Treleven Farm

Don and his wife Cheryl operate Treleven Farm in Vergennes, which sponsors a non-profit organization focused on environmental education and artistic creativity. They bought and moved onto the property in 1972, inspired by the Back to the Land Movement and drawn to Vermont by a publication called the Whole Earth Catalogue. Along with raising sheep for forty-five years, Don has had an impressive career as an author and has written extensively on the Vermont landscape, life as a shepherd, and participating in countercultural movements. He taught courses in creative writing at Middlebury College from 1984 to 2009 and became famous among students as the professor who invited his students to his farm to experience “lambing season.”  At its maximum size, Treleven’s flock was comprised of 100 ewes whose lambs and wool were sold in various markets. Don recently made the decision to stop raising sheep and is figuring out what the next era of land stewardship and education will look like at Treleven.