Frontier Farm’s Cassidy Whipple Leads a New Generation of Conservationists

Grocery shopping has, for many, become a reflexive, mechanical process: You realize you are low on produce, so you hop in the car, drive to the nearest supermarket and pick out precisely what you need, racing to escape the fluorescent lighting and screeching sounds of shopping carriages as quickly as possible. This conditioned process, explained in Westerly Land Trust’s film Keepers of the Land, has caused us to become “far removed from food” and, in turn, far removed from our environment. 

The Westerly Land Trust started as a nonprofit in 1987 and purchased its first 50 acres of land, the Avondale Farm Preserve, in 1998. The Trust’s portfolio has grown exponentially, now with 33 properties and over 1,800 acres of preserved land. In 2019 Executive Director Jennifer Fusco invited local farmers to apply for a new Land Trust program offering leased land on which to grow and sell their crops. The Land Trust chose Cassidy Whipple, owner and manager of Frontier Farm. She officially opened for business on the Barlow Nature Preserve on Westerly-Bradford Road in the spring of 2020. 

Photos courtesy of Westerly Land Trust

The low-cost lease allows Whipple, a new farmer, more affordable access to farmland—allowing her complete autonomy and freedom in farming and business ventures while adhering to the agreement to maintain environmentally sound farming practices. This unique dynamic establishes a symbiotic relationship between the Trust and its farmers. (In addition to Whipple, flower farmer Stephanie Bennett of Echo Rock Flowers raises flowers on the Barlow Nature Preserve.) With a mission to “conserve land for the benefit of our community” and to “conserve land for future generations,” Fusco and her team at the Westerly Land Trust look to farmers as a new generation of conservationists. Among them, Whipple’s farm stands out as a model of environmental stewardship and mindful agriculture. Many have endearingly anointed her “the food hero,” a title she states is a responsibility she does not take lightly. 

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” —Aldo Leopold

You’ll find this powerful quote by the late Aldo Leopold—American writer, naturalist, ecologist and conservationist—on Frontier Farm’s website, there to encourage consumers to think about their relationship with the land. 

Erika Lebling, director of development at the Westerly Land Trust, says, “Food comes from the land and then it goes into our body and becomes part of us … a beautiful example of how connected we are. It all comes back to what we’re putting into our body.” Frontier Farm’s mission to view nature as a community rather than a commodity aims to facilitate a more involved relationship between humanity and our environment, where one can visit the farm directly to see exactly what is grown and how it is grown, says Lebling. 

A visit to the farm offers a fulfilling experience for body and mind: Fresh local produce ranging from strawberries to jalapeños to kale offers healthy eating while the surrounding ecosystem immerses you in nature. Touring the many rows of flourishing produce, bustling greenhouses and bright flowers, while yellow warblers and robins fill the trees on the farm’s perimeter—it’s not a simple shopping trip, but a chance to reconnect with natural surroundings. 

Whipple uses all organic methods in her farming, producing radishes, peas, garlic scapes, herbs and a variety of leafy greens in early summer to tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, carrots, beets, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans and celery during the main summer season. Bennett of Echo Rock Flowers carefully cultivates vibrant local flora. WesterBee’s honey and Breeze Farm’s eggs will also be available this season. 

The next time you realize you’re low on groceries, fight the urge to quickly run into a supermarket. Instead, stop by Barlow Farm Stand; witness the beautiful and natural ecosystem, see the friendly faces of the farmers and taste the difference of locally grown, raised with care and intention. 

Find Frontier Farm and Echo Rock Flowers at the Barlow Farm Stand 
449 Westerly-Bradford Rd., Westerly, RI 
Th & F 3–6 pm & Sa noon–4 pm