The first Land Armies were conceived during World War I in Britain. Women flooded the countryside to support farms — typically worked by men — as the country feared that the Germans would cut off England's imported food supply.

More than 100 years later, Julie Manley has revitalized the concept. She and about 30 other workers gathered on Earth Day to help clear rocks for fellow neighbor and farmer Jim Munger. Manley explained that plowing a field upturns a lot of rocks, but the rocks must be removed or they obstruct budding crops.

"I thought 'What a cool correlation between the earth and Earth Day,'" said Manley, who organized the April 22 community gathering. "We're working the earth. We're working the land."

The function attracted workers — aged two to 82 — from both the agriculture-focused Dartmouth Grange and from the community as a whole to Stoney Meadows Farm on Division Road.

"I was kind of surprised by the turnout because it's not a very nice day out there," said Manely. "To have moms, dads, grandparents, and kids that young all participating together was very heartwarming," she said.

Manley said that this was the Grange's first Land Army gathering, but it went to a deserving cause. Munger is an older gentlemen, a diehard farmer, and recently has had to add on care-taking for his wife, Manley explained.

"[Munger] went to the very Earth Day function in California [in 1970]," said Manley. "It carved out his career path," she said, adding that Munger taught environmental chemistry at Roger Williams University.

Manley was grateful that the rain had held off for the three-hour event, as well as for the food donations from area restaurants and farms.

"We're open to doing this annually if there were farmers interested in having community recruits," said Manley.

She added that the field was cleared because Munger hopes to get a tenant farmer on the property, as he already has his hands full with his berry crops and greenhouses. Parties interested in renting the three- to four-acre property can contact the Dartmouth Grange at info@dartmouthgrange.org.