Our Mission

We envision thriving communities connected to the environment and their food through work and play.

We cultivate community and learning in partnership with the generous earth through agriculture.

How on Earth should we live?

Here at Gathering Ground, we’re deeply engaged in the work of answering this question.

It is clear now more than ever that the world is facing an ecological crisis, and that the only way to turn back the tide of climate change is to radically reimagine our relationship with the land that sustains us.

Our beautiful 40 acre farm on remote Washington Island, in Wisconsin’s Door County, serves as our living laboratory. The island is a self contained ecosystem, which makes it the perfect home for our experiments in community-based regenerative farming, education and conservation.

Washington Island has a rich agricultural history, but it’s slipping away. Decades of unsustainable practices, driven by agribusiness and its reliance on monocultures, have eroded the health of its soil. It’s hard for local farmers to compete with the bargain prices of these agriculture giants, and there isn’t a clear incentive for younger generations to continue growing. It’s a sadly familiar story that we see playing out across the country.

Change starts at home. By teaching our own community how to revitalize the soil, we hope to inspire a new era of sustainable agriculture on the Island. Our ultimate aim is to show the broader agricultural community a roadmap for healing the soil, fostering a self-sufficient economy, and planting for a sustainable future.