Forest Management at MFFC Forests are dynamic, diverse ecosystems shaped by wind, ice, insects, wildlife, inter-tree competition, rain, soils, and humans. At Merck, part of our mission is to demonstrate sustainable forestry. By managing our forests we can produce forest products and services that benefit us, while positively impacting our forest ecosystems. Here’s an inside …
Autumn is a time to enjoy the brilliant colors of changing leaves, the fragrance of pumpkin spice wafting in the air, the sweep of gorgeous vistas, and the sounds of animals scurrying about gathering and preparing for the winter to come. Here at Merck Forest, Fern and Arch, our draft horses, have been enjoying the beautiful weather …
Hiking past massive maple trees and sturdy stone walls, we are reminded of how old our Vermont landscape is. It’s easy to imagine that the trail you’re walking is as old as the stone walls themselves, but most often this is not the case. Here at Merck Forest our trails date back only to the …
Flashes, like glances at midnight fires, amidst endless green pass in the canopy overhead with each hike as the yellows, oranges and reds of September peep into our daily work at Merck Forest. It’s as if Autumn holds her paintbrush above us and little drops dye the trees before the full stroke of the brush comes …
Dear Outside World, It’s been a while since we’ve written, and that probably reflects life on the farm in the summer time. Since the last update, 44 fluffy lambs have been added to our flock! They are almost two months old and are growing fast, but are definitely still worth coming to visit. Peggy Sue’s …
Dear Outside World, Despite the snow today, on April 26th, flowers have finally started to bloom! Since our last foray into blog writing, Peggy Sue gave an outstanding performance delivering her piglets between the hours of 7pm and 7am. We apprentices had the novel experience of collecting the piglets as they were born, cleaning and …
Salem’s Lunch, Learn, and Play Program has been coming up every Wednesday for a few weeks now. The group of middle schoolers has been working with members of our staff to rehabilitate the cabin at Clark’s Clearing (see previous post). They have been making good progress:
This afternoon Kathryn and Tom will meet for a second time with team members of Be Brave, a group dedicated to informing, supporting and improving the lives of individuals affected by benign brain tumors and to drive research for a cure. “BE.BRAVE was formed by Riley Callen and Sarah Shehadi in 2015. Over the past four years …
The abandoned cabin at Clark’s Clearing is getting a major renovation this summer, thanks to a group of junior high students from Salem, NY. Over the past two weeks, and through the rest of the summer, the group will come up on Wednesdays and work with Ethan (MFFC forester) and Tom (Ex. Dir.) to …
Peggy Sue is due to have her piglets on the 23rd of July (just in time for the Snake Mountain Bluegrass and the Connor Sisters concert). For the past few weeks, she has been loving living at the bottom of the apple orchard, sometimes laying in the wet soil, sometimes rooting around for acorns, and …
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Merck Forest & Farmland Center is a 501(C3) non-profit organization. We are not affiliated with, nor do we receive support from Merck & Company, Inc., nor are we part of any government agency.
All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and are greatly appreciated!
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We are not affiliated with, nor do we receive annual support from Merck & Co. Inc.
We are not part of any government agency. • All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and are greatly appreciated!