Bluebird Hill Farm
“I
by Sarah Evert
farm organically because I am concerned about the environ- ment and our health,” Burns
says. “The more I learn about the impact of artificial fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides on the environment and on people’s health and well-being, the more I’m convinced that it’s worth the effort to grow organically.”
Burns uses no pesticides and no
chemicals on the farm, and her poultry are free-range. She also cultivates native plants and heirloom produce. She strives to farm in a way that respects nature and works with nature’s strengths. For ex- ample, she uses beneficial insect habitat methods, encouraging beneficial insects to naturally regulate pests. “You have to actually get on your hands and knees, and pull weeds, and work with nature in an organic way, instead of against it,” Burns says. This kind of farming requires hard
photo by: Bert Erling
Farmer Norma Burns shares the joys of engaging with nature and the hard-earned values of natural farm- ing with the community. She has operated Bluebird Hill Farm, a small farm in Bennet, North Carolina, since 1999. Following natural and organic principles, she cultivates a variety of vegetables, fruits, medicinal and culinary herbs, cut flowers, and flowering plants.
48 NA Triangle
www.natriangle.com
work and an extensive time commitment, but it is also a work of personal reward. Not only do these organic practices en- rich and support the earth, Burns says, but they enrich the individual’s connection with the world and with nature. Through her commitment to providing fresh, local food, and sharing the values of natural farming with the community, Burns offers tours, workshops, and internship opportu- nities at the farm. The on-farm workshops range in content from natural farming methods to the uses of plants and herbs. Workshops may also be arranged to meet the needs of small groups. For example, a women’s gardening club once arranged a garden tour, wherein they picked herbs from the garden and then cooked omelets on- site made with the herbs and fresh eggs gathered from the hens. Others simply come to learn about the farm and to pick produce. “People who periodically come to work on the farm for a few hours each time tell me that they feel the experience is very therapeutic,” says Burns. To celebrate the fruits of her and her helpers’ labor, she hosts the annual June Lavender Harvest at the height of the lavender season. The celebration began
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