Date/Time

End Time

2:30pm

Sponsoring Organization

Vermont Woodlands Association Vermont Tree Farm Program

2019 Tree Farmer of the Year Tour in Sheffield

Al Robertson invites you to enjoy a day at his Pfalzerwald Tree Farm #922, a 60-acre parcel in Sheffield, first enrolled in the American Tree Farm System in 1985.

There will be two morning tours of the property following a large loop; both tours are the same but starting at opposite ends to break up the group into more manageable sizes. The tours will be led by foresters Dan Kilborn and David Paganelli, as well as additional impromptu comments by my forester, Beth Daut and Liz Thompson, Director of Conservation Science, VT Land Trust. I’ll be roaming the property also, commenting. Highlights will include how weather has influenced the work, trail design & construction, European forestry techniques, wildlife, resiliency plantings, TSI, vernal pools, and harvesting. There will be a WoodMizer set up to mill cedar for NorthWoods Stewardship Center and VT Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) projects briefed by Sam Perron, the NorthWoods forester. And trail maps will be available for those who wish simply to hike the roughly 3 miles of trails and check out everything on their own. In the afternoon there will be a short third tour of the orchard and the cider operation and a hard cider tasting at the barn.

Lunch will be provided: catered by Craftsbury General Store

Parking for the event will not be at the house but off Blake Pond Road on my neighbor’s hay field, with a short walk to the tent site. Please look for the VWA yellow signs and arrows! No pets and the walks are not handicapped accessible.

Directions: Pfälzerwald is located in the town of Sheffield, in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont adjacent to I-91 between Lyndonville, north of St. Johnsbury, and Barton. Whether traveling north or south on I-91, get off on Exit 24, the Wheelock/ Sheffield exit. The exit puts you on Vermont Route 122.  Make a right turn on to Route 122.

Travel Route 122 north approximately 6 miles through Wheelock to Sheffield. (For those coming from the west, travel to the south end of VT Rte 16, on VT Rte 15 east of Hardwick,  and go north on VT Rte 16, turning on to the north end of VT Rte 122. Travel VT Rte 122 south to Sheffield). As you enter Sheffield, there is an intersection, with the Post Office on the south side. The road on the north side is Berry Hill Road. Turn and proceed up Berry Hill Road (VWA sign here!). Follow Berry Hill Road about 1.4 miles, to the intersection with Blake Pond Road/ Maple Row. Make a left on Blake Pond Road (VWA sign here!) and travel about .55 miles, past the Haskins log cabin on the right (460 Blake Pond Road), to the VWA sign on the right- the entrance to parking in their field just below the tree farm. Follow the parking attendant and signs to the tent.

 

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