|
|
This Month
As trees and shrubs blossom across the landscape, so too do efforts to support biodiversity on farms. In this month’s newsletter, we’re excited to share a range of endeavors advancing the wild farming movement. Tune in to Ear to the Ground, a podcast from the Land Stewardship Project, which spotlights Wild Farm Alliance’s work to support farming practices that nurture biodiversity. Read our recap from attending and sharing resources at an ecological vineyard management event in Napa. In honor of Endangered Species Day on May 16th, The Endangered Species Coalition launched a Postcards to Policymakers project to empower communities in advocating for imperiled wildlife and native plants. We also highlight an upcoming Friends of the Earth webinar, Rethinking No-till, which explores the unintended toxic impacts of certain no-till practices. A new study in Frontiers raises concerns about the dominance of European honey bees and their effects on native pollinators. We share information about the launch of the California People and Pesticides Explorer, a groundbreaking tool providing transparent access to pesticide use data. Finally, we ask for your support of our 25th Anniversary Legacy Fund.
|
|
|
Tune in: Land Stewardship Project Podcast Features WFA
Three recent episodes in the Land Stewardship Project’s Ear to the Ground Podcast feature our work to support wild farming in the Midwest. The podcast host, Brian DeVore, attended our April field day at Keewaydin Farm in Viola, Wisconsin. Two episodes feature speakers from the field day and one features WFA staff members Shelly Connor and Courtney Tchida. Take a listen at the links below and read our field day recap here if you missed it last month.
Dancing With Diversity, Episode 372: The Wild Farm Alliance is out to prove that thriving wildlife habitat and working farmland are not mutually exclusive — in fact, they can make great partners. In this episode, WFA staff discuss reconnecting food systems with ecosystems.
|
|
Avian Award, Episode 371: The owners of Keewaydin Farms see birds as not only a source of natural pest control but as a sign they are doing something right. In this episode, Joy Miller and Rufus Hauke share how birds fit into their ecological farming endeavors.
|
|
Bending the Bird Curve, Episode 370: One of the speakers at WFA’s recent Midwest field day was Audubon ecologist Krysten Zummo. In this episode, Krysten discusses the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program and the positive ecological impacts of grazing. Learn how working lands conservation can play a key role in supporting grassland birds.
|
|
WFA at Napa RISE: Cultivating a Biodiverse Future in Wine Country
By Rowan O’Connell-Gates, WFA GrizzlyCorp Fellow
At WFA, we see ourselves as both agrarian educators and students of the land. Our mission—to integrate nature back into agriculture—is powered by curiosity, collaboration, and a deep commitment to ecological health. Earlier in May, this ethos was fully displayed as WFA staff members Nick Filannino and Rowan O’Connell-Gates attended and shared resources at Napa RISE, a forward-thinking symposium at the intersection of wine, climate, and sustainability.
Staff were joined by WFA board member and pioneering winemaker Julie Johnson of Tres Sabores Winery. The event, part of the six-part 2025 Napa RISE series, focused on Proactive Farming, Soil Health & Biodiversity—a natural alignment with WFA’s work and values.
|
|
Postcard to Policy Makers
Postcards to Policymakers is a new project launched for Endangered Species Day, May 16th, 2025. The project is designed to help communities advocate for wildlife and plants by coming together for fun postcard writing events.
The Endangered Species Coalition assembled a set of free, downloadable postcards created by artist-activists, and useful toolkits where you can learn more about imperiled wildlife and plants. Postcards to Policymakers species range from monarch butterflies to grizzly bears with more postcards coming later this year.
Join the movement calling for continued strong Endangered Species Act protections and funding to protect species with Postcards to Policymakers.
|
Rethinking No-till: Toxic impacts on health, soil, biodiversity & climate
Wednesday, May 28th, 10:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00 Eastern
Friends of the Earth is hosting a webinar with leading experts exploring the findings and implications of Rethinking No-till, a new report that challenges the widely-held assumption that conventional no-till agriculture is “regenerative,” revealing the staggering use of pesticides that harm soil health, biodiversity, climate, and human health. With billions of dollars being invested, and the resilience of our food system at stake, the report provides vital information on how to define regenerative agriculture with integrity and guard it against greenwashing. Advocates, researchers, journalists, practitioners, funders and others working on food, agriculture, and environmental health are encouraged to join.
|
|
 Honey-tailed Striped Sweat-Bee visiting Laurel Sumac flowers
Honey Bee Impacts to Native Bees
A new study published in Frontiers finds that the introduced European honey bee can reduce the ability of native North American bees to raise future generations. Using bee hotels, the author of the study found that increased honey bee densities were associated with increased brood mortality of native bee populations. This illustrates the importance of supporting our wild bees and one way to do that is providing a diversity of native habitat that they rely on for food and shelter.
|
|
New Tool: California People and Pesticides Explorer
Californians for Pesticide Reform and Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network recently released a tool to better illustrate pesticide use data in the state. The California People and Pesticides Explorer is a one-of-a-kind tool that makes it easier to view, map, and download California’s pesticide use data, and serves as a resource for scientists, growers, advocates, and the general public. The interactive tool allows users to view pesticide use data alongside demographic data in a variety of census geographies including townships, zip codes, and counties.
Wild Farm Alliance is excited to use this tool to see how our communities and wildlife are being impacted by pesticides and encourage healthier alternatives.
|
|
Your Support Drives Change!
For 25 years, Wild Farm Alliance has championed a vision where farms and nature thrive together. As we celebrate this milestone, we are looking ahead—to the next 25 years and beyond. To secure this future, we are launching the 25th Anniversary Legacy Fund and we invite you to be a part of it.
This special Fund provides the financial security needed to carry our work forward through changing times, reducing economic uncertainty and ensuring that wild farming remains a powerful force for biodiversity, climate resilience, and thriving agricultural landscapes for generations to come.
When you give to the Legacy Fund, you are making a lasting commitment to:
🌱 Expanding farmer education on biodiversity-friendly practices
🌎 Restoring and protecting native habitats that build climate resilience
🚜 Supporting on-farm conservation projects that sustain wildlife and working lands
🦋 Ensuring a future where farms and nature flourish together
By contributing, you are planting the seeds for perpetual impact-helping farms remain havens for biodiversity, soil health, and climate solutions.
Join us in shaping the next 25 years of wild farming. Your legacy starts here.
|
Follow us online. We're now on Bluesky!
|
|
Wild Farm Alliance · PO Box 2570, Watsonville, CA 95077
This email was sent to [email protected] because you subscribed
Change your mind at any time: Unsubscribe
Bringing Nature Back to the Farm
|
|
|
|
