm: Supper (back at 3 Streams Farm)

7:30 to 9:30 pm: Astral and Climate Influences , discussion on a goat (cow too?) walk, Glen Larabee’s clearcut behind 3 Streams Farm.

 
Friday, July 10, Fruits and Nuts:

11:00 to 12:30, Unity: Tour Jack Kertesz’s Diverse Species Survivors.

1 to 3 pm, Montville: Moe Martin's two generations of Plantings on Hogback Mountain.

4 to 5:30 pm: Jeanne Calabrese presents Food Access to Native Fruits and Nuts at City Orchards Chicago

(Zoom from IL).

6 to 7 pm: Supper

7 to 9 pm: Open No-mic and closing circle (spaced around a fire out back).



(207) 338-3301 shanahanson@gmail.com
https://3streamsfarmbelfastme.blogspot.com

 

3 Streams Farm presents:

Hedgelaying a Living Fence at MOFGA;

Traditional Midland Bullock hedge skill-building day/s

Saturday, May 2nd cancelled due to MOFGA's concerns re:  virus.

We'll try Sat., May 1st (Beltane), 2021, 8 AM – 4 PM, and also Sunday, May 2nd if enough interest.

 Shana, Nigel and Catherine with live hedge just laid (photo Matthew Sheehan)               

   Hedge sprouting at Tittesworth, UK

Potluck lunch with soup provided.  

$35-$65 sliding fee MOFGA members; $50-$85 sliding fee non-members;

Working scholarships or barters available.

Call 338-3301 to register (leave voicemail), or email shanahanson@gmail.com (not preferred, but ok); 

Send checks or pay cash to Shana Hanson, 209 Back Belmont Rd., Belfast, ME 04915

Where?  MOFGA  Grounds:  Meet at the Red Barn near the Wind Tower, Crosby Rd. near Rt. 220, Unity, ME

DESCRIPTION:

 

Hedges when well-laid can contain livestock, with added benefits of shade, browse, and trimmings for fodder when pastures are dry.  Environmental and ornamental uses are now surpassing use with livestock, as nesting birds arrive immediately upon sprouting, and a  newly laid hedge is an artwork of landscape-scale basketry.

Shana Hanson of 3 Streams Farm was first taught to lay hedges by Paul Hand of Bees and Trees (who may come!), in Lentwardine, England in 2017.  Then in Nov. 2019 she was tutored with two others by Nigel Adams, a professional Midland hedgelayer from the UK, in a day-long workshop at Wellspring Forest Farm in Trumansburg, NY.

We will tackle the brushy wild hedgerow between MOFGA’s south parking fields with traditional and modern tools, to learn and practice skills of selecting and clearing pleachers, pleaching, building, staking, binding and trimming a hedge, plus tricks to fill gaps, protect new shoots from livestock, and solve other practical puzzles that arise in creating a wild hedge.

Hedge species, sources, and planting recommendations (beyond the diversity of the MOFGA edges) will be discussed.  Some nursery stock may be available on site, and also possibly some billhooks and axes for trial and purchase.

Participants will leave with competency to create their own hedges, whether from wild edges or planted rows.

 
 
 
 
Tree Fodder Seminar 2019:  Trees in the food chain for Climate Remediation


$0-$25 single events; $120 full week (food and simple lodging included).

$50-65/2days.  $35-50 Mon. only; $45 Tues. only;  

$25-35 Wed. or Thurs.; $10 Fri.

Partial or full barter offers considered and often accepted.

Call (207)338-3301 to register.

Unless stated otherwise, Belfast events are at                 3 Streams Farm, 209 Back Belmont Rd., Belfast.

Monday, July 1, 5:30 PM Potluck, 6:30-8 PM Talk/Discussion, Belfast Free Library:  Free.            Green Foliage Can Change Climate.  Sy Schotz has been studying with Didi Pershouse;  he and Shana Hanson will offer a review of science on climate, and beneficial land practices, then facilitate discussion.

Text Box: Meadowsweet Farm Icelandic sheep eating white ash silageSunday, July 7, 8:30 AM, Belfast:  Free MOFGA Day-tripping Tour at 3 Streams Farm:  See the first-year sprouting of pollarded trees in a one acre 'air meadow' demonstration plot funded by Northeast SARE (Project FNE18-897).  Meet various livestock who eat tree leaves, and sample products of our woodland.  RSVP 7) 338-3301.

The following week-long schedule is flexible with changes possible in response to wishes of participants.

Monday, July 8, 8 AM- 4 PM,  MOFGA day, Unity:  Tree leaves in the Farm Food Chain.  Climate science related to trees; showcase of tree leaf resource use on 3 farms, inc. updates from SARE Tree Leaf Fodder study; pack willow silage; try vertical branch stacking ; connect and get questions answered.   * Possibly can attend 1st half via your internet device.

Monday, July 8, 6:30-8 PM, Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture  in Summertown, Tennessee zooms with us about Pollarding and Coppicing Trees over Ground Crops for Hogs and Sheep.  * Possible to attend via your internet device.

Tuesday, July 9, 8-12 AM and 1- 4 PM, Belfast:  Climbing Trees Safely with arborists, inc. harness with double rope, lanyard, possibly spikes (by then we may know if desired sprouting was stimulated by spiking of bare trunks in our SARE FNE18-897 Demo Area, increasing future climbability).

Tuesday, July 9, 7- 8:30 PM, Belfast, Free:  Traditional Knowledge and Science on How Trees Drive Rain Cycles:  literature review, and discussion related to the landscape around us and our endeavors to have a positive local (global) effect.

Wednesday, July 10, 9-12 AM, Belfast:  Ivan Fernandez of UME School of Forest Resources and Climate Change Institute on Woodland Soils and Forest Health in Changing Conditions .  Ivan studies the biogeochemical response of forests and forested watersheds to management, air pollution, temperature change and moisture stress.  

Wednesday, July 10, 1- 4 PM, Belfast:  Geoff Nosach and Lizzy Hayes of Mercer Mushroom Museum on

Agaricus, Stropharia, & Shitake Mushroom Cultivation for Agroforestry, Leaf-based Livestock, and Silvopastural Settings.

Wednesday, July 10, 6:30- 8 PM, Belfast, Free:  Collaborations with Biomass, Logging, Arborist and Roadside Clearing Operations for ensiling chipped leafy branches or stripped leaves:  brainstorming/ communication session to reach out to opportunities local to our farms, and to design mechanical alternatives for efficient stripping of leaves.

Thursday, July 11, 9-12 AM, Swanville:  Meadowsweet Farm Tour with Eliot Van Peski and Rayna Palm, who have been shifting Back Angus cattle and Icelandic sheep paddocks to include woodland felling, and also are storing dried leaves

Thursday, July 11, 1:30- 5 PM:  Searsmont:  Faithful Venture Farm Tour; Shana Hanson is assessing woodland edges of Glendon Mehuren’s Holstein pastures, to trial industrialized leaf fodder harvest for bulk silage back-up feed.    

Choices there (group decides):  Tie and Stack Traditional sheavesMore Ways to ClimbPollarding 101

Thursday, Juy 11, 7-7:45 PM, Belfast:  Agro-Forest Ecosystem Studies in Brazil, zooming with Juan Alvez, UVM Research Associate in grazing management, agroecology, ecological economics, etc.  * Possible to attend via your internet device.

Thursday, July 11, 8:30-10 PM, Belfast:  Moon/Tides/Plants  dark walk with goats; before daylight leaves, we will review research on tree sprouting and moon phases (including a 13th century doc. if anyone reads Italian).

Friday, July 12, Nut & Fruit Day, in collaboration with Maine Tree Crop Alliance: 

10 AM- 12:30, Carpool from Belfast to Appleton:  Visit LiLi’s Mulberry to eat fruit and look for seed, then Black Walnuts.  

12:30-2:30 PM, Carpool from S. Montville to Camden:  Bag lunch picnic near Chestnuts at Shirttail Beach (swim!). 

2:30- 5 PM, Carpool from Camden to Lincolnville, then Belmont:  Tree fodder ideas at Belfast Blueberry Cooperative on Levenseller Mt., then visit and consider farming of Shana’s Belmont Red Oaks.  Back to Belfast:  Potluck supper.

Friday, 6:30- 8 PM, Belfast:  Tree/Livestock Performance and Open “Mic,” outdoors with goats and other livestock. 


Trees feed Livestock feed Soil; Farmer Ecology & Skills for a Changing Planet,”


Sat. July 8 – Sun. July 14, 2018 (with partial attendance options). Based at 3 Streams Farm, Belfast, ME



$150 full week (food and simple lodging included). $60/2days. $35-50 Mon. only; $45 Tues. only; $35/day Wed., Thurs., or Fri.; $0-$25 single events. Call (207) 338-3301 to register.



Sun., July 8: Our Farms and Studies: Meet, greet, dip in ponds. Make soup, share info., explore literature.



12 noon – 2pm: Soup served.



12:30 – 2pm: New (or “knew”) bits of Knowledge; Discuss anything we’ve gleaned useful to tree foddering.



2 – 5pm: Walk and discuss Climate Challenges and Active Hope, while touring Pollarded Trees, and



Woodland Duff Production under the ‘air meadow’.


5 – 6:30pm: Cook and eat Supper. (Additional farm products welcome.)

6:30 – 8:30pm: Bring and share Picture Presentations of our Farms

(small Windows laptop with USB port and cable internet available.)

9:15 – 10:15pm: Star-Gazing Goat Walk with Hanlon Kelley. Discussion of Ernst Zurcher’s and possibly Viviana Ferrario’s information on Effects of Moon Phases on Tree Sprouting Responses.

Mon., July 9: MOFGA Tree Fodder Day:

6 am: Breakfast laid out, self-serve.

7 am: Shana’s carpool (inc. 2 goats) to MOFGA (25 miles from 3 Streams Farm) leaves.

8 - 9am at MOFGA: Snacks, Tree Teas, and Resource Sharing Table.


9 – 4pm: MOFGA Tree Fodder Day: Animals eat what? Enlivening Soil thru Tree-based Livestock Farming

See page 3 for details. Lunch soup provided; potluck offerings invited; bag lunch also okay.

5 – 6:30pm at 3 Streams Farm: Swim. Cook and eat Supper.

6:30 – 8:30 pm: Try each other’s Tools; Piece up Dry Brush for Sat. biochar burn.

Tues., July 10: Climbing and Storage (plus Invasive Pests):

4:30 – 7am: Prune, Walk with goats.

7 – 8am: Breakfast.

8 – 12:30 Adam Lynn, Eric Dayan and Edgar Evenkeel mentor us to Climb Safely with Rope and Harness.

Shana guides us to Prune for ‘Air Meadow’ Development, and to Prepare Branches for Fast On-site Storage.

12:30 – 1:30: Pond dip, Lunch.

1 -2pm: Hildy Ellis on Invasive Forest Pests (overlaps lunch).

2 – 5pm: Eric, Adam, and Edgar mentor us to Move Trees with Rope and Throw Line, plus more Climbing.

Shana guides us to Prune, and to Ensile Stripped Leaves or Twig-leaves.

4pm: MOFGA Daytrippers invited to come see what we are doing.

5 – 6:30pm: Cook and eat Supper.

6:30 – 8 pm: Michael Walder (skyped) on: Economics, Ergonomics, and Animal Logistics of Feeding Leaves.

Wed., July 11: Mushrooms and Soil:

5 – 7am: Fetch Drifted Seaweed from the bay, downtown. Swim!

7 – 8am: Breakfast.

8 – 11am: Growing Edible Mushrooms on Fodder Wastewood, with CJ Sloane.

11 – 12 noon: Use feet and edge tools on aged brush for use digesting rock powders under fodder trees.

12 – 1pm: Lunch.

1 – 5pm: Jameson Waines and Mark Fulford possibly join us to pursue Tasks and Strategies to foster Soil and Fungal Life, and Feed Trees. Mark possibly lectures on How to Learn to create Plant Resilience thru Soil Biology.

5 – 6:30pm: Cook and eat Supper with Many Mushrooms and Some Seaweed.

6:30 – 9pm: Hike-in Movie (on computer outdoors while watching goats): “The Shepherdess”?

Thurs., July 12: Open Grown Trees and Field Trips:

5 – 7am: Complete twig-leaf stack and silage barrel.

7 – 8am: Breakfast.

8 – 12 noon: Edgar Evenkeel helps us Use a Lanyard to Position in Open Grown Branchy Trees (and prune them). Eliza Greenman and Shana Hanson show Safety Tricks for Free Climbing.

12 – 1pm: Lunch.

1pm: Carpool to Waldoview Farm in Winterport.

1:30 – 3:30pm: (Winterport) Tom Hodgman shows us Apple-Rose-etc. Browse Management with Katadin sheep and Devon Cattle.

3:45 – 5:45pm: (Monroe) Vincent Versillo discusses (with cheese demo
and a peek in the Cheese Cave) likely effects of Tree Leaf Fodder in Cheeses, and Seth Yentes shows us the Adams Biochar Retort they have built, both at North Branch Farm.

6:15 – 7:45: Cook and eat Supper (overlaps presentation).

7 – 9pm: Eliza Greenman and Shana Hanson report on Colloque Trognes 2018 in Sare, France.

Fri., July 13: Nut and Fruit Fodder:

4:30 – 7am: Goat walk, swim.

7 – 8am: Breakfast.

8 – 10am: Hog walk and fence move; visit old fodder apple trees.

10 - 12: Rotational Fodder-Forest Pig Utopia; Cultivars for Timely Harvests. Eliza Greenman

12 noon: Pack lunch and car pool to:

12:30 – 1pm: (Martin Rd., Montville) Picnic on Moe Martin’s hillside.

1 – 3:30pm: (still at Moe’s) Tour Nuts, Sample Rare Fruits, and Prune a Kiwi Jungle and Black Locust Grove.

3:30 – 4:30, at Moe’s, or 4 - 5pm, at 3 Streams: Eric Evans and Jack Kertez (?) report on Nut Crops We’ve Planted.

5 – 6:30pm: Cook and eat Supper with Leached Acorn Meal and Jackson Regenerational Farm Pork.

6:30 – 9pm: Tree, Leaf and Livestock Songs with Sarah and Bill Smith, and Anna Dembska, outdoors with goats.

Sat., July 14: Biochar and Tree Tars:

5 – 7am: Set up a tight Slow-burn Charring Mound, based on picture in Rotherham (2013).

7 – 8am: Breakfast.

8 – 12 noon: Set up and light brush around a can each for Pine and Birch Tar Producton. If cool and seems wise, light and monitor Charring Mound. Possibly pack and light small Biochar Retort with Lee Lauffer.

12 – 1pm: Lunch Picnic, next to burns.

1 – 2pm: Last Circle with short stories, insights, feedback, requests, creative performances. Dowse Burns.

2 – 4pm: Time for Request Completion – finish loose ends, look up last resources, or repeat something fun.

 

 

MOFGA Tree Fodder Day

Monday, July 9, 2018. MOFGA Exhibition Hall & grounds, Unity, ME.


Animals eat what?? Enlivening Soil thru Tree-based Livestock Farming

This day is part of Tree Fodder Seminar 2018: 

Trees feed Livestock feed Soil; Farmer Ecology & Skills for a Changing Planet,”

based at 3 Streams Farm, Sat. July 8 – Sun. July 14 (with partial attendance options). See www.3streamsfarmbelfastme.blogspot.com for schedule updates! (schedule draft attached below).


Livestock were sustained by tree foliage and tree crops world-wide for 8 millennia. Only for 100 years, in industrial nations, have farmers and livestock been shifting to feeds and foods from tilled soil. This day will feature a tree fodder resource sharing table, historic slide show, presentations by farmers who are feeding their livestock from trees, Q &A discussion, outdoor planning and skill practice for transition of various landscapes to fodder production, and storage discussion with samples of fodders provided and invited.

Monday only, $35 MOFGA or NOFA members, $50 non-members. Limited scholarships available. 

For more information contact Anna Mueller at events@mofga.org or call (207) 568- 4142.

MONDAY, JULY 9 SCHEDULE:

8:00 – 9:00 am: Resource Sharing Table; Tree teas, snacks; Registration and check–in.

Bring your books, articles, and pictures. Rare books on leaf harvest will be there.

Farm animal silhouettes (add your breeds) and blank ‘topic’ signs for lunch discussions.

Bring leaf fodder, fruit, and nut samples for the end-of-day storage discussion.

9:00 – 9:40 am: History and Benefits of a Tree-Based Farmer Ecology. Shana Hanson with possible guests.

9:40 – 9:50 am: Q & A

10:00 – 11:10 am: Who Eats What Fodder from Trees? Farmers present how they are using fodder from trees for hogs, sheep, goats, cows, and rabbits. CJ Sloan, Matt Kominsky/Rachel Haas, Shana/Michael Walder, Kip Quimby

11:20 – 12 noon: Q & A in circle (Allow knowledge base in room to be shared)

12 – 12:05 pm: Livestock Species Count; Prep. for Informal Lunch Discussions. Hold up Animal or Topic signs that you want to connect about, after species count, to settle at tables.

12:05 – 1:00 pm: LUNCH. Soup provided; pot luck offerings invited, bag lunches okay too.

1:00 – 3:00 pm: Design a Transition to Tree Fodder. Consider development or planting potentials within soils and species present; prune three small sample areas. Wheeler saws, bill hooks, loppers to share (can bring).

In: MOFGA’s newer young patch of Intact Woodland, Open-grown Willows etc. in Children’s Area, and Woodland Edge near Sheep Barn. Shana Hanson, CJ Sloane (reachable fodders), Edgar Evenkeel (climbing), Dave Rocque (soil potentials), and Goats (taste).

3:10 – 4:00 pm: Storage Discussion Circle. Describe storage experiences. Share samples of tree leaf fodders, fruits, and nuts. Wrap up with remaining questions, reflections, and evaluations.


Tree Fodder Seminar 2017: 
Farmers Can Climb; Arboreal Pruning Skills for Livestock Feed Security,
Sunday, July 9 thru Saturday, July 15. 
Partial attendance encouraged. Flexible registration fees, with
during-seminar work and organic food trades accepted.
Full registration $150 suggested, includes meals and primitive lodging.
Call Shana at (207) 338-3301 or email shanahanson@gmail.com FMI.
 
Schedule:
Sunday July 9, 10 am -12:30: Arrive, Settle into rooms and camps, swim, try various
Outdoor Camp Stoves that can use fodder refuse, to make
12:30 pm: Lunch
1 pm - 2: Round Robin to Hear about each other's Tree Fodder Interests and Experience.
2 pm – 5: Harvest from Established and Accessible Fodder Trees, and learn Considerations and Methods for Fresh Feeding and Drying, including Q and A on Seasonal Nutritional Windows per Plant Species, with Shana Hanson, 3 Streams Farmer.
5:30 pm – 9:30: Open–Fire Biochar Burn of Fodder Refuse, and Community Cook-out.

Monday, July 10, 6 am - 8: MOFGA Day Tripping farm tour here at 3 Streams Farm, Belfast, ME, includes the goats (pigs part-way), for an overview of tree fodder projects and progress here.
8:30 – 9:30: Breakfast, Pancakes with Lots of Fruit.  Day Tripping visitors welcome to share this meal. 
9:30 am – 12: A Closer look at Fodder Tree Development and Pruning Instruction with Shana Hanson,
3 Streams Farmer studying traditional Air Meadow practices since 2011, and tree care since 1982.
12 noon – 1:30: While we cook and eat Lunch, discuss Biologist Ingvild Austad’s studies of Chipping Pollarded Fodder for Sheep, Soil Effects of Pollards in Wooded Hay Meadows, etc., and type up questions to email to her, (she has agreed to answer).
1:30 pm – 2:30 or 3: Pollards in England; Lessons from Very Old Trees, photos from Shana’s winter 2017 trip, and Skype Phone with Paul Hand on Black Poplar Pollard Development, Bees and Trees, UK.
3 pm – 6: Leaf Harvest and Storage; Silage and Dry Hay; hands-on work led by Shana, informed by 2016 Unity College silage bucket trials and 2016 Seminar rack storage and other dry storages.
6pm – 7:30: While we cook and before and after eating Supper, Literature and Pictures; Traditions and Research around Leaf Fodder, Shana Hanson’s indexed collection of articles and classic texts, plus what others bring.

Tuesday, July 11, 7 am: Breakfast
8 am – 12:30, and (Lunch, then) 1:30 pm – 5: Climbing Skills with Rope and Harness , Adam Lynn, Licensed Arborist and experienced teacher will demonstrate then mentor us in opening woodland canopies.  Our purpose is to minimize felling, but optimize tree elbow room, access to sunlight, and life-spans  of a multi-aged stand, including some large trees that with extreme pruning can become immediately productive , while releasing understory saplings to develop as classic pollard forms.
5:30 pm – 8: Cook and eat Supper, plus Cultural Considerations; Climbers in Other Places; Nepal, (Peru? Africa?), Carol Kinsey, SeedTree; request to Adam Stone, Camp Forest. Short Video by Beeju Poudyal.

Wednesday, July 12, 8 am: Breakfast.
9 am – 12: Ideal Micro-sites for Tree Species and Ways to Enhance Soil Geology for Happy Fodder Trees, Dave Roche, ME State Soil Scientist. 
Wednesday, July 12 continued, 12 -1 pm: Lunch
1 pm: Carpool 20 miles from 3 Streams Farm to Teltane Farm in Monroe, for
1:30 pm – 4, at Teltane Farm, Monroe, ME: 
Use of Chipped Ramial Wood mulches (can be fodder refuse) in producing Diverse, Optimally Nutritious Food Crops,
Biochar from Meal Preparation; Skills from a Rice Hull – Biochar/Worm – Rice Transplanting Cycle, and
Feeding Biochar to Livestock; Optimum Ways to Inoculate and Apply Biochar from Woody Refuse,
all presented by Mark Fulford, Biological Farming Skills consultant extraordinaire.
4:30 pm – 6: Explore, chip and crunch fodder refuse in 3 Streams winter goat yard; Collect and plan use of biochar from Sunday night burn, both as we integrate knowledge gained from Mark at Teltane Farm.
6 pm – 7: Cook and eat Supper.
7 pm – 9:30: Bird and Frog Song (and Coyote?) Goat Walk, Larkspur Morton. Request to Mike Shannon.

Thursday, July 13, 7 am: Breakfast
8 am – 12 noon: More Arborist Climbing Skills and Moving the Cut Tree Hulk; Throw Ball Use etc., hands-on mentoring by Eric Dayan, Licensed Arborist.
12 noon – 1:30 Lunch and swim.
1:30 pm – 2:30: Tree Fodder and Humans; Increased Medicinal Compounds in Stressed Plants Versus Healthy Plant Foods as Medicine, Steve Byers, Clinical Herbalist, with Eliza Greenman joining abt. apples.
2:30 pm – 5:30: Continue work on our Woodland Air Medow Demo Site, and storage Method Trials.
5:30 pm – 7: Cook, Eat, and discuss Carbon in Soil and Climate Challenges; Can Our Farm Micro-cosms Shift Culture?, Catrina Dimarzo, Paul Kramer, and Eliza Greenman.

Friday, July 14, 8 am: Breakfast
9 am – 12 noon: Exploration and Collection of Obscure Nut & Fruit Tree Genetics for Animal Fodder,
Pig Sustenance through Orchard Cleaning, and Pollarded Leaf Preferences of Hogs, all Eliza Greenman, Orchardist, Cider Specialist, Nurserywoman, Permaculture Designer, Forester.
Simultaneous Sow and Boar Opinions of Tree Foods, & observing Hog Responses to Soil & Saplings.
12:15 pm: Carpool 3 miles to 3 Streams Farm’s Belmont lot.
12:25 pm – 1:20, at 3 Streams lot with “For Sale” sign, just south of Belmont Town Office on Lincolnville Rd.: Picnic Lunch and consider Fodder Opportunities in Younger Tree Growth.
1:20 pm: Carpool 2 miles from 3 Streams Belmont lot to Jackson Regenerational Farm in Belmont, for
1:30 pm – 4:30, at Jackson Regenerational Farm, Belmont, ME: Developing a Savannah Style Tree Fodder System for Pigs, Poultry, Goat, and Cow, Initial Stages; Tour and Work Party, with Nick Jackson, Sarah Mahan and family.
5:30 pm – 7 (back at 3 Streams Farm): Cook and Eat, plus Introducing Unusual Nuts and Fruits into Maine Tree Communities; What Works?, Moe Martin, Hogback Mt., Montville, with Eliza and Shana as well, and Opportunities for Growing Chestnuts, the Progress of the Breeding Program, and Observations about Hazels, Chinkapins,  and Heartnuts, Eric Evans, American Chestnut Society, Camden.
Saturday, July 15, Group choice of schedule, to Complete Projects, Plan Next Steps, and Share Farewells.

Contacts: Eric Dayan 380-3095, Adam Lynn 357-7675 heightnerd@gmail.com, Dave Roche 287-2666 or 215-4918, Mark Fulford 525-7761 or 949-5644, Eliza Greenman 240-415-8247, Carol Kinsey 567-3056, Larkspur Morton 342-2459 or 322-2973, Steve Byers 205-2515, Catrina Dimarzo and Paul Kramer, 445-8258, Moe Martin 589-4377, Eric Evans 236-9635.
 
Boosting Climate Resilience and Biodiversity in Perennial Farm Ecosystems
through use of Air Meadow Pollarding.
Tree Fodder Seminar July 10 -16 (partial attendance invited) at 3 Streams Farm in Belfast, ME.
(Slotte, 2000)
The following Schedule is flexible with swimming, reading, or other breaks any time (3 ponds).
Participant consensus for changes; input is welcome.
Saturday evening and Sunday morning, land, settle and visit.
Sunday: 12:00 convene for lunch.
1:00 pm Shana Hanson presents an Overview.
2 :00 pm Farm Tour with questions and answers. Some pruning and hauling to feed goats.
5:00 pm share Hopes and Interests, and thoughts on Schedule while we prepare supper.
7:00 pm circle to Present about our Farms, in clear-cut with goats.

Monday: 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am Pruning Basics for Pollard Development; work open-grown and edge trees to learn structural and tree health concepts.  
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm Shana presents Initial Pruning on Tall Trees, Mike Jastram, Arborist presents Methods and Safety. Discussion and practice of Fresh Fodder Feeding Methods, while we create a supply of fodder for the goats. 
5:00 pm prepare supper.
6:30 pm peruse Shana’s Literature. Phone Interview with Michael Walder of Mahna Farm.

Tuesday: 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am Shana presents A Forest-Level View; Selection and Design considerations.
9:00 am Mike Jastram, Arborist presents Felling with the Understory in Mind
10 AM Billhook lesson with Benjamin Bouchard.  Fell, prune and lop in the woods to produce green matter. 
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm Mark Fulford presents Tree Contributions to Soil Health; Biochar, Fungi and Ecological Resilience. Look at various remains of ramial wood from feeding of tree fodder, to choose our “habits for our habitat.”
2:00 pm Instruction by Shana on Tying Sheaves, with practice on the morning’s green matter.
5:00 pm prepare supper.
6:30 pm Carol Kinsey of Seed Tree tells us about Tree Fodder in Nepal. Discussion of Real Economics.

Wednesday: 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am Shana Hanson leads Rack and Stack Design; we will choose our method and locate/gather poles.
10:00 am David Rocque, State Soil Scientist will teach us about Reading Soils for Tree Species Success.
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm phone Interview with Paul Hand of Bees and Trees, UK., while we Build a Rack. Add existing twig-leaf sheaves. Choose and harvest trees for more greenery.
4:00 pm Shana leads discussion of Seasonal Nutritional Windows of plant species, as we tie more sheaves.
5:00 pm prepare supper.
6:30 pm Browse Walk with Prof. Fred Servello’s custom Q and A document about his Deer Browse Research
 
Thursday: 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am continue to Practice Harvest Skills. Choose differring woodland areas to work.
10:30 am Shana leads consideration of Journaling and Data Collection Methods, as we add more sheaves.
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm Herbal Consultation on Tree Barks and Leaves with Stephen Byers, Herbalist, while we strip tea bark or play with raffia.
2:30 pm Review each other’s morning pruning, then continue harvest and storage racking.
5:00 pm prepare supper.
6:00 pm guest visit from Morten Moesswilde, State Forester (translator of German for Shana’s tree fodder studies). Discussion of Leaf Fodder in the European Historical Context, as we finish supper.
Walk to our sites, queries inc. tree pollination and Viable Species Populations and Spacing, plus Morten’s Forestry Thoughts and Offerings as he sees what we are doing.

Friday: 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am discuss people’s priorities to cover topics further; complete our harvest structures.
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm share our Home Plans for Tree Fodder, both ongoing projects and new thoughts.
2:00 pm continue to cover people’s priorities.
5:00 pm prepare supper.
7:00 pm Open No-Mic with music, stories or what-have-you.
Biochar Burn, or smaller fire, if not too dry and people want to do.

Saturday 7:00 am prepare breakfast.
8:00 am plan our public MOFGA sponsored "day tripping" presentation (happening at 1 pm).
Continue to work on people’s priorities.
11:30 optional dip in ponds.
12:00 lunch.
1:00 pm Lead members of the public in a MOFGA sponsored "Day Tripping" Tour.
3:00 pm Closing Circle.
4:00 pm adjourn.

$150 suggested contribution covers instruction and room or campsite plus meal ingredients for the week. 
$35 is suggested to attend one day, and $20/day suggested contribution for additional days.
$10 suggested donation to attend any single presentation. 

3 billhooks are available at cost, $61.77 each, but requested to be shared (plus Shana’s) during the seminar.

Call Shana at (207) 338-3301 FMI and to register.
3streamsfarmbelfastme.blogspot.com shanahanson@gmail.com 209 Back Belmont Rd., Belfast, ME 04915