Creative Placemaking

Holding and telling stories of this place
by Kristin Sullivan & Alicia Bono 

Each of the 550+ acres of forest, farmland, and waterways at Retreat Farm has a story to tell.

Every inch of the 11-mile trail network has seen thousands of footsteps–human and nonhuman relations– over millennia. And with our collective help, the land, the water, forests, and historic buildings and stone walls will all continue to hold and tell the stories of this place and our connection to it for years to come. Even more, the stories of Retreat Farm and connections people make to this place have inspired creative action, stewardship, joy, and wonder - and with our support, they will continue to do so for years to come.

"Each project aims to enliven Retreat Farm, bringing spaces you've seen before to life in new and unique ways."

Over the next six months, we’ll be highlighting the history and living heritage of Retreat Farm and the lands we steward with three creative placemaking and arts projects. Each project aims to enliven Retreat Farm, bringing spaces you’ve seen before to life in new and unique ways.

We hope these exciting projects help you find something new on the Farm, and within yourself, that inspires you.

Interpreting & Improving the West River Meadows Trail

Over the past year, our staff have been working hard restoring, stabilizing, and improving a one-mile footpath named the Wantastegok Mskodal Ôwdi, or the West River Meadows Trail. The goal has been to transform the path into a safe, enjoyable, and clearly marked trail. With access points on Rt. 30 and Eaton Avenue, the first half mile of West River Meadows Trail is now universally accessible, with benches added at scenic viewpoints. The rest of the trail remains rolling and occasionally narrow. Six interpretive signs highlighting the environmental, natural, cultural, and historical features in both English and Abenaki will be installed in December at key points along the path, which winds around the Retreat Meadows and through the Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary.

Retreat Farm staff have installed three new wooden footbridges with handrails along the path. A rock outcropping that once only offered a rope to assist passage now features carved stone steps and handrail. At the far end of the trail, a new locust boardwalk has been installed using anchors to protect against damage due to flooding.

While the Meadows already serves as a popular four- season waterway for our region, we hope this project will further enhance community use as a key recreational corridor and destination within our regional trail system, helping to further connect existing Retreat Trails to the Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary and the 36-mile West River Trail.

This project was funded in part by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation through the Enhancement of Recreation Stewardship and Access (ERSA) Trail Grant program. It would not have been possible without the hard work and expertise of many including Rich Holschuh of the Atowi Project; Sandra Murphy and Maja Smith of Murphy & Smith Interpretive Solutions; Jeff Nugent of the Windham Regional Commission; the Brattleboro Retreat Hospital; Lew Shelley of Snowhawk, LLC; trustees of the Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary; Michael Clough of the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum; and the Town of Brattleboro.

Mural on The Landing

This spring we will breathe new life into Retreat Farm, and tell an inspiring story of the land and waters here, with a new mural. Our historical grain bunker, now called The Landing–a long space cut into the hill on the way to the upper pastures–promises to be a place for quiet reflection, or to sit and refuel. Thanks to a planning grant from the Vermont Arts Council, we have been working with Vermont and Maine-based artist Charlie Adams and Common Wealth Murals of Springfield, MA, to make it an even more enriching space with a 120-foot, nature-inspired mural.

Artist rendering overlaid on the landscape that inspired the 120-foot mural.

As a land-based nonprofit, it is important that our first major art installation depicts and inspires connection with place. So, we were thrilled to connect with Charlie in 2023. Charlie is an artist with Abenaki heritage, who draws deeply from the natural world for inspiration. Charlie also has a direct connection to Retreat Farm; their great-grandfather, Merrill Sheltra, was once a Herdsman and Farm Manager here, and he called our yellow farmhouse home!

The new mural will feature thoughtfully interpreted animals and indigenous plants, and inspire a new way of understanding our relations in this region. This
will be Charlie’s second outdoor mural in a planned series of four–each in one of the cardinal directions, facing Wantastegok Mskodal: the confluence of the West and Connecticut Rivers in what we today call The Retreat Meadows. Opportunities for public participation in community paint parties will be announced this winter.

Mural installation is supported in part by grant funding from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Community Foundation.

Trail Magic

One of six interpretive signs on the West River Meadows Trails will be located along the new boardwalk at the Eaton Ave. entrance.

There is a certain magic to being in the woods - with sunlight filtering through the trees, the sounds of animals and rustling leaves, or the crunch of snow underfoot.

With this in mind, local artist Amber Paris
has been working with community members to gather inspiration, learning about why and how people connect with the land at Retreat Farm.

Statements expressed by participants about their connection to the landscape will be placed on
fabric squares and assembled into large quilts
during community quilting bees this winter. The final assemblage will hang from a new trail cut between the Forest Playground and Overlook Meadow–providing an inspirational addition to the landscape that invites visitors to stop and reconsider where they are, and the impact of the trail’s magic.

We hope you visit Retreat Farm in the coming months
to experience and participate in these new additions. To learn more about the projects, support the care and maintenance of these new spaces, or help develop new ways to engage visitors with Retreat Farm’s inspirational landscapes, contact Kristin Sullivan at ksullivan@retreatfarm.org.