This Land
Gael Roots Community Farm is 150-acres located in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The farm includes 40 acres of fields for growing vegetables, making hay, and raising animals, and the remaining acreage is a diverse woodland. The beautiful forest, sugarbush, blueberry field, wetland and walking trails provide an amazing learning environment in nature. The Catskills were the shared territory of the Lenape along the Delaware River and the Haudenosaunee who occupied the northen and western Catskill Mountains. The Esopus and Mahican communities call the Hudson Valley home.
Our Name
The name of the farm comes from the Gaels, the ancient people who lived in Ireland, Scotland, and Isle of Man, and valued reciprocity with nature and community. These values were part of the founding of Gael Roots. We also acknowledges the foundations and shoulders that we all stand on, of ancestors, past farmers, and people who cared for the land before us. As a metaphor it also refers to the roots of plants, vegetables and life in nature; the roots are integral to the health and strength of a tree, plant and organism. We hope to foster strong roots for a creative, nourished, and vibrant farm and local community!
Wes and his brother playing with homemade boats in the ruts of the woods road
A Little Background
The beginning of Gael Roots Community Farm traces back to the 1950s when Cattail Road was a dirt road—the neighbors, Augie and Erma Eger, milked cows by hand, and locals like, Al Frey, hunted snowshoe hare in the Balsam Fir Fen with their beagles.
What is now Gael Roots was previously owned by the Carter family, who later sold the land to George and Olga Coppola, a family that raised prize cattle, pigs and geese. In 1957, Bea and Wes Gillingham purchased a piece of land refered to on the deed as the Scotch plot. It was affordable because it had no road access, just a rutted wood road and off-grid cabin. In 1984 Wes their youngest son, made this his home base. Then in the 90s Wes and Amy started Wild Roots Farm. Wild Roots Farm began as an organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and market farm on 10 acres of leased river bottom soil in Youngsville and leased from the current Gael Roots Farm in addition to the land that Wes and Amy still live on. There Amy and Wes raised Icelandic sheep, Scottish highland and dairy cows, and their children, Iris and Roan, on their off-grid farm.
In 2006, their leased vegetable field flooded, causing them to turn their attention to their home on the Mountain and transitioned to sustenance farming. At this time, Wes helped to start Catskill Mountainkeeper, an environmental advocacy organization, and has spent over 15 years fighting fracking and working on climate justice issues regionally and nationally. On Wild Roots Farm, Wes and Amy continue to grow all of their own food, raise 2 breeds of sheep for wool, tend to Scottish Highland cows, chickens and ducks.
The Next Generation
Raised on Wild Roots Farm, Iris grew up eating mainly food grown and raised on their farm and learning the history of the land on this mountain from her parents and pop pop (grandpa Wes Sr). In addition to producing food for their family, the Gillingham’s have offered many programs on sustainable land use, foraging, and animal husbandry. Over the years they have hosted over 30+ interns, many of whom now have their own farms in the Catskill Mountains and are producing food or engaged in community work. Growing up with the threat of fracking, Iris became involved in climate justice work, and by the time she attended college, she had traveled the country working with communities fighting fossil fuel extraction and working towards a sustainable future.
After attending SUNY Sullivan and College of the Atlantic in Maine, Iris received a bachelors degree in Human Ecology, with her focus on climate justice, food systems, and community resilience. Returning to Cattail Road Iris led programs, coordinated interns, and taught programs at Livingston Manor Central School each week during their summer school program. Working with summer interns and kids, Iris found a passion for facilitating experiences that build connections between people and the environment.
The Vision
Gael Roots Community Farm is a multigenerational dream. Amy’s passion for bringing people together around food was passed on to many interns, and eventually Iris. Inspired by their experiences, the Gillinghams, friends, and farm crews all dreamed of creating a community farm that was accessible, run as a non-profit, and that worked together with the local community rather than “for” it. This farm is a place to share knowledge, host diverse small scale agriculture operations, teach about connection to food and place, and foster community in a deeper way. We have a long-term commitment to producing accessible food for local schools and families.
In the fall of 2022, the land that is Gael Roots came up for sale. With support from friends and the community, the dream started to take shape. The land was purchased by Cattail Summit LLC in 2022. Cattail Summit LLC has agreed to a process of protecting the land and keeping it in agriculrure. Iris is now working to launch Gael Roots Community Farm, with support from Wild Roots Farm, friends, neighbors, and community members.
Gael Roots Community Farm will be shaped by the community, by interns, and the people that work with this land. This is a place of sowing seeds for social change, instilling a connection to nature, and encouraging a dynamic creative culture!
