Shelter Island Reporter

Bennett Konesni and Edith Gawler take a break from building a new farmstand at the end of Windmill Field at Sylvester Manor.

Like curious kids at the gates of Willy Wonka's Candy Factory, visitors and neighbors alike wonder what is beyond the white pillars of Sylvester Manor. The answer is in the hands of Mr. Erwin Bennett Konesni, known more commonly as Bennett, the steward of the nearly 250-acre colonial plantation.


Bennett is a young man who arrived with the mission of restoring and bringing a sense of community to historic Sylvester Manor. There is a spirit of renewal, cultivation and innovation, all of which are spearheaded by Bennett and his vision for the future of the property.


An interview with Bennett is like sitting down at the dining room table with an old friend. He is an open, willing and articulate individual, and he has brought these characteristics to Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. 


Bennett was born in Asheville, North Carolina and moved to coastal Maine soon after. He has always liked lively rural communities and the landscapes they're a part of. He enjoyed grilling BBQ pork and playing baseball in the yard with his family. Much of his childhood involved going to community events focused around music or food: county fairs, contra dances, fiddle festivals.


He attended high school at a private boarding school in Connecticut, the Pomfret School, and then went on to pursue his interests in business and environmental studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. In college Bennett wanted to explore how to make a living combining his passions. He also was interested in music and anthropology, which opened up opportunities to go abroad. He spent his junior year in South Africa, working with Zulu farmers and learning their community work song party tradition, called “ilimo.” These African farmers put a big bowl of ice-cold beer at the end of a row of beans and whoever picks the most the fastest gets the first drink.


After Middlebury, Bennett received his M.B.A. degree at Antioch University New England. He then received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study the work songs of farmers, herders and fishermen in Africa, Asia and Europe. For 11 months Bennett worked alongside locals and learned how they fit music to work in each context.


Bennett found his way to Shelter Island through Andrew Fiske, his great-uncle. Bennett is a 15th generation descendant of Nathaniel Sylvester. He visited Alice and Andrew Fiske at Sylvester Manor as a kid. He later spent the summer of 2001 here with Alice getting to know the place through her eyes, working on the archaeological dig and working at local farms.


When Alice died in 2006 Bennett's uncle, Eben Ostby, who owns Sylvester Manor, sat down and discussed some of the ways they could honor the past and still bring Sylvester Manor into the 21st century. They settled on reviving the farm and hosting workshops and events that explore the past and show a joyful, delicious way forward. Bennett had some previous experience in farming from the garden he started during college that fed his dining hall, and a year spent at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, where he learned how best to bring community and farms together with organic farmer Scott Chaskey.


There are over 200 educational farms in America. The first that ever resonated with Bennett was Shelburne Farms, in Vermont, on the old Vanderbilt-Webb estate. Another is Stone Barns in the Hudson Valley. Each one is different, tailored to its place. Bennett thought this concept could be used at Sylvester Manor in order to explore the history and future of food through the lens of the only largely intact northern plantation left in the country.


There are significant challenges in starting up an educational farm and re-opening Sylvester Manor. Prioritizing projects to develop the Manor into a working educational farm has been quite the learning process. 


So much work needs to be done, and, as executive director, Bennett must figure out just where to start. Of course there are always weather concerns: last year, for example, the farm was challenged by wet weather and tomato blight. Then there are the “big picture” hurdles, such as trying to gain non-profit status for the farm.


Ultimately, Bennett envisions the vegetable operation expanding from 4 acres up to 20 or 30 acres depending on how strong demand is. He is working on bringing in a herd of 30 pigs to graze in the oak forest, and a goat herd to combat almost 150 acres of invasive bittersweet, Russian olive and multiflora rose.


When asked how the farm has impacted Bennett he revealed, “I am beginning to internalize the importance of impeccable accounting.” The farm and the educational elements of Sylvester Manor have affected more than just the Community-Supported Agriculture members and the volunteers. The re-opening of the manor has ultimately had an effect on the Island community. People are getting excited about sending their kids to farm camp here, appreciate the farm scenery at Windmill Field, and are learning to cook with things they might not have tried, like kale. “Small changes really,” Bennett said, “but we are helping people understand and love Shelter Island in a new (old!) way, and that is really exciting.”


Alongside challenges are memories. One of Bennett's favorite memories from the last two years is the October harvest festival, called Plant & Sing, which brought the community together to help plant garlic and make music. This festival has been held for two years now.


Bennett remarked, “I love seeing all sorts of people getting their hands dirty and raising their voices together �" it's a powerful feeling �" and it saves our crew almost two weeks of work. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say.”


Another favorite part of the farm is the rhythm of the seasons. When garlic is ready to be picked, you've got to go do it! The realities of the season help guide just what to do when.


Thus far Bennett has been on a journey in search of passion and tradition. He has played music and learned from indigenous lands, started gardens and musical groups. His inspiration for his current project at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm has come from years of exploring and collecting �" collecting the necessary skills and connections to bring a fulfilling and sustainable lifestyle to the world.


He has started that dream here on Shelter Island by providing organic food to the Island's residents and restaurants. Yet, it's not just the farm and the educational pieces of the manor that Bennett is donating to the Island, it is his spirit and his dream.