Pascale Poussart and Adam Maloof

“Skinny Tree Farm” 

Pascale Poussart and Adam Maloof began their first conservation project in 2013, and have not stopped expanding their stewardship efforts since. Their 11-acre property borders St. Michael’s Preserve with a ring of majestic shagbark hickory trees, but the rest of the abandoned dairy farm was about half pasture and half young forest of skinny and dying ash trees, cedars, and invasives. Over the past six years, the property has been transformed into Skinny Trees Farm, and is now home to wildflower meadows, orchards, and scores of native shrubs and trees.

Adam and Pascale consulted our stewardship director about eradicating autumn olive and multiflora rose, and planting a meadow. Their first meadow project started as a necessary solution to replace an old septic field. Now, they can claim responsibility for planting thousands of trees and eradicating acres of invasives. Among the wildflower meadows, Pascale and Adam’s property includes fruit and nut tree orchards, berry patches, and nurseries for chestnut and hazelnut saplings.  Facing the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic head-on, Pascale and Adam have focussed on replacing the invasives and dying ash trees with varied tree and shrub saplings, including tupelo, sugar maple, red maple, sweet birch, yellow birch, river birch, hornbeam, hickory, sycamore, dogwood, black cherry, american beech, tuliptree, crabapple, eastern red cedar, swamp white oak, pitch pine, loblolly pine, eastern hemlock, eastern red bud, sumac, pussy willow, sassafras, witchazel, hackberry, chokeberry, buttonbush, and bayberry.

Much of Pascale and Adam’s work early on was the removal of invasive species such as stiltgrass, autumn olive, and multiflora rose. These invasive species demand constant vigilance on Skinny Trees Farm. Deer proved to be another imposing challenge to saplings, which struggle to survive heavy browse. After two years of native planting vanquished by deer browse, they fenced the entirety of their property, and have since seen a major improvement in new growth. Healthy growth from the past six years’ work blankets the property, which is now part of the New Jersey Forest Stewardship program.

When Pascale and Adam share the story of Skinny Trees Farm, their excitement and dedication highlight how much we can accomplish through diligence and care. Pascale and Adam continue to plant native species, always seeking to strengthen and balance the ecosystems on their land.  They also have established a farm stand, where they sell firewood from the dead ash, flowers from the meadows and garden, and berries, nuts, and fruit from their orchards. You can follow their efforts on Instagram @skinnytreesfarm.