\n\tThis article was\u00a0written collaboratively by\u00a0Cassie Wolfanger, Audubon\u00a0Vermont\u2019s Conservation Research Fellow\u00a0with Lake Champlain Sea Grant\u00a0and\u00a0Simran Padgett, Audubon\u00a0Vermont Conservation Intern, and posted on the Audubon Vermont website July 19, 2021.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s 6:00am and already it\u2019s 82 degrees\u2014the kind of day where the air feels thick and wet to breathe in. We assemble at\u00a0Isham Farm<\/a>\u00a0in Williston to conduct a baseline survey for birds and pollinators and make bird-friendly farming recommendations to the landowners. Birds and\u00a0bees\u00a0typically go hand-in-hand and when you manage for one, you usually get the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAudubon Vermont<\/a> staff Margaret Fowle, Gwendolyn\u00a0Causer, Simran Padgett, and I are joined by Jason\u00a0Mazarowski. He\u2019s an adjunct professor at the University of Vermont and a pollinator expert from the\u00a0Gund Institute<\/a>, which focuses research on climate solutions, health and well-being, sustainable agriculture, and resilient communities.<\/p>\n \n\tWe\u2019re all greeted by the warm and friendly smile of Helen Weston, one of the farm\u2019s owners. Together with Mike Isham, she is the 5th generation to operate the farm. Originally a dairy farm purchased by the Isham family in 1871, it has had many different purposes through the years. Mike and Helen now grow market vegetables, blueberries, Christmas trees,\u00a0and other crops, but this is not your typical farm. They focus on protecting the 4 B\u2019s: birds, bees, butterflies, and bugs, and manage the land with conservation in mind….<\/p>\n