What Five Wandering Sheep Reveal About Rock Point

By Kelly Kimball, Executive Director of Rock Point Commons

On Monday morning, hours before dawn, I woke to two missed calls and a voicemail from an unknown number. The entire message was: “Animal. Problem.”

I lay in bed for a moment, wondering what that could mean. Then I got up, grabbed a flashlight and a can of grain, and drove down North Avenue to Rock Point. Sure enough, the mobile pen that holds our small flock of sheep was empty.

I spent the next few hours walking through the woods and meadows, along North Beach, and through Lakeview Cemetery, shaking my can of grain and looking for five lost sheep. Many of you already know the punchline: a photo of the flock standing at the entrance to Burlington High School at first light. Soon, social media posts and local news stories were announcing the news with headlines like, “Ewe won’t believe who visited the high school this morning” and “Diocese sheep go on the lamb before hoofing it back to Rock Point.” Like the honeybees in Rock Point Commons’ teaching apiary, the sheep offer rich opportunities for puns.

You may be wondering how five sheep came to live at Rock Point in the first place.

The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont has owned and cared for Rock Point since 1854. The organization I lead, Rock Point Commons, was created by the Diocese to steward this remarkable place and invite the wider community into its care. Through volunteer programs and partnerships, we welcome people to tend natural areas, learn homesteading skills, and deepen their connection to the land and one another. We also offer programs in natural history, bird watching, nature journaling, and more. Underpinning it all is a belief that the more we understand what is rare, fragile, and precious about Rock Point, the better equipped we are to care for it together.

Rock Point's first flock of sheep grazing in the solar meadow

A few years ago, a group of volunteers proposed keeping sheep here as part of that work. By grazing small areas in rotation, the sheep could help maintain open meadows with less mowing, while giving grasses and wildflowers time to grow between visits—an approach intended to support native pollinators, birds, and healthier meadows.

I was hesitant at first. Caring for livestock requires daily attention and a long-term commitment. But the group had a thoughtful, realistic plan, and the proposal fit beautifully with our stewardship goals. Our board of directors approved the project, and five lambs arrived that spring. We have now reached the end of the sheep grazing initiative’s third summer. The volunteers have cared for the flock with exceptional dedication. On Sunday night, the electric fence was inadvertently left unplugged, and the sheep took the opportunity to explore.

In the days since, I’ve been thinking about five things this adventure showed me are worth remembering:

First, volunteers make so much of this work possible. From early spring through late fall, the sheep grazing volunteers show up every day to care for the animals. I see that same dedication among the people who help with maple sugaring, trail stewardship, managing introduced species, tending the gardens and orchards, and serving on our board. Their generosity, skill, and love for Rock Point help us to carry forward the Diocese’s long commitment to this land.

A group of volunteers helping with introduced species management at Rock Point

Second, community partnerships deepen what we can do at Rock Point. When the sheep were found loitering at Burlington High School at 6 a.m., I worried that the school district might be upset by its unexpected visitors. Instead, the school community responded with humor and kindness. From the beginning of our partnership, the district has shown respect for Rock Point’s landscape and support for our mission. That shared appreciation for the power of this place to teach, heal, and inspire is part of what makes Rock Point a fitting home for the district’s alternative high school, Eagle Bay Academy. We are fortunate to have many other partners—including the YMCA, Crow’s Path, Rock Point School, Spoonful Herbals, the Lake Champlain Land Trust, UVM’s Rubenstein School, and Burlington Wildways—who bring that same spirit to their work here.

Rock Point Commons staff member Lorna Dielentheis with a newly born lamb

Third, a small nonprofit staff does a bit of everything. Our job descriptions have areas of focus, but “other duties as assigned” is no joke. Some days we are developing a five-year strategic plan or reviewing monthly financial results. Other days we are fixing a toilet or removing buckthorn, a nonnative shrub that crowds out native plants. And occasionally, the work begins before sunrise with a flashlight and a can of grain.

Fourth, there is something wonderful about seeing this landscape’s agricultural heritage alive in Burlington. I think the photo of the sheep at the newly opened high school brought people joy because it felt so distinctly Vermont: an enduring part of our cultural heritage had turned up, quite literally, on the doorstep of the city’s beautiful new high school. At Rock Point, sheep grazing, maple sugaring, beekeeping, orchard tending, and gardening connect people with the land, with one another, and with traditions rooted here. I’m glad the sheep gave more people a glimpse of that work.

And fifth: Always plug in the electric fence.