Sweet River Organic Farm in Brunswick, Maine

It began with the trees, as many good things do—unassuming maples standing along the Androscoggin River, waiting for someone to see them. Faith Crooker did not set out to build a farm but to follow a quiet impulse, one that led her outdoors and closer to the land. Five years ago, with the help of her son-in-law, she tapped the maples surrounding her home, gathered their sap, and watched as it transformed—slowly, surely—into syrup. She turned an old shed into a maple house, built a wood-fired evaporator, and with time, watched as the sap gave itself over to syrup. The land, it seemed, had always been willing to offer its gifts. It simply needed someone to notice them again.

The noticing stirred into tending. From the trees, her focus shifted to the soil. Inspired by a class at Meeting House Farm, Faith began planting organic and medicinal herbs, stewarding the land and the plants with a gentle hand. She adopted no-till, regenerative farming methods, trusting in what was already beneath her feet. Sweet River Organic Farm grew gradually, shaped by the seasons—sap running in late winter, herbs drying in spring and summer, roots deepening as autumn came and went. It was never hurried, never overdone, just the steady work of being in tune with what the land was ready to offer.

Today, Sweet River Organic Farm is a small, intentionally scaled operation rooted in both traditional practice and contemporary ecological farming. Crooker envisions it as more than a homestead: a space for education, community, and connection to the earth. Her long-term goal is to create a teaching environment where others can learn to grow herbs and tend the land with intention, patience, and respect.