Welcome to our beginner's raised-bed design workshop, where we'll guide you through the exciting process of food gardening in your own backyard! From crop rotation to soil preparation, and maintenance tips to keep your beds thriving, we'll share our organic, non-intrusive farming principles to lay the foundation for healthy soil and robust plant growth. We'll explore the elements of good soil composition and share tips on how to prepare your beds for a successful harvest. 

For some hands-on brainstorming, bring your ideas and a photo of your raised beds! (or a photo of where you plan to build them.)  Our hope is for you to leave with the tools and resources to create your own personalized plan for your own choice of crops and timing. We will have a seed catalog and crop recommendations.

This workshop will be led by three of our amazing staff members: Celia, Jonathan, and Amanda. They ask that you measure your growing space and bring your dimensions to this workshop!

Tickets are sliding scale:

6 tickets are available at $35

6 tickets are available at $25

3 tickets are available at $15

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Looking for guidance in designing your home landscape?

Keen on enhancing pollinator habitat around your home? Join Karine Duteil for a hands-on workshop focusing on the basic principles of landscape design inspired by natural ecosystems. Participants are encouraged to bring a photo or a sketch of the space they would like to beautify, and any documents they might want to share. They will come away from the workshop with tips and resources to help them build their envisioned landscape. The workshop will take place both indoors and outdoors, rain or shine: dress accordingly!

Space is Limited!

Tickets are sliding scale: $15-$35

6 available tickets at $35

6 available tickets at $25

3 available tickets at $15

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Learn the Art of Sourdough Bread Making

Join us for our first sourdough bread making workshop with mother daughter team Angela and Celia. Here we will walk through the steps of mixing, stretching, folding, baking, and enjoy some delicious sourdough bread onsite. Attendees will take home their own 150 year old french starter and instructions on how to recreate a loaf in your own kitchen.

Angela and Celia will share their stories about how bread is integral to their culture and childhood, share ties between how the sourdough starter is passed down and emigrated to the US from France, and how Angela's predecessors immigrated from Poland and landed in NY. We’re excited to discuss sourdough’s ties to Northern Europe and create a connection to family and history through the act of baking and breaking bread.

Tickets are sliding scale

4 tickets are available at $35

4 tickets are available at $25

4 tickets are available at $20

Meet Your Instructors

Celia Brubaker (pictured left) is a local artist, baker and a member of our farm crew. She derives her inspiration for art and baking from the natural world and is excited to share those passions with you all. 

Angela Heithecker (pictured right) is a gardener, designer and self-taught baker all of which feed her addiction to create.  She appreciates simple, delicious, homemade foods that take time to prepare. As an adult she has mastered the craft of combining water, flour, and salt to create her own robust loaves with exquisite flavor. Angela owns HOBNOB design, an interior design firm in Philadelphia, PA.

Is there room for climate conversation in your life?

How are you coping with the delivery of fresh images, headlines and new science about climate-related events every day? Climate-anxiety is a well-known term and experience today, but few people are having conversations about how climate change affects their life.

Come share how you feel about this current crisis in our Climate Cafe, hosted by Elsie Iwase and Muriel Stallworth. A Climate Cafe is a space for connection - with nature, with people in our community, and with ourselves. Our time will be focused on sharing and listening, inspired by the beautiful farm nature setting.

There will be coffee, tea, treats and good conversation!

FREE TO ATTEND, donations accepted a the door.

Suggested donation $5-$10 per person.

Through her work as a strategy consultant and facilitator, Elsie Iwase has collaborated with leading climate organizations, leaders and activists, including Paul Hawken and  Regeneration Project. Her work in environmental justice made it clear that climate is our shared wake up call to reconnect with a deeper sense of belonging and interdependence with nature and other humans.

Working as an educator for the past 25 years, Muriel Stallworth has seen first-hand the weight of climate anxiety on both adults and children in her school community. Too often, feelings of fear and guilt obstruct the path of learning, create a false sense of powerlessness and stifle the conversation. Muriel’s goal is to empower people with their potential to restore nature’s integrity and balance. 

The climate crisis may be alarming to our children, making us angry and breaking our hearts. We believe we have to learn how to work through these feelings so we can be there to support the people we love, preserve space for joy and take meaningful action. In this informative and experiential talk, hear about the latest research on climate mental health and learn strategies for how to talk about it, especially with young people.

Friday | November 3rd

6:30pm-7:30pm

Stronger Together Small Farm Resiliency Fundraiser

Join us with your friends and community to help raise the critical funds needed to keep small farms in the Hudson Valley alive and thriving. We invite you to play an important role in helping to build community and raise awareness of the challenges facing small farms today. In an ever-changing climate, we care about the health of our neighboring small-scale farms, which feed our community.

Join us on Wednesday September 27th 6:30pm-9pm here at White Feather Farm, a 501c3 non-profit farm dedicated to connecting community, culture, and land. 

Our goal for this community gathering, with local food and spirits, is to raise $25,000 for our Small Farm Resiliency Fund in support of multiple small-scale farmers in our area. All proceeds will go directly to farms within the Hudson Valley in partnership with American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund (BFF). BFF exists to assist farmers in successfully launching, growing, and sustaining farms in the face of forces impacting the food and agricultural systems, including the COVID-19 pandemic, changing markets, severe weather, and climate change. American Farmland Trust seeks to uplift, support, and amplify the work of a wide range of farmers through this program.

Join us immediately after Woodstock Film Festival’s screening of Feeding Tomorrow, Wed, Sep 27th, 5:00 PM @ Bearsville Theater.

We are excited to partner with the creators of Feeding Tomorrow, a new documentary that tells an interconnected story of how food interacts with and transforms every part of our lives. Filmmaker, Chef, and Food advocate Oliver English will be present to discuss his ideas and findings about our current food systems.

Farmers in the Hudson Valley have a long tradition of cultivating the soil to provide the very life-sustaining foods we need while keeping this cultural heritage of small farms alive. We hope you can join us for this important opportunity to help those people in our community who might be in need of your support now.

Ticket and Donation Information

* SOLD OUT * // Tickets are $85.00/per person, space is limited!

Wednesday September 27th 6:30pm-9:00pm

White Feather Farm | 1389 Rt 212 Saugerties, NY 12477

Special thank you to our local spirit sponsors: Westkill Brewing and Unfiltered Wine and Spirits.

Can’t make it to the fundraiser but will still like to support? You can make a donation to the Small Farm Resiliency Fund. We appreciate your support!

Stronger Together Small Farm Resiliency Fundraiser and Community Gathering is underwritten by The Lozen Foundation; all proceeds go directly to the American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Futures Fund.

Link to Stronger Together Small Farm Resiliency Fund | PRESS KIT

We are so excited to invite back Renee Baumann to share her wisdom of cattail weaving and basketry. This all-day intensive course designed to introduce you to several basketry techniques that you can use with cattail leaves. Each student will go home with a complete small handbag made entirely out of this local, wild and renewable resource. This workshop is for beginner to intermediate weavers who want to dive into a medium-sized functional handbag basket.

Saturday September 16th

9:30am-4:30pm

Attendees should bring their own bagged lunch as well as refillable water bottle.

Tickets are sliding scale $60-$120 + material fee of $20 (material fee paid cash or venmo to instructor on day of course )

Two Tickets at $60 + $20 material fee

Three Tickets at $95 + $20 material fee

Three Tickets at $120 + $20 material fee

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Community harvest of cattail leaves with Renee Baumann! Come learn to harvest cattail leaves which will be woven into baskets in the next year!Spend a day (or part of a day) in a wetland and learn to sustainably harvest this abundant local plant material. This is a volunteer/exchange helping to make future classes in basketry possible. Gain some knowledge, spend time with plant-curious folks and trade your labor for a discounted basketry experience later.

All community harvest volunteers will receive one free materials voucher for our upcoming basketry workshops at White Feather Farm (Cattail Handbag Workshop 9/16 + Cattail Weaving Workshop Series October 2023).

Free to Attend!

Space is limited, reserve your spot today.

The day following the roundtable, “Seed Saving: Biodiversity, Cultural Preservation and Climate Resiliency,” Nate Kleinman of the Experimental Farm Network will lead us through the practice of seed saving with a thorough overview of topics like seed types, pollination, isolation, harvesting, processing, storage and libraries. The workshop will provide useful information for people who want to start seed saving or those who want to expand an existing library. There will be hands-on demonstration with different crops that are in season too.

Tickets are sliding scale: $10-$20

8 available tickets at $20

5 available tickets at $15

7 available tickets at $10

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Nate Kleinman was born in Philadelphia. He graduated Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2004. He worked in a wide range of jobs, from landscaper to spotlight operator to office manager before realizing he needed to pursue a life of activism. Since then he has mainly worked in politics and organizing, though he quit his last “real job” in 2012 (as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union). He is grateful to be able to consider himself equal parts farmer and organizer today. As a volunteer, Nate has been involved in efforts ranging from the Sudan Freedom Walk campaign to Occupy Sandy. He helped found InterOccupy.net, an open communication platform for activists. He ran for U.S. Congress in 2012 and was called “the first Occupy candidate” by Politico. He has served on the Executive Board of the Project for Nuclear Awareness (PNA), the Cumberland County (NJ) Long Term Recovery Group, the Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN), and GMO Free PA. He started the Baederwood Cultural Heritage Garden Project in 2009, his first experiment with networked seed-saving. He is a member of the Seed Advisory Committee of the Non-GMO Project. As a plant breeder and experimenter, Nate has a broad range of interests, but he is most excited at the moment by sorghum, chestnuts, perennial kale, mayapples (Podophyllum), Crambes, and currants (Ribes). He co-founded the Experimental Farm Network in 2013 to create an open-source platform for facilitating collaboration in plant breeding and other agricultural research on an unpredented scale. The ultimate aim of EFN is to develop new crops and systems for climate change mitigation.

Seed saving is an age-old tradition that is both practical and economical, yet in today’s world it is also has urgent cultural, political and existential implications. White Feather Farm hosts a roundtable conversation to explore the “why” of seed saving with plant breeder and organizer Nate Kleinman (Experimental Farm Network), artist researcher Vivien Sansour (Palestine Heirloom Seed Library) and farmer organizer Craig Jon Marcklinger (Sweet Freedom Farm, Wild Amaranth Projects), moderated by Brooke Singer (WFF’s Director of Farm Innovation). Each presenter will discuss their personal connection to seeds and the stories they tell, as well as address the larger systemic issues that seed saving engages.

Nate Kleinman was born in Philadelphia. He graduated Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2004. He worked in a wide range of jobs, from landscaper to spotlight operator to office manager before realizing he needed to pursue a life of activism. Since then he has mainly worked in politics and organizing, though he quit his last “real job” in 2012 (as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union). He is grateful to be able to consider himself equal parts farmer and organizer today. As a volunteer, Nate has been involved in efforts ranging from the Sudan Freedom Walk campaign to Occupy Sandy. He helped found InterOccupy.net, an open communication platform for activists. He ran for U.S. Congress in 2012 and was called “the first Occupy candidate” by Politico. He has served on the Executive Board of the Project for Nuclear Awareness (PNA), the Cumberland County (NJ) Long Term Recovery Group, the Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN), and GMO Free PA. He started the Baederwood Cultural Heritage Garden Project in 2009, his first experiment with networked seed-saving. He is a member of the Seed Advisory Committee of the Non-GMO Project. As a plant breeder and experimenter, Nate has a broad range of interests, but he is most excited at the moment by sorghum, chestnuts, perennial kale, mayapples (Podophyllum), Crambes, and currants (Ribes). He co-founded the Experimental Farm Network in 2013 to create an open-source platform for facilitating collaboration in plant breeding and other agricultural research on an unpredented scale. The ultimate aim of EFN is to develop new crops and systems for climate change mitigation.

Craig Jon Marcklinger farms for the future of food security and sovereignty by decentralizing seed access and radically diversifying the crop genetics in his fields. He was born in Ohio to a family of Western New Yorkers and he spent formative years in New Jersey, Miami and Haiti. Jon honors his learning lineage with beloved Haitians, who schooled him in resistance and true peasant agriculture during his time in Haiti and as an organizer in South Florida’s refugee community. A fluent speaker of Caribbean Spanish and Haitian Kreyòl he spent three years hosting a local radio show as part of his organizing work. After years working on farms in Kansas, South Florida and Maryland, Jon landed in the Hudson Valley, NY and has spent the last four years in collaboration with Jalal Sabur and the farmers of Sweet Freedom Farm. Jon now runs the Wild Amaranth Projects based in Germantown, NY. Wild Amaranth’s mission is to bring long term food security to the Northeast through the development and dissemination of low-input, genetically diverse staple crop seeds, and holds a future goal of developing a community seed cleaning facility and mill.

Vivien Sansour is an artist, researcher, and writer. She uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. Vivien founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world. As an extension of this project, she created The Traveling Kitchen, a social engagement project aimed at bringing to the forefront conversations about climate crisis, food politics, and the imagining of new worlds.  Her work as an artist and scholar has been showcased internationally. As a writer, Vivien has written for magazines such as E-fluxx, Mold Magazine, and The Forward, where she was featured as a food columnist. An enthusiastic cook, Vivien works to bring threatened varieties “back to the dinner table to become part of our living culture rather than a relic of the past.” This work has led her to collaborate with award-winning chefs, including Anthony Bourdain and Sammi Tamimi. A former Harvard University Fellow, Vivien is currently the Distinguished Artistic Fellow at Bard College where she premiered her art performance, “The Belly is A Garden." 

Guided Mediation at White Feather Farm

Our monthly full moon meditations offer participants an opportunity to connect more deeply with their bodies, the land, and the natural world around us - including the unique energetic resonance of the full moon. Themes of embodiment, deep listening, impermanence, cycles, and true presence will be explored experientially. We will begin with some simple Qi Gong movements which will bring participants into harmony with themselves and the living environment and help to settle the mind. These will be followed by a guided seated meditation under the full moon designed to bring participants into a space of profound openness, presence and awareness. At the conclusion of the evening we allow time to discuss the impacts of the meditation.

Tickets are sliding scale: $5-$20

6 available tickets at $20

3 available tickets at $12

3 available tickets at $5

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

An intro to fermentation with Bryana Shevlin

Fermentation is one of the oldest methods for preserving and increasing the health benefits and digestibility of the foods we eat. While kimchi and kombucha have become increasingly popular in our society over the past decade, not many people feel empowered to make these simple ferments at home. In this workshop, your instructor Bryana Shevlin will offer you a hands-on experience in making both kimchi and kombucha. Participants will take home a jar of soon to be kimchi as well as a scoby to start their own kombucha batch.

Tickets are sliding scale: $15-$35

5 available tickets at $35

4 available tickets at $25

3 available tickets at $15

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Learn about the art of Cyanotype printmaking at White Feather Farm

This 3-hour workshop introduces how to create beautiful handmade blueprints using camera-less photography. Cyanotype is one of the oldest alternative photographic processes that was developed in 1852. It uses non-toxic chemicals, ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide to create a UV sensitive solution which produces vibrant Prussian blue colors. Participants will use plants and leaves from the farm to compose a photographic image, called a photogram, to take home. An optional toning technique will be introduced to participants wanting to experiment with different color hues.

Tickets are sliding scale: $15-$35

5 available tickets at $35

4 available tickets at $25

3 available tickets at $15

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

Is there room for climate conversation in your life?

How are you coping with the delivery of fresh images, headlines and new science about climate-related events every day? Climate-anxiety is a well-known term and experience today, but few people are having conversations about how climate change affects their life.

Come share how you feel about this current crisis in our Climate Cafe, hosted by Elsie Iwase and Muriel Stallworth. A Climate Cafe is a space for connection - with nature, with people in our community, and with ourselves. Our time will be focused on sharing and listening, inspired by the beautiful farm nature setting.

There will be coffee, tea, treats and good conversation!

Through her work as a strategy consultant and facilitator, Elsie Iwase has collaborated with leading climate organizations, leaders and activists, including Paul Hawken and  Regeneration Project. Her work in environmental justice made it clear that climate is our shared wake up call to reconnect with a deeper sense of belonging and interdependence with nature and other humans.

Working as an educator for the past 25 years, Muriel Stallworth has seen first-hand the weight of climate anxiety on both adults and children in her school community. Too often, feelings of fear and guilt obstruct the path of learning, create a false sense of powerlessness and stifle the conversation. Muriel’s goal is to empower people with their potential to restore nature’s integrity and balance. 

Tickets are free to reserve!

Space is limited.

Guided Mediation at White Feather Farm

Our monthly full moon meditations offer participants an opportunity to connect more deeply with their bodies, the land, and the natural world around us - including the unique energetic resonance of the full moon. Themes of embodiment, deep listening, impermanence, cycles, and true presence will be explored experientially. We will begin with some simple Qi Gong movements which will bring participants into harmony with themselves and the living environment and help to settle the mind. These will be followed by a guided seated meditation under the full moon designed to bring participants into a space of profound openness, presence and awareness. At the conclusion of the evening we allow time to discuss the impacts of the meditation.

Tickets are sliding scale: $5-$20

6 available tickets at $20

3 available tickets at $12

3 available tickets at $5

learn more about our inspiration for sliding scale framework here

After a winters nap the farm and crew at White Feather are excited to invite you to our Open House! We will be relaunching our weekly onsite farm stand (Saturdays 9am-3pm) that offers certified organic produce, free range happy eggs, and our famous maple syrup. Come roam the grounds and meet our feathered flock (of 38 chickens + one turkey). We are also offering:

• Farm Tours (two guided tours available at 12:30pm and 2:30pm) led by our Farm Manager, Dallas McCann.

• Live Blue Grass Music (12:30pm & 1:30pm) by Conor Wenk, a cross genre, multi instrumentalist and luthier based out of Woodstock NY. He builds custom instruments by hand, weaving them together as a one man band in a way that has to be seen to be believed. With influences like Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, Doc Watson and Alison Krauss, Conor provides an authentic bluegrass experience in this unmissable one man performance.

• Flower Therapy Table (1:00pm-2:00pm) Bring your gardening qualms, questions, and queries to address with long time Passionate Plant Maven (& staff member), Kris Garnier. She’s happy to help tackle problems you may be having with your home garden, flowerbed, or house plants. Photos of your plant issues are encouraged!

• Biochar + Charcoal Making Demo (1pm-2pm) with Bill Hilgendorf + Muriel Stallworth. Explore how to make your own charcoal sticks with the pyrolysis technique using fallen willow sticks from the farm. Learn about fighting climate change by disrupting the carbon cycle through carbon sequestration and create charcoal artworks on the spot! 

• Ladybug Safari (2pm-3pm) In Search of the Nine-Spotted Ladybug. Did you know that ladybugs can come with up to 13 spots, and in all shades of red? One beautiful deep red ladybug with nine spots once was the most common in the North-East, but is now extremely rare. Join us on a photo-safari to document all ladybugs that we can find on the farm!

The Ground Up Food Truck will be onsite with food and refreshments available for purchase.

This is a family friendly event :)

Tickets are free to reserve, Farm Tour space is limited.