Meet our new Gardens & Growing Manager
Gardens & Growing Manager Jeremy LeClair
Welcoming our new Gardens & Growing Manager, Jeremy LeClair, and his team of seasonal growers
Each season brings change—sometimes slow and subtle, sometimes swift and stirring. This spring, we’re embracing many transitions of our own, from our evolution into a new nonprofit organization to welcoming fresh faces to the farm. In that spirit, we are delighted to introduce Jeremy LeClair as our new Gardens & Growing Manager at Philo Ridge Farm.
Jeremy’s path to this moment has been shaped by years of tending land, nurturing growth, and listening carefully—to the needs of the soil and to the rhythm of the seasons. He brings over a decade of experience in plant science, organic farming, and a deep-rooted commitment to sustainability. But what stands out most is his thoughtful approach and curiosity—qualities that feel right at home here.
“Local food and farming are one of the easiest ways to bring people together.”
His journey didn’t begin on a family farm or in a childhood garden. Instead, it started in high school classrooms in Rhode Island, where environmental issues and questions about the future of our food system sparked something in him. A gardening club run by an old social studies teacher. Friends who were discovering small-scale agriculture. The realization that farming could be a way to engage directly with climate change and large scale environmental issues facing younger generations.
He followed that pull to Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he immersed himself in working the land through draft animal power and hands-in-the-dirt learning. Later, at the University of Rhode Island, he studied plant sciences and sustainable crop production—bringing science and practice together in a way that continues to shape his farming philosophy.
Over the years, Jeremy has grown food in many forms and places. He’s led diverse farm operations, worked with community organizations, mentored young farmers, and stewarded land through seasons of abundance and challenge. From managing Four Season Farm in Maine—a place known for its pioneering work in sustainable agriculture founded by Eliot Coleman—to running production at the nonprofit Stonewood Farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, his experience spans both the day-to-day rigors and the bigger-picture visioning that farming demands.
Growers Annabelle Murray and Sophia Shaver
Jeremy seeding garden beds
The philosophy influencing our growing practices is rooted in our dedication to the ecological sustainability of the land
Now, he brings that experience to the gardens at Philo Ridge Farm. This season, Jeremy and his small growing team—Annabelle Murray, Sophia Shaver, and Gregory Sun—will steward just over two acres of production space, including our greenhouses and caterpillar tunnels. Annabelle is from Ashville, North Carolina and is joining us from her previous farm in Amagansett, New York, Sophia is joining the team from a culinary farm in Cary, North Carolina, and Greg is a recent graduate of Middlebury College. This season the garden team is sourcing seeds from local favorites like High Mowing Organic Seeds and Johnny’s Selected Seeds, as well as newer seed partners like Adaptive Seeds, and Uprising Seeds. The crops they’re tending are a blend of the familiar and surprising: heirloom tomatoes and peppers, salad greens and carrots, but also different varieties of radicchio—Jeremy’s personal favorite—for its beauty and bitter flavor in the fall months.
Jeremy is excited about working with his new team and getting to know the community surrounding him, “Local food and farming are one of the easiest ways to bring people together and connect around a common interest, and I have seen that to be true time and time again.”
This season, Jeremy is looking forward to working closely with the culinary and butcher teams— building relationships not as supplier and chef, but as collaborators in a shared vision. As he put it, “I trust them to turn what we grow into something I could never imagine. That’s the kind of partnership I want to be a part of.”
He’s also drawing on the knowledge of those who came before him. Brian Morgan, our former Gardens & Growing Manager and has been a helpful presence in Jeremy’s transition. Brian's deep curiosity and love of working with his hands led him to explore a new role at the farm as a Carpenter working closely with Harrison Snapp, our Master Carpenter. Brian and Jeremy’s conversations have touched on everything from trellising techniques to tool preferences, reminding us that farming, like any craft, is shaped by both existing knowledge and constant innovation.
Outside the garden, Jeremy’s life is filled with rhythm and movement—he plays guitar and bass, rides his bike through mountain trails, cooks simple, satisfying meals, and has recently fallen in love with Vermont’s winter through skiing.
As the days stretch longer and the first fruits of the season take shape, we hope you’ll join us in welcoming Jeremy and the rest of the Gardens & Growing team to the farm. In the coming months, you’ll see their work in the gardens and on our dining tables. You might also catch a glimpse of the quiet, joyful care that guides Jeremy’s approach when you walk through the gardens this summer— a reminder that good things grow not just from soil, but from shared purpose.
Welcome, Jeremy!