We announced our purchase of the Beavercreek Farm on June 19, 2013. But what are our plans? What do wish to do with this amazing property?
It’s too early to say exactly what will happen, but it’s important to know we have a set of values that will guide our actions.
What do we value? Along with healthy soil and clean water, we value open space, small farms, being a good neighbor, and maintaining rural character. In other words, we aren’t going to want to change the overall character of the Beavercreek Farm. At this point, we believe it will continue to operate as a small farm.
We acquired the farm partly because we believe strongly in helping people see and learn about conservation in a hands-on environment. That means the farm will see more visitors who are interested in learning about conservation practices.
As we move forward, we plan to proceed like we would with any large landowner: gather information about the resources available, understand the owner’s values, factor in the environmental and sociological factors affecting the operation, and develop a plan. For our farm, this means:
- What do we have? Gather information about soil, plant, and water resources. Inventory and evaluate all buildings. Develop understanding of the two ponds and how they interact with other waters.
- What could we do here? Use what we learn as sideboards as we envision what the farm could become. Seek public involvement as we begin to see what could be done.
- What should we do? Use our values and input from others to move from what we could do to what we should do. This is a transition from concepts to designs.
- What will we do? This is the final design phase.
- When will we do it? If permitting and financing are required, those actions would occur at this stage.
Throughout this journey, we’ll work to keep folks informed and engaged. We want our ownership and use of the farm to fit into the existing community, and even more, to be a positive addition.