►
Description
From Melinda Moulton:
Alec was the General Manager of Shelburne Farms before being elected President of the Farms in 1988. He helped plan and coordinate the development of Shelburne Farms as a nonprofit organization, and has been active in local land use planning, agriculture, and environmental education projects for many years. In 2006, Alec was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Middlebury College. Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin honored Webb in 1990 for his extraordinary contributions to Vermont, and he received the Vermont Land Trust’s Richard W. Carbin Community Conservation Award in 1998.
4/17/2023
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A
B
A
A
B
A
B
So
for
those
of
you
who
know
Shelburne,
Farms,
there's
the
milking
barn
and
as
you're
going
towards
the
lake
on
the
way
to
the
end
on
the
right
in
our
family,
home
was
just
maybe
two
or
three
hundred
yards
north
of
the
Milken
Barn.
So
my
dad
built
that
Barn
in
1952,
which
which
was
the
year
I,
was
born.
B
So
we
grew
up
in
a
house
that
was
just
through
the
woods
from
the
melting
Barn.
So
our
our
world
has
one
of
six
kids
there's
six
of
us
in
my
generation,
so
our
world
was
very
I.
Don't
know
the
smallest
right
word,
but
you
know
it
was.
It
was
about
our
home
and
the
melting
barn
and
the
farm
operations
in
Ozone
Orchard
point
which
was
there
was
a
calf,
barn
and
the
you
know.
B
We
had
a
horse,
barn
and
stuff,
so
it
was
it,
and
but
today
it's
a
it's
a
more
of
a
residential
area.
So
you
know
if
I
went
back
or
when
I
go
back
to
Orchard
point.
It's
a
completely
different
environment
than
I
grew
up
in
in
Shelburne.
Farms
is
is
also
a
lot
different
in
that
again,
when
we're
growing
up
is
all
about.
It
was
a
working
dairy
farm,
so
that
was
our
whole
context
for
growing
up
and
now
it's
you
know
this
amazing.
It
still
is
even
I
guess.
B
A
B
Oh
wow,
well,
I
I
went
I,
was
I,
was
sent
out
to
private
school
fairly
Young
at
a
young
well
in
the
fifth
grade,
which
is
like
I,
can't
imagine
sending
one
of
my
kids
off
in
fifth
grade.
So
that
was
good
for
in
terms
of
like
maybe
learning,
study,
skills
and
you
know,
discipline
doing
homework
and
that
type
of
thing
it
wasn't
so
great
and
emotional
IQ
World,
but
it
was
so
I
was
in
an
environment
in
the
60s.
You
know
so
I
graduated
from
high
school
in
1970.
B
that
while
there
are
benefits
you
know
from
the
kind
of
the
intellectual
side
it
really
it
felt
like
I
was
in
kind
of
a
bubble
and
that
the
the
education
I
was
getting
was
kind
of
disconnected
from
what
was
going
on
in
the
60s
in
the
real
world.
So
I
I
there
were
teachers.
There
were
you
know,
I
mean
the
the
readings
that
we
were
doing
on
Dana,
Meadows
and
others.
You
know
early
on
the
early
Environmental,
thinkers
and
writers,
Rachel,
Carson
and
others.
So
I
think
it
was.
A
B
Yeah
yeah,
so
you
had
children
Farms,
you
know
in
that
kind
it
was
under
increasing
development
pressure.
He
knows
buttons
through.
You
know
those
strip
development
was
pushing
South
and
route
seven,
so
you
had
so
yeah.
Those
pressures
in
the
context
of
the
the
global
situation
is
what
led
to
the
thinking
around
creating
a
non-profit
organization
that
could
use
Sheldon
Farms
as
a
resource,
for
you
know,
helping
address
some
of
those
larger
societal
and
environmental
issues
which.
A
B
Children
Farms
today
is
this
amazing
place
for
learning.
You
know
we're
an
education
organization
and
our
mission
is
to
inspire
and
cultivate
learning
for
a
sustainable
future.
So
it's
it's.
This
combination
of
this
incredibly
beautiful
working
farm
and
landscape
within
an
educational
idea
that
goes
far
beyond
this
this
place,
but
it's
grounded
in
in
place
so
I'd
like
to
think
of
our
southern
farms,
as
this
amazing
local
community
resource.
That
is,
you
know
globally,
connected
through
a
network
of
of
organizations
and
individuals
who
are
concerned
about
the
future
of
of
our
world.
B
Yeah-
and
we
have
this
interesting,
Dynamic
I
mean
we,
we
don't
promote
ourselves
as
a
is
it
is.
It
is
it
tourist
attraction,
because
we
really
want
I
mean
we're
an
educational
organization
with
this
amazing
campus
that
we
want
to
welcome
people
to
come
and
enjoy,
but
we're
we're
here
to
create
this
place
of
learning,
not
just
to
get
as
many
people
as
possible
to
to
come.
You
know
and
visit
and
leave
it's
really
one
of
the
things
I
love
about
or
what
through
covet
was.
B
You
know
you
have
people
from
the
local
community
coming
out
to
walk.
You
know
multiple
times
a
week,
so
that
kind
of,
as
opposed
to
someone
just
coming
and
experiencing
shelving
farms
and
leaving
and
not
coming
back,
it's
that
kind
of
deep
connection
with
the
local
communities.
What
really
is
a
lot
of
what
makes
children,
friends,
I
think
so
special,
but.
A
From
with
what
they
took
away
from
Shelburne
Farms,
so
it
it
inspires
and
creates
wisdom
in
people's
hearts
who
have
who
have
gone
there.
It
I
think
it's
one
of
the
great
wonders
of
the
world,
but
anyway
so
Alec.
What
do
you
consider
the
greatest
challenges
you
have
faced
as
you
worked
to
create
this
internationally
revered
and
inclusive
experience
known
as
Shelburne
Farms.
B
I
definitely
have
been
working
for
a
long
time
on
this,
but
I'm
Sheldon
Farms
is
not
here
because
of
me.
You
know
there's
so
many
people
who
have
made
it
work
in
a
way
and
I'm
I
feel,
like
part
of
my
role,
has
been
maybe
like
a
stage
hand
in
a
way
you
know
like
creating
an
environment
where
amazing
people
can
can
do
amazing
work
here
and
there's
been
so
many
that,
along
the
way
that
have
done
that
so
well,.
B
A
B
A
A
B
B
You
know
future
for
this
place,
because
if
it
had
just
kind
of
gotten
the
normal
course
of
events,
it
would
have
been
become
a
high-end
subdivision.
I
guess
you
know,
Suburban
subdivision
for
a
golf
course
or
whatever
apartment
Club,
so
I
think
the
first
step
was
re-envisioning
a
different
future
and
then
the
reality
was
like.
Then,
how
do
you
realize
that
future-
and
it
was
so
it
was-
it-
was
a
community
coming
together
to
to
help
think
about
and
bring
that
along.
B
So
our
family,
you
know
so
my
dad
had
to
think
about
how
to
handle
things,
and
we
all
asked
them
to
leave
the
property
of
the
nonprofit
so
which
he
did
when
he
died.
Unexpectedly,
it
might
you
know
I'm
70
he'd.
He
dropped
dead
at
70,
but
from
a
heart
attack
and
he
was
a
kind
of
old
school
where
he
hadn't
discussed
his
estate
plan
with
us
explicitly
kind
of
you
know
his
will
was
his
business
type
thing,
but
when
he
he
had
in
fact
decided
to
leave
the
property
of
the
nonprofit.
B
B
The
there
wasn't
Revenue
to
cover
the
operating
expenses
and
there,
but
the
we
had
through
the
70s.
My
first
wife
Marilyn
was,
you
know,
played
a
role
in
it.
With
my
you
know,
Marshall
who
passed
away
last
year
and
others.
You
know
starting
planting
the
seeds
of
the
education
program,
so
they
were
there,
but
there
was
still
an
early
developmental
phase.
So
it
was.
B
You
know,
since
the
80s
and
the
challenges
program
on
the
program,
you
know,
how
do
you
take
some
great
programs
that
are
serving
a
local
local
audience
and
create
an
international
network
of
Educators
that
are
making
a
difference
in
their
own
schools
and
communities
around
the
world?
So
I,
don't
know
it's
been
a
it's
a.
B
A
B
Yeah
so,
as
I
said
we
had
this,
we
want
to
use
this
amazing
place
to
invite
people
on
a
Learning
Journey
around
sustainability
and
and
then
we
and
our
Focus
has
been
largely
around
young
people.
So
you
know
helping
and
the
way
to
have
the
greatest
impact
is
by
working
with
Educators,
who
you
know,
spend
their
careers
working
with
multiple
classes.
So
it's
really
about
supporting
education,
that's
tied
to
place
in
community
and
engages
young
people
in
developing
a
sense
that
they
can
make
a
difference
in
the
world.
A
B
We
have
so
our
you
know:
direct
service
programs
on
the
farm.
We
have
probably
not
Than
Ever
After
talking
about
but
yeah
eight
to
ten
thousand,
probably
young
people
come
through
programs.
Our
children's
farmyard
has,
you
know
before
covid
we
had
I,
don't
know
30
000
families
and
kids
come
through
there.
B
A
B
B
And
in
the
70s
you
know,
wholesale
milk
production
was
challenging,
and
so
in
the
late
70s
we
tried
bottling
raw
milk
and
we
were
I
think
at
one
point.
We
were
selling
at
12,
000,
half
gallons
of
Week
locally.
We've
got
a
little
truck
going
around
the
supermarkets
and
then
we
transitioned
that
into
making
grandma
cheddar
cheese
in
the
early
80s,
so
that
that
added
that
that
was
a
strategy
for
adding
value
to
the
mall
to
help.
B
You
know,
provide
the
revenue
to
help
support
the
working
landscape
here
and
and
produce
a
wonderful
product.
You
know
that
would
help
feed
people
and
and
help
sustain
the
organization
and
and
with
our
Woodlands
too.
So
we
have
the
our
working
Farmland
that
supports
the
the
dairy
and
the
cheese
making
and
a
small
flock
of
sheep
for
lamb
and
small
beef
herd.
And
then
we,
our
Woodland,
supports
a
maple
sugaring
operation.
A
B
Well,
my
mother,
outlived
my
dad
by
a
few
years,
but
now
I
think
my
my
father.
Would
you
know
he
so
he
died
in
1984
before
it
was
a
lot
yeah
unfolded,
so
I
think
you
would.
It
would
be
fun
to
to
around
with
him
sure
I
think
you
feel
I
think
you'd
be
feel
great
to
see
the
the
dairy
still
going
and
just
kind
of
probably
be
amazed
to
see
the
the
you
know
the
the
large
buildings,
because
he
he
decided
to
basically
abandon
or
let
go
of
the
major
you
know
estate
buildings.
B
B
Well,
yeah
this
land,
yeah
I
mean
it's
an
amazing
piece
of
property
and
that
ten
thousand
years
or
more
ago
the
abnaki
were
here
and
we're
we're
trying
to
really
work
on
acknowledging
the
whole
story
of
the
the
land
here
and
not
to
start
with
the
you
know
the
webs
coming
to
town
so
that
so
yeah.
So
you
know
as
in
the
rest
of
Vermont.
You
know
we,
the
abnaki,
you
know,
were
displaced
and
the
land
taken
by
the
European
settlement.
B
That
happened
and
then
the
children
Farms
that
that
ended
up
being
like
a
a
community
of
30,
something
Farms
that
were
going
in
the
in
the
mid
1980s.
And
then,
when
the
my
great
grandparents
came
to
town,
they
purchased
I,
think
36
farms
and
Consolidated
them
into
what's.
Shelburne
Farms
today,
actually
there's
a
larger
property
at
that
time
and
they
brought
in
Alfredo
claw
Olmsted
to
help
kind
of
conceptualize
the
the
layout
and
that's
why
I
feel
when
you
come
in.
B
It
feels
more
Park
like
you're,
it's
not
like
a
typical
Vermont
landscape,
so
the
curvilinear
road
systems
and
the
way
the
plantings
were
developed
to
kind
of
highlight
different
spatial
relationships
and
Views
that
that
was
olmsteads
influence,
which
is
pretty
great
because
he
Olmstead
did
Central
Park
and
other
Parks,
but
I
think
he,
the
The
Story
Goes
that
he
was
interested
in
working
with
private
properties
like
this
that
he
thought
might
someday.
You
know
go
into
the
public
realm,
because
that
was
his
Israel
interest
was
in
creating
spaces
that
everybody
could
enjoy.
A
B
A
B
Yeah,
so
we
use
so
when
Educators
or
you
know,
teachers
come
here
with
their
kids,
they
can
learn
how
to
use
a
place
like
children
Farms
to
enhance
their
learning
experiences,
but
the
the
goal
isn't
to
have.
Every
child
in
Vermont
of
the
world
come
to
Sheldon
farms
for
every
community
in
Vermont
and
around
the
world
have
Educators
who
can
they
have
the
the
skills
and
the
confidence
to
use
their
local
Community
Resources
in
special
places
as
extensions
of
their
learning
environment?
So
that's,
that's.
The
real
that'll
be
the
real
measure
of
success,
so.
B
B
Yep,
so
one
of
our
big
organizational
commitments
is
to
improve
our
stewardship
practices
and
so,
of
course,
the
climate
change
being
such
a
global
issue.
We
want
to
become
we're
accepted
the
goal
of
becoming
Net
Zero
Beyond
Net
Zero
by
2028,
in
our
practices
and
and
largely
I
mean
just
to
be
good
stewards
of
what
we're
responsible
for,
but
also
to
to
help
build
this
inspiring
learning
environment
so
that
you
know
it
can
be
a
place
where
people
can
see.
B
You
know
you
know
how
we
went
about
that
process
and
and
what
it
might
look
like.
So
we
and
that's
part
of
a
ongoing
fundraising
efforts.
We
have
a
climate
action
fund
that
we're
raising
funds
to
first
put
together
our
our
planning
framework
for
achieving
Net
Zero
and
then,
of
course,
we'll
take
a
significant
investment
to
accomplish
it.
So
so.
A
You're,
creating
you're,
creating
within
your
environment
in
Shelburne
Farms
an
example
of
sustainable
practices.
So
my
viewers,
if
you
are
interested
in
supporting
Shelburne
farms
and
supporting
the
Marshall
Webb
Earth
Day
2028,
you
can
go
to
the
website
shelburnefarms.org
and
make
a
donation,
and
that
would
be.
We
all
would
be
very
grateful
for
you
to
do
that.
A
A
B
All
make
a
difference.
You
know
in
our
that
that
together,
you
know
that
like
if
we
all
do
what
we
can
actually
I
just
found.
This
amazing
quote
that
was
this
book
called
Buddha's
brain
by
Rick
hansenburg,
but
he
said
you
will
do
it
this
quality.
This
is
from
somebody
named
Kelsey
Johnson.
Do
all
that
you
can,
with
all
that
you
have
in
the
time
that
you
have
in
the
place
that
you
are
and
I
was
thinking.
B
I
might
add
whether
people
and
Community,
you
love,
but
that's
I
think
we
just
with
whatever
resources
we
have
and
and
for
young
people.
You
know,
I,
think
it's
to
you
know
my
you
know
to
be
young
and
then
you,
as
your
grow
older,
you
know,
grow
into
a
kind
of
have
the
if
every
kid
had
the
sense
that
they
could
make
a
difference
in
their
lives.
Oh,
that
would
be
so
wonderful.
B
B
B
A
B
B
B
B
Yes,
that's
true:
yep
I
mean
they
and
I
think
the
biggest
hope
would
be
that
the
people
like
ourselves
who
have
access
to
opportunity
and
resources
that
many
don't
that
that
everybody
really
uses
them
to
in
every
possible
way
for
the
betterment
of
all
you
know,
I
mean
that
that's
I
think
that's
the
real
hope,
perhaps
that
that
will
happen.
You're.
A
B
A
B
I
love
adaptability,
resilience
but
I'm
still
hanging
in
there
with
sustainability,
not
because
it's
you
know
who
wants
to
just
be
sustainable,
but
on
the
other
hand,
there's
a
lot
of
good
things
in
that
word
in
terms
of
long-term
thinking.
So
to
me
it's
it's
more.
It
doesn't
have
the
quality
of
life
thing
that
jumps
out,
but
if
you
I
think
the
importance
of
thinking
long
term,
that's
what
sustainability
still
resonates
for
me
about.
You
know
it's
really!
It's
like
not
just
looking
at
short-term.
A
B
A
Good
for
you,
Alex
Webb
until
the
sun,
well,
I
have
no
doubt
you're
going
to
be
around
I,
don't
know
where
or
or
where
you're
you're
going
to
be,
but
you're
going
to
be
making
a
big
difference
wherever
you
are
in
closing,
this
is
kind
of
fun.
Can
you
tell
my
viewers
what
baby
animals
they
can
see
and
pet
at
your
farmyard.
B
B
A
Know
vote
yoga
now
where
baby
goats
are
helping
people
get
their
yogurt.
Well,
listen.
We've
come
to
the
end
of
this
interview
and
I
just
want
to
tell
you
that
for
many
many
years,
I've
admired
you
and
loved
you
and
and
I,
and
at
the
work
that
you
and
your
family
have
done,
and
your
team
is
extraordinary.
So
I
want
to
thank
you
for
your
time
to
be
on
my
show
and
I
wish
you
a
beautiful
day,
Alex
thanks.
B
Melinda
is
that
there's
somebody
once
told
me
that
my
main
job
is
thanking
people
and
I
I
feel
like
I.
Never
do
that
adequately,
but
thank
you
and
I.
Just
for
people
are
seeing
this
who
have
been
supporting
the
farm.
I
just
want
to
thank
everybody.
You
know
it's
been
an
amazing
where
it
is
an
amazing
Community.
That's
making
shelving
Farms
possible.
So
it's.