Stuck in Vermont: Retired Couple Live Sustainably Off the Land at Birch Hill Sugarworks in Jericho

When you arrive at the homestead of Birch Hill Sugarworks owners Ann Gnagey and Tom Baribault in Jericho, there is no driveway up to their log cabin. Instead, a path framed by native plants and edible berries leads to their home, where they have lived since 1990. They have 60 acres of sugar bush and make about 100 gallons of syrup each season.

The couple raised three boys in this house, which has electricity and is heated by three woodstoves — minimizing their use of fossil fuels. Both biologists, Gnagey and Baribault do everything they can to live sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint. They heat their well water with solar panels in the summer and a woodstove in the winter, grow most of their food and dry it using the sun, plant a biodiverse landscape for pollinators and birds, and compost.

Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger spent a Sunday afternoon with the couple touring their verdant homestead and learning about the many projects they’re juggling.

Filming date: 8/18/24

Music: E’s Jammy Jams, “Frolic”

This episode of Stuck in Vermont was supported by New England Federal Credit Union.

This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2024.

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