Farm cultivates plants and an LGBTQIA+ safe space in Rhode Island

The Trans-FARM-ative Project at Burgess Community Gardens in Foster, R.I., is dedicated to inclusivity and promoting agricultural sustainability.

Page Wooller and Jeffrey Hunter purchased the farm in early 2020, converting the grounds from a horse ranch to a fruit and vegetable farm. In the process, the two planted more than 200 fruit trees, installed raised garden beds, and created numerous wildflower beds to encourage pollination.

The duo’s goal was to merge their love for nature with their desire to create a healing community for low- or no-income trans, non-binary, genderqueer, intersex, and LGBTQIA+ people in New England. In addition to offering a safe space, they also want the farm to be a place where LGBTQIA+ youth can learn life skills and have easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

“The name Trans-FARM-ative highlights our mission of change and supporting a community that is often underrepresented,” says Wooller. “We’re not just doing this to turn a profit. We do it because we love farming, and we want to provide for the community. We’re also conscious of the positive environmental impact we can make by providing food locally.”

The Trans-FARM-ative Project at Burgess Community Gardens is a winner of a 2024 Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award, which recognizes entrepreneurs striving to improve their community.

Wooller recently chatted with us about how thinking creatively helped her get the farm up and running, ways community resources can be helpful, and the importance of growing at your own pace.

Tip: Look for creative solutions.

Although Wooller’s parents were both agricultural school graduates and always maintained a garden at home, neither her nor Hunter has a farming background. Wooller is a professional dancer, with a master’s in biology and genetics, while Hunter is an obstetrician-gynecologist.

The couple relocated to Rhode Island from Boise, Idaho, in March 2020. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, contractors could not come out to do work on the farm building and property, meaning Wooller and a few friends had to start the work themselves.

While renovation of the property was underway, another issue surfaced. The property’s former use as a horse farm meant that decades of horses running across the fields had decimated the local flora and fauna and compacted the soil, making it inhospitable for planting.

To find a fix for this problem, Wooller turned to the North Rhode Island Conservation District’s Urban Growers Leadership Program. The program trained Wooller to cultivate good growing soil even in the granite-rich ground of Rhode Island where there is minimal topsoil, which is essential for planting.

“Essentially, I learned how to create my own soil,” Wooller says.

The farm’s location on a high-water line also created some challenges. Since the farm’s land can become easily waterlogged, Wooller and volunteers decided to build Hügelkultur-style raised garden beds to improve drainage. The method of gardening — employed for centuries in Eastern Europe — uses logs and plant debris as a bottom layer underneath the soil. This allows the roots to dangle down, hold water, and drain properly.

Despite these hurdles, the farm now has trees that will bear cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, prunes, plums, apples, and Asian pears. It will take about five years to reach the first harvest, but in the meantime, the trees provide essential shade for the raised bed vegetable gardens.

“Vegetables in raised beds won’t thrive in 100% sunshine, because they would dry out very quickly,” says Wooller.

Bottom line: Anticipate challenges when you are running a company, and strive to find solutions that go beyond just fixing the problem. Taking this approach can help you to find solutions that strengthen your business and build its capacity to succeed.

Tip: Find community support.

A central tenet of the garden’s operating principles is to give back to the community. To achieve this goal, Wooller and Hunter have engaged local organizations for all kinds of support.

For example, to make the farm’s facilities accessible for individuals with both physical and invisible disabilities, they pursued a donation from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. With those funds, Burgess Community Gardens was able to purchase 55 cubic yards of crushed rock to make the parking area more stable.

“Making the farm ADA compliant is part of our mission to be inclusive,” says Wooller.

The Gardens has also received a Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA) Grant from the State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The grant helps support small businesses that are growing, developing, and marketing food in the state. Another fiscal sponsor is The Flower District, a Providence, R.I.-based nonprofit that helps support community gardens.

Wooller says the support of a business banking partner has also been key to planning and guiding the Trans-FARM-ative Project’s growth.

“It was helpful when we started the farm to have a bank that recognizes our worth as a small business,” she says. “It was so reassuring to have a business account and access to financial services that could help us grow.”

The farm dedicates time to run LGBTQIA+ youth agricultural education programs, too, and does outreach for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC veterans, as well as Rhode Island’s Hispanic and Cape Verdean communities. A partnership with PVD House, a nonprofit that helps displaced LBGTQIA+ youth find housing, provides important resources.

“It’s another way we can provide a safe and supportive space and help people learn, grow, and connect with their community,” says Wooller. “Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford eggs or fresh fruit and vegetables, and we want to help those in need.”

Bottom line: Explore the resources that are available in your community, industry, and state. Many organizations can help you plan, build, or grow your company. The first step is to identify what help you need and then conduct research or network to find the resources and experts available to support your mission.

Tip: Build a roadmap.

As Burgess Community Gardens and the Trans-FARM-ative Project continue to grow, Wooller knows she will need to manage how they scale both staffing and the farm’s output. Today, the farm has a staff of 10 volunteers and 40 Trans-FARM-ative Project community members who help maintain both the orchards and garden beds and care for the farm’s 36 chickens.

“We're quite fortunate that our ‘ladies’ are very productive during the winter months, so we can sell eggs throughout the winter, which helps sustain us financially,” says Wooller.

2024 will be the farm’s first year harvesting a vegetable crop, and Wooller trained with the Rhode Island Food Policy Council to learn about scaling growth. “I learned that you need to create a market for what you have,” she says. “As our volume of fruit and vegetables grows, we will gradually increase our visibility and customer base.”

To share its mission, Burgess Community Gardens exhibits at local agricultural events, such as the recent Rhode Island Mycology Society Fungus Fair at Borders Farm in Foster, RI, and in Pride parades throughout the region.

Wooller notes that, as with any small business, she must stay on top of a lot of moving parts to keep the business and its nonprofit mission running smoothly.

“For example, today I have to water the wildflower beds we planted this year to get pollinators into our area to pollinate the vegetables and fruit trees,” she notes. “It's a matter of overseeing the logistics and knowing what to delegate to members and employees. This will help us stay on track as our farm and our mission grows.”

Bottom line: Planning ahead can help your business prepare to be successful in everything from ordering supplies, to hiring or lining up financing. Many businesses have a long-term plan that includes company goals, and short-term tasks to ensure they meet important milestones. Make time to create a roadmap that will take you efficiently and profitably where you want to go.

Do you need guidance on your small business journey? Schedule an appointment with Citizens to receive personalized assistance for your business.