An exciting new bill has been introduced proposing to return Belchertown’s Lampson Brook Farm to the Nipmucs, in collaboration with current farmers leasing land through the New England Small Farms Institute. This historic legislation would provide long-term leases for those farmers, who will have the opportunity to work alongside the Nipmuc people on their mutual goals of feeding our local community and nurturing the land for generations to come.

Amid rising operating costs, climate change impacts, and recent loss of critical federal funding, it’s no secret that small, locally facing farmers are struggling more than ever. Such unprecedented challenges call us to come together around our shared concerns.

Our right-to-farm community is full of people with differing values, backgrounds and mindsets. Despite those differences, one thing we can all agree on is that we need good food raised in our own communities, and we need to keep our farmland and forests safe and healthy.

The Nipmuc people have demonstrated their commitment and aptitude for soil restoration/maintenance, non-chemical approaches to growing produce, edible forest cultivation, and native species restoration, all of which are USDA-defined “climate smart” agricultural practices. They draw from a wealth of ancestral knowledge reaching back through time immemorial, and their approach comes with a generous dose of respect for all beings in our community, both human and non-human.

Their deep understanding of how to cultivate food and medicine in balance with natural systems will help to safeguard the land and feed our community handsomely — and they are eager to share their knowledge.

The farmers at the New England Small Farms Institute have been mainstays of our community for decades. They are our friends, neighbors, and respected land stewards. The institute’s commitment to providing land access to beginning farmers is of critical importance to Belchertown and beyond. The produce they bring to our tables through the tireless work and sacrifice that marks the life of a farmer has filled our bellies and fed the soul of western Massachusetts year after year.

These groups share a passion for stewarding the land and for feeding their families and neighbors from our own precious soils. Can you imagine how the combined efforts of two such groups could supercharge our local food web?

The work ethic, know-how, and commitment of our beloved Small Farms Institute farmers, combined with new revelations from Nipmuc’s ancestral knowledge accumulated over millennia, would be transformative.

Our lands would be stewarded again by the original conservators, in collaboration with the local farmers we know and love. The Nipmuc will invite in community members for learning opportunities, youth programs, and land access to revitalize our relationship with the farmland and forests on Lampson Brook Farm. All such programs echo the existing uses of the land and seek to build on what our community already enjoys at this historic site.

In a time when our country feels so divided and so many of us feel uncertain about the future of the environment at large, this project would be a beacon of hope, teamwork, and togetherness around shared goals of food security, environmental conservation, and strong community ties.

Let western Massachusetts stand as an inspiration to others to bridge what seems to divide us. Stand in support of this incredible legislation, and let’s get started on a new era of food sovereignty right here in the 413!

Elly Vaughan lives in Belchertown, where she owns and operates Phoenix Fruit Farm.