We envision thriving communities connected to the environment and their food through work and play.
Gathering Ground cultivates community and learning in partnership with the generous earth through agriculture.
Donate2020 Virtual Fundraiser
Thank you for visiting our first virtual fundraiser! Since we couldn’t come together for Dinner in the Vineyard this year, we decided to host a fundraiser online. Despite the pandemic, many of our programs and plantings are moving forward with great success.
This year, we got past the rose chafers, started a community composting program, planted a garden to grow winter squash for the WI food pantry, and introduced sheep into the vineyard and orchards to add fertility and maintain weeds. We also planted over 200 trees, shrubs and vines with our 2020 interns, Alex and Izzy, as well as hosted our first annual Island Garden Tour!
Below you will find some of our continuing and upcoming projects that you can adopt — fully or in part. Gathering Ground was founded with the generosity of a few people with a vision, and our programs will continue because of the generosity of friends and supporters like you!
Double your gift! An anonymous donor has pledged to match all of the gifts given during our fundraiser. That means every dollar you give will be doubled — including the pledged yearly gifts of every new supporting member.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to email our executive director, Alessandra.
Plant for the Future
Become a supporting member of Gathering Ground with a monthly gift!
MATCHING DONOR ALERT! An anonymous donor has pledged to match the yearly gifts of every new supporting member that signs up before the end of the year! That means every dollar you pledge will be doubled!
- Give at the roots level – $12 per month
- Roots draw up the nutrients that plants need to grow.
- Give at the trunk level – $30 per month
- Trunks serve as a strong structure for trees so that they are able to reach for the sunlight.
- Give at the branch level – $50 per month
- Branches carry water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves and fruit.
- Give at the canopy level – $100 per month
- The canopy creates habitat for birds, insects as well as shade for animals and people. The canopy captures sunlight and that energy is carried back down through every level of a tree.
Become a supporting member today and double your impact!
Adopt an Intern
GOAL: $2,500
- $100 covers one week of the internship stipend for one intern
- $300 covers half of the internship stipend for one intern
- $600 covers the full internship stipend for one intern
- $1,000 covers the full internship stipend for one intern as well as provides access to housing
All gifts given toward our internship will be doubled! Help us provide our summer interns with an excellent learning experience! Learn more.
Adopt A Forest Path
Between the Island School and Gathering Ground, students are working to create a path that will connect the two sites and provide space for forest education.
GOAL: $2,500
- $25 can provide mulch for 25 feet of path
- $50 can provide mulch for 50 feet of path
- $100 can provide 10 feet of boardwalk for wetland areas
- $500 can provide 50 feet of boardwalk for wetland areas
All gifts given toward our forest path will be doubled! Help us create a forest path. Learn more.
Adopt an Orchard
GOAL: $2,500
- $12 protects two trees from those pesty deer!
- $35 plants two fruit trees
- $300 plants a grove of fruit or nut trees
- $2,500 plants and protects our entire new 2021 orchard plants
All gifts given toward our orchards will be doubled! Learn more about planting for the future with us.
Want to get involved?
Blog: Gather Round
Gather Round is our blog dedicated to sharing news about Gathering Ground’s activities, promoting sustainable agriculture and growing community on Washington Island!
The Internship 2020
Before becoming an intern with my sister Izzy at Gathering Ground, I was an Island regular. Every summer my family would drive up from our Illinois suburb to Washington Island, anticipating the euphoric moment when we would be driving down the curving road, alongside the lake to Gibson’s West Harbor Resort.
Sheep at Gathering Ground
by Russell Rolffs, farm manager This year, Gathering Ground grazed six White Dorper sheep, rotating them through the vineyard June to August and then the young chestnut and fruit orchards the rest of the season. Combining livestock with crops is a sustainable practice because it creates a harmonious relationship between two agricultural pursuits wherein the … Continue reading Sheep at Gathering Ground
Internship 2021
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We are accepting applications for 2021 Interns!
We seek to inspire ecologically-minded agriculture & partnership with land & people. Through our developing demonstration orchard & vineyard, we aim to educate in sustainable agriculture while strengthening the health of people & the environment.
Founded in 2016, we have a 40+ acres, including a 5 acre vineyard and over 500 fruit and nut trees and shrubs. In 2018, we began to develop a low environmental impact management plan for the vineyard despite few blueprints for organic or biodynamic vineyards in the midwest. In 2020, we added hair sheep to help maintain weeds and fertilize the vineyards and orchards.
On the Grounds: Learn about all the aspects of our agroecosystem, including how we grow grapes organically, establish apple, pear and chestnut orchards & a vegetable garden, & graze a small flock of sheep in the vineyard & orchard. Work in the vineyard & orchard providing routine care & management such as planting and mulching trees, vines and shrubs, moving the sheep, planting and tending a vegetable garden. We also ask our interns to use their talents to help us share the word about sustainable agriculture and the work happening at Gathering Ground by writing articles, doing social media, giving workshops or presentations to community members.
Around the Island: We will help you find a part time job with an Island farm or farm-to-table restaurant to learn what’s it like in the day to day behind the scenes of a local food system through hands-on experience.
Weekly Seminars: Reading & Discussion on current issues in agriculture and food studies.
- No experience is necessary, though a desire to work outside with plants and animals is a must.
- DURATION: The Internship is 6 weeks during June/July
- PAY: Stipend for GG work & hourly wage for farm/restaurant work.
- HOUSING: We will help you find housing if you do not already have a place to stay on the Island.
- Email us with questions.
Contact Us
Got comments, questions, or stories? We’d love to hear from you. We are particularly looking for stories about farming on Washington Island. If you have any stories you’d like to share, please contact us!
You can email us at hello (at) gatheringgroundwi (dot) org or fill out this form.
