Badger and Chris had known each other for years, off galavanting on our own projects and studies it took a trip in Central Asia to really move things forward.
Our friendship solidified during a 2018 trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Arslambob, Kyrgyzstan, where we visited native apple forests and walnut agroforestry systems. Inspired by those landscapes, we began asking questions that still guide us today:
What does it mean to be OF a particular place?
How can farming regenerate landscapes instead of deplete them?
What role can perennial agriculture play in building resilient / interconnected communities?
In 2019, we launched our first farm at Woodcock Nature Preserve, leasing 25 acres and planting just 12 trees the first year, all the while clearing abondended pasture and designing the final orchard. We installed the orchard over a series of volunteer weekends from 2020-2022, assisted by 50+ friends and accomplices. In 2021, we were invited to establish a new orchard for a client at Sugarbush Valley Farm, transforming land cleared of pine into a chestnut-based system. Most recently, we began developing our Washington Road farm, which will serve as our main hub and future processing facility.
Castagno dei Cento Cavalli - Sicily
Our work draws inspiration from traditions across the world. From Native American prescribed burning our local forests, to Corsican chestnut growers resisting imperialism, to the walnut forests of Arslanbob standing up to waves of conquerers, we are guided by examples of how perennial agriculture has long sustained cultures and landscapes. In Southern Ohio, where the land naturally tends toward forest, we’ve chosen to work with trees as our crop and focus on perennial systems built to last.
For the past 15 years, Chris has studied and taught Permaculture Design with leading practitioners across North America. He now teaches at the University of Cincinnati. In 2017, Chris launched the Common Orchard Project, planting more than 600 fruit and nut trees across Cincinnati. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife Marykate making funny songs for their daughter Saoirse and dog and cat familiars, respectively.
As a consulting forester, Badger guides forest landowners to set goals for their woods, developing a plan and executing it. Thus Badger is often heading up plant ID, invasive control, crop tree release, prescribed fire, tree planting, timber harvest, farming ginseng & shiitake, etc. He moonlights as a wildland firefighter, SCUBA diver, beekeeper & commercial drone pilot. Home is Albany, OH
Today we manage three farms and are building a network of regenerative agroforestry in Southern Ohio. Our vision is to grow more food systems that regenerate the land, sustain communities, and inspire new ways of living with trees as food.