Lisa Chase

President

I have lived in Putney three times since 1966. It keeps calling me back. It’s safe to say I am here to stay now. I am now retired and own a small home on a small, brushy, steep and ledgy piece of ground that I manage with a few ambitious and contented goats. My background is hard to characterize but it has always been land and place based. I grew up in rural Connecticut on the last farm in town. It is now a golf course, several subdivisions, and too many McMansions. I raised three children over 15 years on a 1500 acre cow-calf operation in rural Missouri. My oldest son is there now as a Grazer. I spent many years in academia up through an incomplete PhD in English Literature, with a side order of Classics (Greek and Latin) with a focus on Landscape. (Ancient Pastoral is about Landscape — I can explain!). I spent 15 years at Putney School as an Assistant to a Director search, assistant Librarian, and advisor to the Farm. I spent 9 years in seacoast Maine as a professional gardener. I applied to and was admitted to the Masters in Landscape Architecture at UMASS, but was unable to pursue it – a lasting regret. I have been active in Town in the past on the Conservation Commission and on the Library Board, and currently serve on two Advisory Committees. I have been a member of the Community Garden for at least seven years, and a Steward for five, for which I write the weekly Newsletter. I love the Garden’s role as a hive of community for creatures of all kinds, and I look forward to ensuring its place as a lasting attraction. Green Commons has secured this property as a gem that will make the Village of Putney increasingly desirable and livable.

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Marisa Miller

Treasurer

Marisa grew up in Putney.  Her family’s roots in Vermont go back to before it became a state in 1791, and those roots run deep in the agricultural community.  Her grandparents, Ellwyn and Beverly were dairy farmers, as were their parents.  When she started Lost Barn Farm with her parents, Reed and Kathy in 2011, they were growing on the land where she was raised in east Putney that was once part of her grandparents farm.  They currently grow seasonal vegetables, herbs and a few fruits.

Marisa has been a vendor of the Putney Farmers Market since 2011, and part of its board of directors since 2012. The market itself began in 2010 in the narrow wedge of green between the community garden and the Putney Food Co-op.  She looks forward to seeing how the market can continue to grow on this site now that the land is secured.

She remembers when the green space was even bigger, before the Co-op moved from Kimball Hill and before Putney Meadows moved in the back.  Circus Smirkus used to pitch their tent in the field for a few shows in the summer.

With such deep roots in the area, Marisa has been interested in preserving a community green space in the village of Putney since the idea was proposed in 2020.  She officially joined the Green Commons board in January of 2024.  Now that the land is secured, she looks forward to finding ways for it to serve the Putney community that she has been part of for most of her life.

Louise Garfield

Director

Louise is the longest-standing director on the Green Commons of Vermont board, having served as both its treasurer and president. Before that, she helped to shape the nascent Putney Community Garden governance.

In 2020 she aligned herself with the vision of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust to construct housing and consider the purchase the community garden/farmers market
parcel,

She and Tom Deshaies stepped into the unknown and dedicated themselves to the goal of owning this valued fertile parcel across from the Putney Food Coop.

Supported by a lawyer, they created the non-profit Green Commons of VT in 202— and peopled its board. The major challenge was applying for IRS 501(c)(3) status. With fellow directors, she also delved into fundraising collaborations, set up public events, and attended Putney select board meetings. In five years, she got a free education on leases and conservation easements, and so much more!

Tending two plots in the Putney Community Garden for almost 15 years, she counts garlic, flowers, peppers, and raspberries among the fruits of her seasonal labor, happily assisted by three grandchildren. Various artistic pursuits and travel to salt water, ancient sites in northern latitudes, and discovering the flora and geology of U.S. Southwestern deserts, round out a happy life in retirement, tuned to the seasons and circles of life with family members aged six to 96.

Louise eagerly awaits the opportunity to “grow” the sense of a common, a key aspect of stewardship. The addition of paths, sitting areas, native plants, and particularly the creation of play spaces for children, will expand opportunities for fun and community activities on soil with much agricultural history in the heart of Putney.

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Christopher Irion

Director

As the Green Commons closest residential neighbor, I have a keen interest in how the garden, farmers market and Alice Holway Drive Project come together and serve the community.

I first came to Vermont in 1967 to go to Middlebury College. I left Vermont in 1981 to pursue a career in photography in California. I moved back to Vermont in 2009 with the hope that I could engage in a smaller community where I might have a larger impact. 

I’ve always been interested in solving community-wide problems. In the time I have been back in the community, I’ve been responsible for co-founding (with the Putney Food Co-op), designing and producing the Local Harvest Lantern Supper at the Putney Central School.

I was part of the original founding group of Transition Putney, one result of which was the establishment of the community garden.

As a neighbor and Putney resident I look forward to helping shepherd Putney Farmers Market and Putney Community Gardens into the future.

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Richard Crocker

Director

I was brought up locally and my family has lived in the area for over 90 years. My Grandfather claimed to be a founding member of the Putney Co-op in the 1930s. The family has sugared on West road for many years and lots of us still have connections to the area. My children and I reside in the Village of Westminster West. I raise sheep and honey and participate on the farmers market board and market. You may see me around out here messing with sheep and other work.