A book review written and read by David Foster.

David Foster is an ecologist, Director Emeritus of the Harvard Forest, and President Emeritus of the Highstead Foundation. He co-founded the Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative in 2005 and was lead writer of Wildlands in New England: Past, Present, and Future in 2023. David has written and edited books including Thoreau’s Country: Journey Through a Transformed Landscape; Forests in Time: The Environmental Consequences of 1,000 Years of Change in New England; Hemlock: A Forest Giant on the Edge; and A Meeting of Land and Sea: The Nature and Future of Martha’s Vineyard.

Read the full recommendation and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

A report written and read by Marissa Latshaw.

Marissa Latshaw works with mission-driven organizations to build empathetic and inclusive communication strategies that inspire action. She is the publisher of From the Ground Up and co-coordinator of the Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities initiative, working with partners throughout New England to help bring a more holistic, integrated approach to land conservation. Marissa resides in Connecticut where she’s always up for a walk in the conservation area adjacent to her home.

Read the full report and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An interview with Naomi Heindel, Sean Beckett, and Bill Sincavage, conducted and edited by Liz Thompson.

Liz Thompson, Managing Editor of From the Ground Up, is an ecologist from Vermont who has explored, photographed, written about, and helped conserve many wild places. She serves on the board of Northeast Wilderness Trust and is coordinating the 2025 Northeastern Old Growth Conference.

Naomi Heindel is Executive Director of North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier, Vermont. She taught at Teton Science Schools in Wyoming for several years.

Sean Beckett is Program Director at North Branch Nature Center, born and raised in Vermont. He worked as a wildlife guide for several years with Teton Science Schools.

Bill Sincavage is a professional wildlife photographer living in Dubois, Wyoming, about 100 miles southeast of Yellowstone National Park.

Read the edited transcript and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An article written and read by Alex Redfield.

Alex Redfield is the Policy Director for Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities. On the farm, in state government, and in conservation policy circles, his work for the past 20 years has centered on supporting a just transition of New England’s landscape towards an equitable future. He lives in South Portland, Maine.

Read the full piece and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An essay written and read by Nohham Cachat-Schilling.

Nohham Cachat-Schilling is Medicine Elder, Bridge in the Sky Medicine Circle; Chair of the Massachusetts Ethical Archaeology Society; and a Researcher at the Oso:ah Foundation. They are also a contributing author in Our Hidden Landscapes: Indigenous Stone Ceremonial Sites in Eastern North America, part of the Native Peoples of the Americas series from the University of Arizona Press (Dr. Lucianne Lavin and Elaine Thomas, editors). They live in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts.

Read the full essay and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An article written and read by Alex Redfield and Marissa Latshaw.

Alex Redfield is the Policy Director for Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities. On the farm, in state government, and in conservation policy circles, his work for the past 20 years has centered on supporting a just transition of New England’s landscape toward an equitable future. He lives in South Portland, Maine.

Marissa Latshaw works with mission-driven organizations to build empathetic and inclusive communication strategies that inspire action. She is the Publisher of From the Ground Up and Co-coordinator of the Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities initiative, working with partners throughout New England to help bring a more holistic, integrated approach to land conservation. Marissa lives in Connecticut with her family.

Read the full profiles and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An poem written and read by Scudder Parker.

Scudder Parker’s first volume of poetry, Safe as Lightning, released in June 2020 by Rootstock Publishing, was awarded the Best Poetry Book of 2020 by the Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE). Scudder’s poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals including Sun Magazine, Crosswinds, The Lascaux Review, Sky Island Journal, Vermont Life, Northern Woodlands, and Twyckenham. His poem The Poem of the World was selected as a finalist in the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest.

For Scudder, poetry is the search for truthfulness, not homage to conclusion. It is exploration—fit of bone in socket, bees at riot in oregano blossoms, ache of old injustice summoning an opened heart, the strange joy of longing, laughter at long-defended foolishness. Family, farming, failing, finding. Foraging for the innocent sacred, patient in our midst. Scudder’s had numerous careers—preacher, organizer, gardener, politician, energy consultant, poet—and is still learning from each of them. His new volume, The Poem of the World, published by Kelsay Books, is now available in bookstores and online. You can follow Scudder’s work at Substack.

Read the poem and accompanying photographs and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.

An interview with Stacy Brenner and Ellen Sabina, conducted and edited by Alex Redfield.

Stacy Brenner is President & CEO of Maine Farmland Trust (MFT). Before stepping into the role in December 2024, Stacy had been engaged with MFT for 20 years, as a farmer leveraging Maine FarmLink and MFT’s Farm Business Planning programs, as a Board member, and on staff as Senior Advisor for Farmland Access. Stacy serves in the Maine Legislature as the State Senator from District 30, representing Gorham and parts of Scarborough. Stacy lives and farms at Broadturn Farm in Scarborough with her husband, John Bliss, and two daughters, Emma and Flora.

Ellen Sabina brings her passion for rural communities, farming and food, and narrative change to her work at MFT and has worked to champion local food and farmers for over 15 years. Ellen moved back to her home state of Maine in 2013 to lead MFT’s outreach and communications work, and in 2022 shifted into a new role to work across programs that foster engagement among farmers in MFT’s network, cultivating a culture that supports farmers and farming. Ellen is also currently Board President of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. She lives in Morrill, Maine, and can often be found in the fields at the tiny flower farm she co-operates, Half Hitch Flowers.

Alex Redfield is the Policy Director for Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities. On the farm, in state government, and in conservation policy circles, his work for the past 20 years has centered on supporting a just transition of New England’s landscape and food system toward an equitable future. He lives in South Portland, Maine.

Read the edited transcript and discover additional content in the Summer 2025 Issue of From the Ground Up.