Woodstock native Madeline Raynolds has dedicated her career to learning.
From being raised by educators, to completing her first job as a teacher at Hartford High School, to teaching abroad across Italy, Portugal, China, and Brazil, a dedication to the power of curiosity has been a thread carrying Raynolds through each phase of her life. After opening and running a school for a number of years in Brazil, Raynolds returned home to Woodstock in 2020 to her family farm that sits on 300 acres of land. In the years since her return, Ferndean Farm has become home to a hydroponic garden as Raynolds embarks on a new sustainable farming journey.
“When I made my way back to Woodstock, the world felt so different. I could sense an overwhelming change on the horizon and thought to myself, ‘What can I not live without?’ The answer, honestly, was fresh, leafy greens,” Raynolds told the Standard this week.
In the wake of grocery store closures during the pandemic, and the benefit cuts and food shortages that plagued families across the state, Raynolds said she shifted away from school systems to provide for her community in a new way.
In December 2023, Raynold’s hydroponic system arrived at Ferndean Farm — a trailer equipped with the infrastructure to grow hundreds of leafy green vegetables on vertical slats. This structure eliminated the need for soil or garden space, as a nutrient-rich water solution is fed directly to the plants’ roots, allowing for crisp, flavorful greens to be grown year-round, regardless of external temperature or weather conditions. Raynolds planted her first seedling on July 11, 2024, and since then has grown an extensive garden complete with butter lettuce, spring mix, luscious heads of kale, wasabina, basil, and much, much more.
“I don’t think hydroponics is the be-all and end-all solution to food sovereignty,” Raynolds told the Standard. “But I think it is a step in creating agency. I’ve been an educator my entire life, plugged into other systems. Here I am creating something on my own, and it’s incredibly empowering.”
Since then, Ferndean Farm has transitioned from merely growing produce to welcoming students onto her land to experience sustainable farming in an up-close and personal way, leaving the four walls of the classroom behind to step into a new, organic space. “Students collaborate on the farm, developing agrotech and entrepreneurial skills while earning high school credits in a real-world setting. This approach not only enhances learning but also contributes to community food security,” Raynolds told the Standard.
In the wake of SNAP benefits being interrupted across the state, Raynolds has found a new reason to dedicate herself to her community outside of serving the children in our local schools. She continued, “I started donating extra produce to various local food shelves and followed the feeling of giving back. I have always been community-minded — being a part of communities all over the world — but when I came home, giving back to Woodstock took on an entirely new meaning. Suddenly, I found that I had actual sustenance to give to people. Not only knowledge and learning, but fresh food — food that every person is entitled to, regardless of economic circumstance. This is the future I want to build with this farm — one of true community and education.”
For more on this, please see our November 6 edition of the Vermont Standard.
