| Like a packet of seeds, 2026 is a year with great promise at Gathering Ground. We have our first full season to grow vegetables at the Aznoe Farm, and we’re busy planning our improvements to infrastructure, soil, and rhythms of the farm.  Destination Door County Community Investment Fund Awards $66,000. We are excited to announce that we received $66,000 grant from Door County Community Investment Fund! This funding will support the construction of a new pavilion at our Lake View Farm, a wash/pack station for Aznoe’s Market Garden, and the development of trails and signage at both of our farms. We are thrilled to be able to expand access on our farms in these important and community-building ways. READ MORE Planting For The Future Campaign We launched the Planting For The Future campaign in October. I am pleased to share that we met the $50,000 match announced in November. This means that in less than six months we have received nearly $900,000 in donations and pledges. If you have not yet supported this effort, please consider giving a gift today.  Update From The Farm Growing with the Door County Food Pantry Coalition. This year we plan to double our offerings for the food pantries, with at least 4,000 pounds of produce delivered in 2026. Door County is one of the most food-insecure county’s in Northeast Wisconsin, and we are happy to be able step up what we grow and how we make it accessible. Gathering Ground inherits Birchwood Farm’s greens business with Mann’s Food Store and Hoot Blossom Farm’s farmers market produce. As these partner farms change their growing Our goal is to match the high quality these farms have maintained over the years and to keep a consistent supply of fresh, local produce available on the Island.We are making wine from our 2025 harvest with Mixed Meadia of Hatch Distillery in Egg Harbor. It will be available this summer, in bottles (with labels!!) around Washington Island and in their tasting room in Egg Harbor.  We are excited to welcome Becca Boogert to be our farm manager this year. She brings a love of the island and enthusiasm for providing her community with the most amazing, fresh produce. Becca was born and raised in Chicago, and has been visiting the Island since 2007. She got her Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science at the University of Illinois in 2025. After working for two years on a soy research farm at UIUC, Becca now joins the team at Gathering Ground as farm manager at Aznoe’s Market Garden. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, cooking, and spending time outdoors. She will start April 1, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her joining our team! We will also be welcoming two 6-month students in mid April as well as four new 10-week students in June. Update From The Chestnut Nursery Gathering Ground will be selling chestnut seedlings again in spring, 2026! Chestnuts are a great landscaping tree, providing annual nut harvest for wildlife and humans. They prefer loamy but well-draining soil with a neutral to acidic soil pH. Gathering Ground’s trees began bearing after about 5 years, with the annual harvest growing each year. As our chestnut orchard expands, start your own orchard with our trees. Then over time, we can compare notes on how the trees perform to find great varieties for northern climates! Against great odds, we are steadily identifying good chestnut genetics for northern growers with the ultimate goal of making them available to the public with our annual seedlings sale. “I have been ordering chestnut trees from Russell each of the past two springs. Russell has been very pleasant to work with. He is very knowledgeable and generous with his time assisting a budding orchardist.” — Chestnut grower Michael Ellis  Update From Kitchen & Calendar There’s a new events calendar on our website. Here are some highlights: WICHP Luncheon (March 12 at Noon). Russell and Alessandra will be sharing about Gathering Ground at WICHP’s March Luncheon. The theme will be nutrition and we are excited to share about what Gathering Ground is growing this year and more! Compost Class (April 2 at 10 am). This event hosted by the Washington Island Library will be held in the Rutledge Room. Come learn about reducing waste, building soil, and other fun things in the Composting 101 class. Seed Swap & Meet-n-Greet (April 17 at 1 pm). Don’t need all 100 broccoli seed from your seed packet? Come swap seed for something else. You will also get to meet our new farmer Becca. This event will be held at Aznoe Farm. Spring Book Club (April 25 at 2 pm). We will be reading Thinking with Trees, a book a poems by Jason Allen-Paisant. I will have four copies available on the Island, a gift of Fair Isle Books! The first 3 people to email me will get their own copy. The fourth copy will be added to Gathering Ground’s library, which will be available for borrowing. You can join this book club at Aznoe Farm or by Zoom.READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK and BOOK CLUB Want to get even more involved? Email Alessandra. I can help connect you to the committee or volunteer opportunities that fit your interests. |
Gathering Ground Receives Grant From Door County Community Investment Fund
Washington Island, WI – Gathering Ground is excited to announce that we have been awarded a generous grant of $66,000...
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