La Ferme du Cerf Bleu is an 18th-century farm on 8 hectares in the Sanvigne valley near Étivey, in the Yonne, Burgundy. Our land lies within the close protection zone (périmètre de protection rapproché) of the town's drinking water source. What we plant here, and what we keep off this soil, reaches every tap in the village. The farm was a vineyard first, then a working farm for generations. Today it is our home, a guesthouse, and the base for Sacred Paths, our school of animist teaching. With this campaign we will create two things the land is asking for: a 5,000 to 10,000 m² edible forest, planted in partnership with the Association Forêt Gourmande, and a biodiversity pond. Together they will protect the town's water, shelter wildlife, stand up to drought, and become an open-air classroom.

Our Mission

We believe restoring land and restoring our relationship with it is one piece of work. Every tree we plant is also a lesson. We want this farm to become an island of life in a region that has lost much of its wildness, and a place where guests, students and neighbors can see regeneration up close and take part in it.

Background & Problem Statement

Our valley is surrounded by industrial agriculture. Over the decades, hedgerows were pulled out to make bigger fields, and the insects, birds and small animals that lived in them went too. Pollinators here are in clear decline.

This matters even more because our farm sits in the close protection zone of the town's drinking water source. Rain that falls on these fields soaks through the limestone and becomes the water our neighbors drink. Bare soil and intensive farming put water sources at risk from runoff and pollution. How this land is cared for directly affects the health of the whole community.

The climate is getting harder. Our soil is chalky limestone that holds little water. We now face summer droughts of up to four months, and one year we went two and a half months without rain. Winters can still drop to −15°C. Conventional orchards and bare fields struggle here. A layered forest, with canopy, shrubs, ground cover and roots working together, keeps soil cool, holds moisture and feeds life all year.

Solution

Edible forest. With the Association Forêt Gourmande, we will design and plant a 5,000 to 10,000 m² edible forest. Fabrice Desjours created their experimental forest garden in Burgundy in 2010. It is the oldest forest garden open to the public in France, and more than 1,000 food species have been tested there. Their knowledge of what thrives in our climate and soil is what makes this project possible. The forest will combine fruit and nut trees, berry shrubs, perennial vegetables, herbs and nitrogen-fixing plants in layers, with native hedgerows along its edges to connect habitats and break the wind.

Biodiversity pond. Our land sits on dry limestone, where open water is rare. A pond will bring back amphibians, dragonflies, birds, bats and the plants that live at the water's edge. It will give wildlife a place to drink during our long summer droughts and hold water in the landscape.

Protecting drinking water. The edible forest and the pond will keep this land permanently covered, with deep roots, no chemicals, and living soil that filters water as it moves down. The pond will slow runoff and let water settle and soak in gently. Together they turn our part of the protection zone into a natural filter for the town's water.

Use of Funds (€35,000)

Edible forest (€15,000): design and guidance with Forêt Gourmande, trees, shrubs and perennial plants, soil preparation, mulch, plant protection, and water for young plants.

Biodiversity pond (€20,000): earthworks, waterproofing, and native aquatic and edge plants.

Opportunity

Guests stay at the farm year-round, and the edible forest and pond will become part of their stay: walks, harvests, quiet time by the water, and hands in the soil. Sacred Paths students will learn an animist way of relating to land with the forest as their classroom. Over time, this land will show our region that food, clean water, biodiversity and resilience can grow together on the same ground.

How We Regenerate

We work with permaculture design, syntropic agroforestry adapted to Burgundy, and water-wise planting. We store 57,000 liters of rainwater and run solar panels on the old barn roof. We have already planted more than 500 native trees, shrubs and plants, a truffle oak orchard, a medicine wheel herb garden, five pollinator beds and a spiral of 150 grapevines of 15 varieties. We keep bees. We plan for drought first: straw mulch, no thirsty cover crops in dry beds, and shade belts that protect young plants from the afternoon heat.

Tracking Impact

Each year we will record the area planted, the number of species and plants, and their survival rate. We will photograph the forest and pond from the same points every season. We will keep simple wildlife counts of birds, pollinators, amphibians, dragonflies and bats, and record water levels in the pond through the dry season. We will also track harvests and the number of people who visit and learn on the land, and follow the water quality data published for the town's source.

Our Experience

Angell Deer and Rose Caitlyn Pezza have spent their lives where land and teaching meet. Before Burgundy, we spent twenty years in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where we founded and ran a center dedicated to reconnecting people with nature. Angell is a trained veterinarian, beekeeper and author of Becoming the Medicine. Rose holds an MFA in poetry and an MA in education, founded Oak Rose Forest School, and has worked with children for over a decade through story and nature. Since arriving at La Ferme du Cerf Bleu, we have restored the house, opened the guesthouse in 2025, and begun turning 8 hectares back toward life.