The Making of Village Farm
It all began with Skip’s dream to start a farm and Erin’s desire to reconnect with her Texas family roots. In 2005, we gave up our communication jobs in Atlanta, sold our house, and moved with our two small children to Austin. When our offer to buy a farm in rural Bastrop County fell through, this historic but neglected farm in East Austin came up for rent. We have lived and farmed here ever since.
Erin Flynn is an organic flower farmer and agricultural activist dedicated to helping sustainable farmers succeed. Descended from six generations of Texan ranchers, she is the first in her family to create a community-based, certified organic farm. Prior to farming, her career included senior positions in communications, nonprofit administration, international finance and public health in New York, London and Atlanta. In 2005, she returned to Texas to create Green Gate Farms with her husband. Known for its educational programs and community events, Green Gate Farms has hosted thousands of volunteers, students and visitors. Its Farm Camps. created for children and adults, have been awarded by the Austin Chronicle as the “Best of Austin.” She has mentored dozens of farmers, food activists and Farmshare students, with an emphasis on encouraging organic flower farmers.
In addition to teaching farm marketing at Austin Community College and serving on the City of Austin’s Sustainable Food Policy Board, she helped start GroACT (Growers Alliance of Central Texas) to organize area farmers and Friends of the Land, to preserve farmland in Central Texas.
Flynn is a writer and frequent speaker at conferences on subjects ranging from farm-based education to creating farm-centered developments (agrihoods).
Harold “Skip” Connett is co-founder of Green Gate Farms in Austin and Bastrop. He has been a leader in farm-based education, local food policy, and farmland protection for nearly 20 years. He is co-founder of Friends of the Land and the Growers Alliance of Central Texas. He is a founding board member of the Texas Center for Local Food.
He also has served on the board of the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Organization and the Texas Department of Agiculture’s Organic Industry Advisory Board. He speaks at state and national sustainable farming conferences. Green Gate Farms has been featured in several books including Sur La Table’s Eat Local cookbook and Farms with a Future. Prior to farming he was an award-winning investigative reporter, speechwriter and media trainer.
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