Ten Years Growing Agroforestry
Agroforestry is a powerful and essential strategy for putting trees to work on farms and stabilizing the climate. Once mature, an acre of hazelnuts can sequester 18 tons of carbon in woody biomass alone. Think of the impact we will have as perennial crops like hazelnuts become more widely adopted.
In 2022, the Savanna Institute worked directly with 43 farmers and landholders to adopt agroforestry on 2,588 acres, with more on the horizon. This was a pilot year for this program, which offers assistance to landholders at no cost to them, and we are gearing up to work with more clients in a larger region this coming year.
The Savanna Institute enters its 10th year growing agroforestry in 2023, and our work is starting to bear fruit. Farmers across the Midwest are preparing to plant trees, while around the country communities are planning food forests, planting tree crops on public lands, and training the next generation of perennial farmers. The movement to perennialize agriculture and address climate change is gaining momentum, and you can be part of it.
Your gift of any amount will provide training and support for farmers looking to add agroforestry to their land, and support our research to develop the perennial crops that help heal the climate and nourish future generations.
As the year closes, please give as generously as you able. Help plant the seedlings for the future.
I also invite you to join us in the field in our tenth year of growing agroforestry: come out for a field day, sign on as an apprentice, or work with us to plan a perennial future for a place you love.
In gratitude,
Keefe Keeley
Update: December 31st
Thanks to your generosity, we met our match goal! This has been our most successful Year End Campaign ever and we can’t wait to carry this momentum into 2023.
As we move into our 10th year, we’re looking forward to leaning more intentionally into community, building more partnerships, and – of course – continuing to plant more trees on more acres. You’ve helped make this work possible for 9 years and, with your continued support, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for our 10th anniversary!
From all of us at the Savanna Institute, thank you and Happy New Year!
More from Perennial AF
Our 10-Year Perennial Report
When the Savanna Institute started in earnest in 2013 by a small volunteer group in Illinois, few supports existed for perennial farmers. Ten years later, a network of demonstration farms, technical service providers, and social enterprises now serve Midwest farmers that want to plant trees. This year’s Perennial Report is a retrospective on the Savanna Institute and our last decade’s worth of work to lay the groundwork for widespread agroforestry. Thank you to everyone who helped us grow along the way!
Canopy’s First Year
Well, there it is: Canopy’s inaugural year is in the books! And what a memorable year it was. We launched right into the worst of the supply chain crisis of early 2022, which delayed orders of carefully chosen equipment, followed by one of the wettest springs in Illinois recorded history, which cut our planting season in half. But thanks to the incredible effort and dedication of our team, we managed to plant over 57,000 trees – a success in our book.
🔊 Grazing on Solar Farms, Mobilizing Goats, and Finding Farm Dogs – with Aaron Steele
A few months ago, one of my coworkers asked me if I knew anything about solar grazing. She said that with all of the solar farms going in, it seemed like a major opportunity to get grazing animals back on the landscape. I said that I didn’t know much about it, but...
🔊 Thick as Thieves with Samantha Bosco
🔊 The Institute’s Roots: 10th Anniversary Conversation with Keefe Keeley and Kevin Wolz
🔊 Agroforestry and the Artist’s Way
🔊 Grazing on Solar Farms, Mobilizing Goats, and Finding Farm Dogs – with Aaron Steele
🔊 New Forest Farm Tour with Mark Shepard