Granby Land Trust members Ann Wilhelm and Bill Bentley graciously invited the Granby Land Trust to join them and DEEP forester David Beers for a walk at Wilhelm Farm on Nov. 14. Providing food for the Wilhelm family from 1936 to 1990, the farm has now switched its emphasis to a managed forest that provides timber, songbird, deer, and small mammal habitat, and most important in this time of climate change, carbon sequestration and storage. Of the more than 45 acres, 31 are managed for white pine, oak, and maple. There is also some birch, which is particularly valuable as a veneer provider. Over seven acres are being converted to silvopasture, in which goats are happy to munch their way through invasives and other brush.
Along the walk, Beers, Wilhelm and Bentley provided commentary regarding the different types of trees and their growth requirements. Land Trust member and expert birder John Weeks noted various bird habitats and most enjoyably was able to coax a ruby-crowned kinglet to reply to the song on his bird identification app.
Wilhelm Farm is protected by a GLT conservation easement donated to the Land Trust in 1992 by Ann’s parents, Fred and Edith Wilhelm. Fred and Edith were recipients of the Mary Edwards Friend of the Land Trust award in 2009. To learn more about Wilhelm Farm and its Farm Demonstration Project, visit WilhelmFarm.com
Thanks to everyone who made this informative hike possible.