Meet the Fassett Farm Nursery Team
Aaron Abitz
Aaron grew up in Missouri and first fell in love with the Monadnock area while living here in the late 90's. He has now called New Hampshire home for more than 25 years and is passionate about restoring native and wild habitats for the present and next generations. With a background in Horticulture as well as a certification in Permaculture Design, he brings years of experience to the Fassett Farm team.
Aaron is also inspired to organize community gatherings to cultivate a more resilient community through plants, music and healthy food!
He also gets to share this dream with his four children that all still live within the region!
Brittany Kavanagh
Hailing from Massachusetts, Brittany now resides within the Monadnock region where her family has visited for generations. With a Bachelors degree in fisheries and wildlife management and a professional background in fine gardening, she now supports both the nursery and the gardening crew with a passion for incorporating native species into developed environments. She believes every backyard can become a functioning ecosystem that supports the wildlife and insect populations of the region.
Doug Clayton
Doug has had a lifetime of experience that was a great preparation for this late-in-life enterprise. Early life in rural Ohio bordered on idyllic. On the edge of the Appalachian plateau, on a hobby farm in a family that grew much of their food. Gardens, orchard, chickens, a fishing pond, a rainwater cistern, heating with wood; his father even tried growing mushrooms in the 1950’s.
Doug got his B.S. in Natural Resources with a minor in design from Ohio State University (75) and went on to work in the “Whole Life Systems” program at the Farallones Institute in Occidental California for two years (76-78). Solar construction, gray water systems, composting toilets, organic gardening, etc. were all being pursued there.
Upon moving to New Hampshire in 1978 he worked for a solar builder for a few years and went on to design/build a few houses of his own. In 1981 he took a Permaculture Design course with Bill Mollison. There he met some like-minded folks and with them (and some others!) helped established two non-profits: Land Trust at Gap Mountain and Gap Mountain Permaculture. He has spent the past 40 years homesteading at Gap Mountain, pretending to be competent at the Design, Construction, Consultation and Stewardship of Food, Shelter, Energy, and Water Systems.
Cedar Abitz
Cedar is our weekend tour guide and edible specialist! His tours around the nursery and samplings of hyssop, chives, and walking onions are the highlight of many visitors to the farm. He also brings a wide variety of fun activities that bring the nursery to life ( his direct quote!)