2025 Land & Lives Award and Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award celebrated
We are thrilled to recognize Camp DREAM and Boneyard Farm for their exceptional contributions towards uniting land and lives. They received awards at our annual celebration in September.
“Camp DREAM and Boneyard Farm represent how conservation can strengthen Vermont’s communities and landscape,” said Tracy Zschau, President & CEO. “Mike Foote and Hannah Doyle embody what it means to care for both land and people, and we are thrilled to recognize their tireless work through these awards.”
(Photo above shows, from left to right: VLT Farmland Access Program Director Maggie Donin, Hannah Doyle of Boneyard Farm, Mike Foote of The DREAM Program, and VLT Project Director Bob Heiser.)
Mike Foote of The DREAM Program receives Land & Lives Award
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 went to Mike Foote, Founder and Empowerment Director at The DREAM Program (DREAM), for his years of work to support outdoor recreation opportunities for rural and low-income youth in Vermont and further afield.
Mike Foote, Founder and Empowerment Director of The DREAM Program.
“This isn’t a single person’s achievement,” said Mike. “DREAM has been built by so many partners, families, kids, and mentors. Our overnight adventure base, Camp DREAM has created memories, developed young minds, and provided a safe, outdoor space for some of the most vulnerable youth in our communities.”
Mike co-founded DREAM in 1999 and, in 2005, Mike and the nonprofit partnered with VLT to buy and conserve 50 acres of land on Metcalf Pond to establish Camp DREAM. The camp provides outdoor opportunities for children living in underserved communities across Vermont and the Northeast. More recently, Mike led the effort for DREAM to acquire a one-acre island on Metcalf Pond. The island will provide additional recreation and adventure opportunities for all campers.
VLT Project Director, Bob Heiser, has worked with Mike to conserve the Camp DREAM land for years. “I am truly inspired by Mike and his team for their decades of commitment, offering opportunities to countless kids who otherwise wouldn’t have these incredible experiences,” said Bob. “They are fostering our next generation of environmental stewards.”
Hannah Doyle of Boneyard Farm won the Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award
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 Hannah Doyle, the owner and operator of Boneyard Farm in Fletcher, VT. Now in its fifth growing season, Boneyard Farm produces organic vegetables and grass-based meats.
Hannah Doyle, owner and operator of Boneyard Farm, attends two weekly farmers markets. Courtesy Boneyard Farm
In accepting the award, Hannah said, “It means a lot to win this award and to be recognized for our work in Vermont agriculture. We intend to be here for the long haul, and are working on our small business and raising our kids to be engaged in our community. We are very grateful to the Vermont Land Trust for both helping us conserve the land and actively farm it, and for this recognition.”
Hannah lives and works on the farm with her husband, John, and two boys (four and seven). Hannah began farming on a small piece of land in Bakersfield. She and John purchased the VLT-conserved property in Fletcher in 2021. Today, Hannah manages the farm full-time with the help of a part-time employee and John’s assistance, outside of his work as a fence contractor.
“It feels like a lifelong calling and an honor to be stewarding 180 acres of beautiful land in Fletcher,” said Hannah. “It has taken great, relentless energy and resources to get the farm off the ground, as we converted a vacant former conventional dairy to a diversified small farm, and built up the infrastructure to get efficient systems into place.”
Hannah and her husband, John, live on the farm with their two sons. Courtesy Boneyard Farm
Currently Hannah grows veggies in two unheated tunnels and a half-acre outdoor plot. The award will allow Boneyard Farm to build a heated propagation greenhouse this fall, paired with the family’s savings and a loan from the Vermont Farm Business Builder program. The greenhouse will allow Boneyard Farm to produce hearty seedlings in early spring to sell and use on the farm starting in 2026.
VLT Farmland Access Program Director, Maggie Donin, works with farmers across Vermont. “Boneyard Farm serves as an example of why I do this work to connect farmers to land,” said Maggie. “I know Eric Rozendaal would be inspired by their work just as much as I am.”
2026 Rozendaal Award applications will open in mid-November of 2025. Applications will be due by February 26, 2026.
