Announcing the 2024 Land and Lives Award & Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award
At our annual meeting in September, we were thrilled to recognize Outright Vermont and Trillium Hill Farm as exceptional partners in advancing conservation. They each received a 2024 conservation award.
“I can’t think of organizations and leaders more deserving of these awards than Outright Vermont and Trillium Hill Farm,” said Tracy Zschau, President & CEO of the Vermont Land Trust. “Through their courage, dedication, and passion, more people will experience the benefits of conserved land. Working alongside partners such as Dana Kaplan and James and Sara Donegan is an incredible privilege.”
Land and Lives award winner is Outright Vermont
The Land and Lives Award, given annually to an individual or organization, recognizes qualities of leadership, resourcefulness, and inclusiveness that have made an enduring difference in the well-being of Vermont’s land and people.
This year’s award was given to Outright Vermont for establishing the first permanent summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth on conserved land in Vermont.
In accepting the award, Outright’s Executive Director, Dana Kaplan, said, “With the acquisition of Camp Sunrise, we’ve secured much more than just land. We now get to steward a safe, vibrant, and affirming space for LGBTQ youth to be their authentic selves.”
(Photo above shows, from left to right: Outright Vermont board member Lechelle-Antonia Gray, executive director Dana Kaplan, director of community engagement Emma Makdessi, director of development Lisa Huttinger and associate director Amanda Rohdenburg; and VLT project director Don Campbell.)
Since 1923, the 146-acre lakefront camp and associated structures were owned by the Boy Scouts of America. With the conservation and sale of the camp to Outright Vermont, the organization will be able to serve more LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
2024 Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award to Trillium Hill Farm
The Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award is given annually to a farmer in recognition of outstanding service to community, land stewardship, and innovation. It honors the legacy of Eric Rozendaal, an innovative farmer who ran a vegetable farm in Starksboro with his wife, Keenan.
This year’s $5,000 award went to Sara and James Donegan of Trillium Hill Farm for growing a successful and sustainable operation in the heart of Hinesburg that integrates regenerative farming practices and serves the community through trails, a CSA, and farm stand.
Sara Donegan (right) of Trillium Hill Farm, with her daughter (left), and VLT’s Maggie Donin (center) on receiving the 2024 Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award.
In accepting the award, Sara Donegan said, “From the start of our farming journey nearly 20 years ago, Eric and Keenan’s farm was an inspiration. They were not only successful in growing healthy food and caring for the environment, but they stayed deeply connected to their community—a balance we’ve always admired. Thank you for this incredible honor.”
On land owned by James’ family since 1801, Trillium Hill farm is an organic vegetable farm that employs four people and hosts two miles of walking trails in Hinesburg. It was conserved with VLT in 2006, the year that James started his first market garden.
Their produce is sold through their farmstand on the property that also offers products from other local producers, a 75+ member CSA, and wholesale to grocery stores, farmstands, and restaurants in Chittenden County.
James and Sara are committed to keeping their 200+ year old family farm as working farmland that is as biodiverse and economically viable as possible. They are focused on soil health – adding micronutrients and organic matter and testing the soil annually, and also avoiding bare soil by keeping the productive land in market or cover crops, mulch or silage to help suppress weeds and keep topsoil in place. In past years they also used rotational grazing for beef cattle to restore the health of pastures that had become overgrown and fallow.
James and Sara Donegan of Trillium Hill Farm, Hinesburg, winners of the 2024 Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award.
Applications for the 2025 Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award will open later this year.
