BARRINGTON – The osprey have departed from Hundred Acre Cove. Many of the bright leaves on the maple trees have fallen, succumbing to the recent weekend of high winds. The cover crops of winter rye, clover and vetch have turned much of the four acres at the Barrington Farm School into a sea of green, replenishing the soil.

On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 4, the Barrington Farm School hosted its first annual harvest celebration at the former Vendituoli farm off Federal Road, which the nonprofit group purchased in February with the goal to preserve and revitalize it as a working farm.

Call it the time of the season. More than 60 people, including four generations of Barrington residents, attended the celebration, which included a sumptuous harvest meal of roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, all cooked over an open pit.

About a dozen young children, the future generation of farmers, scurried about the farm, delighting in the open-air festivities and the smoky aroma of fresh roasting food.

Tim Faulkner, one of the community group’s leaders, spoke in a kind of farmer’s quiet, reserved parlance, choosing his words carefully when he talked to ConvergenceRI about what had been learned during the first year of working the farm.

Faulkner paused, carefully considering his response: “Patience,” he answered. “Like with anything. In farming, in particular, it pays off.”

Faulkner paused again, choosing his words carefully: “A lot of the usual life lessons. Making sure you are making good friends, and always keeping an open mind.”

In addition to the normal farming chores, this fall has featured of a number of enterprising activities to bring in the community: plein air painting, a wild mushroom foraging workshop, and a Girl Scout troop planting a row of apple trees.

Faulkner, when asked about the growing relationship between the community and the Barrington Farm School, talked about the sense of discovery involved in the process.

“Most of the positive things are unexpected,” he said. “So, it is learning not to have expectations or a firm vision of how you want things to be, because there is so much that is just unpredictable.”

As far as the continuing interactions with the community, Faulkner continued, “It is just keeping the welcome mat out, keeping the open sign up. Because people really want to enjoy this – and the fact that it will always be here. And the people will always show up.”

A year ago, in an earlier story in ConvergenceRI, as the effort to purchase the farm appeared to be on the verge of success, Faulkner talked about how the effort had reinforced his understanding of the importance of quilting the fabric of community together. [See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “Preserving a working farm in Barrington as a farm school.”]

“You become more mindful of the people in your community, who they are, what they are doing, and your relationship with them,” he said. “Regardless of where you live, it’s about making it the best place that you can.”

Plans for next year
The mission of the Barrington Farm School is to provide an opportunity for young people in the town to learn about farming and the farm’s role in protecting the local ecosystem and environment.

At the harvest celebration, Dan Penengo, one of the team of volunteer farmers, talked with enthusiasm to ConvergenceRI about plans for next year at the Barrington Farm School.

The plans include building two new greenhouses and a series of cold frames to enable the farm to lengthen the growing season.

In addition, the farm is looking to acquire its own bee hives as part of the ongoing operation.