Paige Wener began Green & Gold in 2019 at Golden Well Sanctuary in New Haven, Vermont. Due to catastrophic flooding during that season, the farm moved to Sudbury, in northern Rutland County, VT, in 2020. Sudbury is nestled in the northern foothills of the Taconic Mountains, on the ancestral lands of the Abenaki and Mahican peoples. The land comprises 55 acres on the northern edge of Lake Hortonia, and was part of a working farm for many years. After the farm declined, it was purchased by Paige’s great-grandparents in 1966, from Mary and Robert Wilcox, with conservation in mind. The farm contains wooded areas, wetlands, and pasture, and straddles a large wildlife travel corridor; it is home to and often visited by birds of prey, whitetail deer, native pollinators, bats, songbirds, turtles, bobcats, wild turkeys, foxes, porcupine, opossums, skunks, and black bears. It is cared for with their spirits, their food sources, and their habitat in mind.

Paige grew up in Starksboro, Vermont and attended the University of Vermont, where she attained a B.S. in Nutrition and Food Sciences with a minor in Anthropology. In 2014, she began her farming journey in southeastern Pennsylvania at a tree fruit and vegetable farm. Since then, she has followed her passion to farming endeavors in New Zealand, Washington State, Alaska, and back to Vermont. Paige has done everything from picking apples to mucking pig pens to cutting through blackberry jungles in the pursuit of a full-farm education. Agriculture allows her to strive towards lifelong goals of getting outside, engaging in local economies, and eating incredibly well.

Paige enjoys learning about all things related to intersectional food culture and ecological systems. Her choice to farm stems from a deep interest in food and place, and how they affect individuals and communities. She is an avid reader, cook, poet, fermenter, walker, and amateur herbal medicine-maker; and enjoys sharing her love of plants and her favorite seasonal recipes with the community. She is committed to growing delicious and nutrient-dense produce by focusing on soil health and the interconnectedness between human beings and land. 

Eli Fox is overjoyed to be returning to Green & Gold for a second season this year. They came to Sudbury by way of Seattle where their love for growing food was ignited with a balcony garden. They are passionate about food access, collective liberation, and singing to plants. Eli is fascinated by fungi that also live beyond a gender binary. They love kale more than anyone probably should, and the farm task they are most excited for in 2024 is pruning the tomatoes.