The concepts of farm and forest may seem distinct from or even opposite to each other, but Babette Wils, 59, puts them together, using permaculture practices to raise food on her family’s burgeoning Montague farm, Bigfoot Food Forest.
“If a farm is a place where food is produced for people, that’s what we’re doing,” said Wils, who divides her time between Montague and Needham. “In a food forest, we grow food by planting trees and bushes, while tending herbs and perennial plants in the understory. The plants share nutrients with each other, as well as protection from pests.”
The term “permaculture” was coined in the 1970s by Australian ecologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Since then, permaculture practices have spread around the world.
Wils points out, however, that Mollison and Holmgren did not originate permaculture practices; rather, they rediscovered ways of producing food that predate modern agriculture. “It’s really just a set of commonsense guidelines for living a good life,” said Wils.
Many indigenous cultures have managed forests for food, said Wils, including in Australia, North America, Central America and Brazil.
Permaculture has three main components, according to Wils.
“First, we observe, taking stock of a problem or a situation and starting with questions like ‘What have I got? What can I utilize?’ … which are the same questions we must ask ourselves in other areas of our lives.”
Next comes “eliminating or reducing waste,” said Wils. “We try to reintegrate materials into a circle flowing through our farm.” Wils cited drywall (sheetrock) left over from a construction project. “We re-purposed drywall chunks because gypsum contains calcium, one of the minerals lacking from our soil. We benefited from using it as fertilizer, and at the same time, kept drywall out of the landfill.”
Wils later learned that drywall chunks also improve soil tilth, allowing for increased retention of nitrogen and phosphorus.
“Apparently, it can be used to improve poultry bedding, too,” she said.
The third component of permaculture, according to Wils, is that “everything on a farm should have multiple functions. Trees freshen the air while providing habitat for animals and creating shade. Eventually, they add nutrients to the soil when they die.”
Wils says that, in some ways, she’s fairly new to practicing permaculture. “I gardened in a suburban setting for 20 years,” she said, “and was involved with the Needham Community Farm. But beyond that, I didn’t have much practical application.”
Her parents, however, practiced permaculture food production in the Netherlands, where Wils and her two siblings were born and raised. “There were scores of groups in the Netherlands, and my parents were involved with permaculture and other environmental lifestyle changes in the 1980s and 1990s. They translated the popular ‘Ecoteams’ book into Dutch and were part of Danaan Parry’s Earth Steward network.”
For many years, Wils worked in international relations, helping organizations like the World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF strategize where to make investments in primary schooling throughout Asia, South America and Africa.
“I loved traveling and meeting people,” she said. “But the nature of my work changed until I found I was mainly calculating, creating spreadsheets and specializing in computer modeling.” She decided to step away from that type of work.
Though Wils did not study farming practices during her global travels, she appreciated witnessing “the many different ways people can live well at hugely different economic levels. I felt inspired by the positive effect of family closeness, when people live and work together.”
Wils explored permaculture in 2017 by enrolling in a 10-day permaculture design course, and later that year participated in two additional courses. In 2018, Wils and her family turned their Needham backyard into a pilot project based on permaculture principles.
Her family received help from a student enrolled at Olin College of Engineering, where Wils’s husband, Mark Somerville, 53, serves as provost. “We bartered with the student, providing room and board in exchange for labor,” Wils said.
Later in 2018, “we felt ready to take the leap to buy land,” Wils said. “While visiting family in Greenfield for Thanksgiving, we made an offer on land in Montague, succeeded in purchasing it, and really got down to work in the fall of 2019.”
The name “Bigfoot Food Forest,” said Wils, “comes from the idea of the human ecological footprint. These days, environmentally conscious people always try to make our footprint on the earth as small as possible, which I believe is a very sad way to think about ourselves as a species. What if we could have a positive influence, instead? I’d like our farm to have a big, positive environmental impact, hence the concept of a big footprint — a good one.”
Wils said that — after recovering from cancer — she traveled to Spain with her husband in 2018 to do a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. “I thought about a name for our farm for the six weeks we were on the Camino pilgrimage,” she said. “And one day the name Bigfoot appeared.”
Bigfoot Food Forest sits on 36 acres in Montague. About half is untouched woodlands; the other half is in fields, orchards, berries and stewarded trees. “Ideally, we’ll have all 36 acres involved in the project, eventually,” said Wils. “To build a food forest means to provide habitat for fungi, insects, birds and mammals.”
The farm is home to eight sheep, whose jobs include mowing the grass, providing wool and fertilizing between the rows of fruit and nut trees. “Of the eight, three are registered Southdown Babydolls, a rare breed and super cute,” said Wils, who sells lambs as pets.
Cohabitating with the sheep are 60 chickens: 50 laying hens and 10 roosters. “The roosters, we select for eating, and we’ll leave one or two for guarding and breeding,” said Wils.
The hens provide about 30 eggs a day, which are sold through CSA (community-supported agriculture) shares, with people subscribing to the egg service. “We hope to double the flock next year and expand the CSA with delivery in Greenfield,” she said.
In accordance with the multi-use tenet, says Wils, “The chickens provide eggs, meat, and entertainment. They’re hilarious. They also eat leftover food scraps, and when they’re housed with the sheep, they scratch around and help distribute sheep manure, which reduces pests in the habitat.”
Manure from the sheep and chickens contributes nutrients for the soil when mixed with leaves, wood chips and used bedding straw.
The forested sections of the Montague parcel include oak, alder, birch and sumac trees, which Wils and her family plan to selectively cut “to promote other trees to grow larger, as well as to create space to plant nut trees.”
Wils also mentioned “fodder trees,” cultivated to produce leaves for animals to eat. The concept of fodder trees may be unfamiliar to many readers, but the practice of grazing livestock on forest leaves dates back millennia. “Sheep love eating leaves right off the branches,” Wils said. “We select branches to cut for them while we prune various trees.”
She admitted that “it’s laborious, sure. Using hay is much easier. Once tractors came on the agricultural scene, of course, many farmers went in that direction.”
But climate change indicates the need to relearn old ways. “We may come into a time of summers without hay due to drought. When drought comes, trees can remain green while fields turn brown,” Wils said. “And when we cut trees in this way, it also stimulates growth, so it’s win-win.”
Other trees on the new farm won’t yield harvests right away, but Wils considers the long run. “The nut and fruit trees will take at least three to five years. We’ve got almond trees, walnuts and two varieties of pecans.” Wils and her family have also planted 600 chestnut trees, of several varieties.
Of the pecans, Wils said, “Considering what’s happening on our planet, we’ll be in pecan climate by 2030 or 2040. We’re practicing climate adaptation.”
The many fruiting plants at Bigfoot Food Forest include Cornelian cherries, sour cherries, kiwi, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and several varieties of “superberries”: goji, aronias (also known as chokeberries) and sea buckthorn.
“They’re called superberries because they’re high in vitamins and antioxidants,” said Wils. “We’re hoping to produce a superberry mix at Bigfoot Food Forest. We also want to cultivate mushrooms, because they’re also beneficial to health.”
Sharing space is another principle important to Wils and her family. “We welcome members of our community, including birds and bird watchers,” she said. “When we see birders about, we tell them they should feel free to walk on our land.”
Wils and Somerville built a house on their land “as our COVID lockdown project,” Wils said. “We started it before the pandemic arrived, but made a lot of progress during the summer of 2020 and through the sad, isolated winter. We built our kitchen, bathroom, and put in the floors.”
When asked if either one of them had previous construction experience, Wils said, “Not really. Mark is very handy with building stuff, and we watched a lot of YouTube videos. Social media is awful, but the hobby part of the internet is great.”
Wils said her family background includes farmers, but that the legacy stretches back to people she never met, including her grandmother’s grandfather, who farmed in Indonesia, and her grandfather’s great-grandfather, who farmed in the Netherlands.
“So we’ve pretty much learned how to farm and build via Youtube,” she said.
Wils anticipates living full time in Montague someday. “Mark is still at Olin (College), a job he loves, so we’ll be back and forth for a bit. For now, Mark’s my cheerleader and reality-checker. Although he’s not involved in the day-to-day farm work, he’s my number-one supporter.”
The couples’ two grown children, Charlotte and Josephine Somerville (23 and 21, respectively), are also excited about the farm. “Charlotte and I manage the chicken operation together,” said Wils. “Josephine is very busy studying circus arts at New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) in Brattleboro and has less time, but they’re both involved in different ways.”
In the meantime, the Wils-Somervilles have “an amazing neighbor in Montague whose work involves livestock and pet care, which makes for a very good fit.” There’s also studio space in the new house to provide space for a farm worker.
“We love Montague,” said Wils. “We feel so welcomed here. We’re looking forward to getting to know our new community better, and developing the farm in so many ways.”
Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope” and comes from a long line of Quebecois farmers. An artist, musician and mom, she welcomes readers’ comments and story tips at eveline@amandlachorus.org.