Miller Ward on our job as humans
Recently I got to spend some time at Yellowbud Farm in Northfield, MA. I was there for a NOFA-VT event—a gathering of farmers working together to vision and build a regional agroforestry system. We got a tour of Yellowbud on the first evening, followed by an incredible forest-sourced feast featuring dishes like acorn noodles with sautéed mulberry leaves and hickory oil, forest-raised chicken with seaberries, roasted chestnuts, and so much more!
I’d spoken with Miller Ward and Jesse Marksohn of Yellowbud before, for a Local Food Report on producing yellowbud hickory oil. Yellowbud hickory is not a tree I focused on in any substantial way in Feed Us with Trees, but if I could go back, I’d add it in. It’s one of our keystone native nut trees in eastern North America and also has incredible food potential—think olive oil scale, but with a local tree.
While we chatted over dinner, Miller told me he’d written his masters thesis on the role of humans as a keystone species in North America. He said it was an arc-gis story storymap, and I asked him to send me. With his permission, I am sharing the link here, because it is a wealth of incredible information, quotes, and images—and an inspired vision for our collective ecological future. In addition to doing a beautiful job of outlining the importance of humans in managing silvopasture and prescribed fire systems, he also explores our role as partners with beavers, in managing large woody debris to restore river and wetland systems, in aquaculture and oyster farming in saltwater systems, and in dryland water restoration.
If you’re interested in reading more, check out Miller’s storymap. Since my book came out, I’ve heard from so many people that they are excited by our potential as a keystone species—by the idea that we humans can be good for the land, and that the land can be better with rather than without our management. Miller’s storymap is a great reminder that there are so many different ways to partner with our living systems, and a roadmap for anyone looking to get involved.
