Hi! My name is Samantha Parker (pictured left) and for the past 10 weeks (the end of May to the end of July) I had the chance to be an Events Intern at Wright-locke Farm. I also had the chance to learn so much more about this phenomenal place.  I am currently a rising junior at Boston University’s school of Hospitality and as a requirement of the program, we have to do something called “work experience hours.” This requirement is two 400-hour jobs or internships and this summer I decided to do my first one at Wright-Locke Farm. Although I was considered to be Amy Rindskopf’s intern helping and learning about events, I learned and experienced all the amazing things that happen at this Farm. 

For me, choosing the right major was very difficult. Throughout my college experience, I changed my major numerous times, but when transferring to Boston University I did not get into the program I initially applied to. When this happened I had no idea what to do because I knew that Boston University was the school I wanted to be at;  so I talked to an advisor and he recommended Hospitality to me. I instantly realized this is exactly what I should be doing. Knowing how many different jobs and job fields you can do with a hospitality major, I didn’t want to waste any time figuring out what I wanted to do, so I started applying to jobs and internships. This is when I saw the posting for Wright-Locke Farm — a farm only 20 minutes from my home town in Melrose. 

When I came across this job posting, I was surprised to learn that there was a farm in Winchester. In the 16 years I have lived in Melrose, I had never heard of this amazing place, but I am so glad that I discovered it. I knew as soon as I went for my interview for this position that this would be the perfect place for me to intern. One reason being that I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for a career when I graduate and this internship for events would give me the most exposure to the event industry. You see, the Farm does such an array of events — from 1st birthday parties to graduations to weddings, etc. Another reason being that each client is not only renting the barn space, but they are responsible for finding all their own vendors. Coordinating between Farm, client, and vendor gave me the knowledge of so many local vendors that I would not have gotten anywhere else (as most venues work exclusively with specific vendors). Throughout my time here I did exactly what I intended to do which was to learn about coordinating events and getting to size up local vendors.

The best part about being an intern at Wright-Locke has been the trust the senior staff had in me, especially Amy! She gave me the opportunity to jump in and help out at events as much as possible — which, for me, is the best way to learn. I am a very hands-on learner and the way events run at the Farm, you have to be able to jump right in and deal with anything that is thrown your way. I did just that, which let me learn much more about events than I ever imagined. Alongside the event management side of things, I also had the opportunity to work the Farm Stand. This gave me the opportunity to learn how closely tied this farm truly is to the community. I have loved my time here at the Farm so much that, although my internship is complete, I wont be quite leaving yet. I am happy to say that I’ll be working in the Farm Stand until I go back to school in September!

I am so grateful that I was given this chance to work at Wright-Locke Farm, because I learned so much and got to experience an amazing and magical place!

May 2019

Written by volunteer at Wright-Locke Farm, Betsy Block

When the All-Seasons Barn goes up on the farm next fall, it will provide a comfortable indoor space for Wright Locke to offer programs, classes, demonstrations, music and more, all year long. The farm staff envisions the barn as a welcoming place where greater Bostonians of all ages can learn, connect and be inspired. An important part of this vision is continuing to expand the farm’s commitment to sustainability far beyond farming. But the All-Seasons Barn won’t just be a place to educate locals about carbon emissions and low-impact living; the barn itself will actually embody these ideals. In this way, the barn will be a living model of how to move toward a more sustainable and humane future for us all.

Susan McPhee, Energy Conservation Coordinator and farm board member, explains the beautiful synchrony that will power the building. First, the temperature inside will rely on geothermal heating and cooling. Very deep wells – descending up to 500 feet into the ground – call on the earth’s static temperature of around 55 – 65 degrees F to provide cool air in the summer and to bring relatively warm air (warmer than a Boston winter!) up in winter. The heat gap on cold winter days between the somewhat chilly “earth air” and a more comfortable temperature will be bridged by a motor, but even the small amount of energy needed to power it will come from electricity provided by rooftop solar panels. These panels will also light the building, run computers, keep the kitchen up and running for cooking classes and on and on. Speaking of lighting, the farm staff is looking into highly efficient LEDs.

Furthermore, notes Colleen Ryan Soden, LEED AP BDC, IDC, who is the sustainability advisor for the barn project, the farm is looking into the possibility of having the barn walls built offsite. Doing this provides several benefits: the walls are never out in any weather so there’s no concern about moisture, the project can be completed faster because it’s all done in one place by one coordinated team, and it promotes what she calls a “closed-loop system,” where you can get “an ultra-tight envelope,” greatly minimizing (if not practically eliminating) leaks around windows and doors. Finally, the walls will be super-insulated, thereby retaining all that cool air in summer and warm air in winter.

It’s a win-win-win-win any way you look at it.

What’s the downside to all of these earth-loving systems? They cost more upfront to purchase and install, there’s no doubt about it. However, not only do geothermal and other earth-friendly systems last much longer than boilers – up to 10 times longer, or even more – when you amortize the upfront costs and factor in governmental incentives, the return on investment shows that doing things the right way from the start makes the most sense environmentally, yes, but also financially.  

Still, building a low-impact, high-quality, earth-friendly barn is not cheap. There are always costs to any project. The question is, how much cost, in what form, and who will really be footing the bill in the end? Soden again: “If we make the right choices in the beginning, we reap the rewards in the long term. We save money and ameliorate climate change impacts. It’s the way we all need to go.”

Water’s another consideration, and the farm is looking at ways to use non-potable storm water for toilets or irrigation. This is a double positive because capturing rainwater can also mitigate flooding. Energy modeling exercises will help determine which features the farm wants to pursue when considering both energy footprint and cost; e.g., whether to fund superinsulation or triple pane windows, for example.

“First, people need to be healthy and happy in this space,” Soden asserts. “Then we want to make our impact as small as possible from a carbon standpoint. And finally, we want to use the barn as an educational tool – to show how we can make beautiful, vibrant spaces that are economically feasible and also enjoyable for people to use.”

After conversations around sustainability with committed farm supporters like you, we are excited to report that we’ve received a $75,000 match challenge earmarked to help Make the All Seasons Barn GREEN.  With your generous support, the campaign will cover nearly half of the cost to use geothermal, solar, and other energy efficient approaches. Make your donation by June 21st to be counted towards the GREEN Match and leave a lasting legacy.

Right now, your donation has 2x the power to do good!

February 2019

Written by Executive Director, Archie McIntyre

I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.  The beginning of the year is a great time for resolutions.  Usually, I shoot too high, but this year I’m starting with a modest resolution – one that I have a reasonable chance of meeting throughout the year.

I drink a lot of coffee.  Some are surprised with how much.  Let’s just say it’s more than a couple of cups a day.  And, no, my resolution is not to cut down the amount of coffee consumed.  So far it seems to be working for me.  What I need to do is cut down the number of disposable cups that I consume.  A frequent Starbucks’ visitor, I probably go through hundreds of cups and plastic lids per year.  Imagine Starbucks’ environmental footprint of single use cups and lids worldwide.

Do I really need to be a part of it?  I think not.  With a small effort and a bit of forethought, I don’t have to be part of this problem.  I can bring my own mug for coffee or bring my reusable shopping bag to the market.  It’s a small step that’s not going to solve all of our problems, probably no more than one drop in an ocean of water.  But I have to start somewhere and my small action can have important meaning to me and maybe someone around me.

So what has this to do with the Farm?

Members of the Wright-Locke Farm Board and staff have spent the last couple of months working on our 5-year strategic plan.  We’ll be doing many of the things we currently do – it seems to be working pretty well – but we’ll start consciously evaluating what it is we do through the lens of sustainability. I take the liberty of quoting from a section of the Plan:

“Now in its second decade, Wright-Locke Farm is a thriving organization garnering strong interest and enthusiasm from surrounding communities. We see many opportunities to further increase our beneficial impact across many segments of the community, leveraging and expanding ongoing farm facilities and activities. We seek to ensure that Wright-Locke Farm remains a healthy, fiscally sound, vibrant resource, broadening its contributions to the community well into the future.

The farm also finds itself at an inflection point, not only in its own history — having now turned uncertain beginnings into an established and valued center of community life — but also in a historic moment of opportunity, as a local agricultural enterprise in a wider society increasingly unsettled by the threat of climate change and by growing inequality, including unequal access to nature and rural or farm experiences. We believe that by taking action to address each of these issues, we are in a unique position to demonstrate to a broader community the positive, key values of

• Environmental Stewardship
• Social Responsibility
• Financial Sustainability”

Let’s use the perspective of a “Triple Bottom Line” to evaluate all that we do and measure our impact – both positive and negative.  Like my disposable cups, our undertakings will have a modest impact on our global issues, but an impact nonetheless.  We all have to start trying.  Wright-Locke Farm is just 20 acres out of a total of 4,032 acres in Winchester.  Just a drop in an ocean.  But if we add up all our small, individual efforts we can start to make a dent.  Here are some of the things were undertaking at the farm and how they fit into our new model of a Triple Bottom Line evaluation:

Farm-wide Environmental Audit

To better understand where were going, it’s good to have a handle on where we are.  This year, we will undertake a complete farm-wide environmental audit.  What is our gas and diesel consumption for our tractors, mowers and other farm vehicles and implements? How much electricity do we use on farm, fuel oil to heat the farmhouse, and water to irrigate our fields and wash our vegetables?  What a great project for an environmental intern from one of our universities or graduate schools.  (If anyone comes to mind, please let us know.)

Use of Disposables, Recyclables, Reusables

Speaking of environmental audits, how about our use of disposables and plastics?  All of us on staff know we can, and need, to do a better job.  Areas that we’ll start to explore include how do we reduce single use containers for our Farm Stand and for our many public and private events?  What alternatives do we have for plastic produce bags that are a great convenience to our customers at our farmers markets? Winchester has implemented a town-wide single-use plastic bag ban. Due to our size, the Farm is probably exempt, but we will voluntarily comply because it’s not only the right thing to do, but we feel reflects our persona as an organization.

There are many other things we’d like to do to become more sustainable as a farm and organization.  Too many to explore in this short blog.  Suffice it to say that we will start taking the necessary steps to make sure we’re doing our part to help our fragile ecosystem and to become more a part of the solution and less a part of the problem.  If we all do our small part to become the solution– here in Winchester and at the State and regional level – pretty soon what was just a drop in the ocean might become a wave.

All Seasons Barn

Many of you have seen our plans.  A heated barn will allow us to extend our programming to 12 months per year, strengthening our financial sustainability as an organization by becoming a year-round operation.  Through careful design, use of materials and green technology, we are working to make this a “net zero” project, one that generates more clean energy than it uses.  Central to this goal will be a geothermal heating and cooling system and a solar array to power all of our electric power at the Farm.

Solar Power Project 

For a while now, we have felt that the farm should generate electricity with its own solar array.  The logical place for an array is on our south facing roofs of the 1827 Barn and Squash House.  Due to the buildings’ historic status, we have avoided pursuing this option in the past and sought other options, including ground mount locations around the Farm.  After lengthy soul searching, we have come to the conclusion that a ground mount option would have far greater visual impact (and cost) on our historic farmscape.  So we are back to pursuing solar panels on our two main barns.  This is a tough decision, but many of us feel that the time is right to make the difficult choices but reasonable sacrifices to mitigate negative climate impacts.

The Wright-Locke Conservancy Board, Winchester Historical Commission and the Winchester Select Board have all voted unanimously to support this option.  Now we must convince the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) and our numerous visitors and constituents that this is the right approach. For those of you interested in learning more, here’s a link to a detailed explanation of the project and some photos of what the panels would look like.  I think you’ll agree that the plan makes every effort to minimize the visual impact on the buildings and farm.