Local Agrotourism

In "Home-grown fun," the Boston Globe reports on the growing popularity of tourism on farms south of Boston. Colchester Neighborhood Farm, of which we are CSA farm-box members, is quoted in the discussion of the many benefits of this kind of activity for farms and the families that visit them.

When I was doing conservation work with at-risk youth in Maryland many years ago, I was struck by the cognitive disconnect between the youth I worked with and their food. By bringing people to farms in their own regions, agrotourism provides both a cash flow that helps to sustain open space and a much-needed connection between people and the land that sustains us.