Nigel the Lamb is a heritage breed Hog Island Sheep who lives on the farm in Accokeek. The Accokeek Foundation helps to preserve the genetic diversity of this rare breed. 9:00 a.m. April 25 – Temple Hills, MD: This Saturday, Branch Avenue In Bloom (BAIB), a program of the Maryland Small Business Development Center, will celebrate its fifth season with a Grand Opening. The BAIB Farmers’ Market is located in the Iverson Mall parking lot. This year, Farmers’ Market visitors will

In partnership with the National Park Service, the Accokeek Foundation maintains six nature trails in Piscataway Park. The Adopt-A-Trail program seeks to engage organizations and community members interested in helping maintain these trails to keep them safe and well-groomed for the park’s 20,000 visitors each year. Adopters will schedule and perform regular trails sweeps throughout the designated length of adoption, and will be responsible for reporting trail conditions to t

It was a beautiful day on the farm last Saturday as 19 volunteers took on the task of freeing fence lines from creeping vegetation and clearing the “leftovers” from the field of the Ecosystem Farm. The late October frost brought about the demise of several of our summer crops, shriveling their leaves and stems, but leaving much of the fruit still ripe and ready to be eaten. The volunteers picked all of the green peppers, eggplants, pak choi, and sweet potatoes that had surviv

by Holli Elliott As my apprenticeship at Accokeek is drawing to a close, I have been thinking a lot about the value of being connected to a particular place. Reading Wendell Berry the other day, this struck me: If the ideals and aims of young people have lost energy it’s because they haven’t the stability of a commitment to one place and one community. I think they’re disposed to drift around until they find a suitable community. But no community is suitable. There’s plenty w

After 16 days of forced separation from the site, we were finally able to open the gates and return to Piscataway Park last Thursday. The two weeks of telecommuting had an unexpectedly negative effect on my morale, so it was quite a relief to arrive back on site to the satisfying crunch of fallen leaves underfoot and the fresh cool autumn air that is easily fought off with a light jacket and brisk walk. The restorative powers of this place are more apparent to me than ever, a

We began recruiting volunteers for this year’s Twilight Tales over the summer, and the dedicated group of people who answered our call have been working tirelessly, despite the shutdown, to make this year’s event a spectacular one. After a jam-session to learn the songs (yes, you heard right–songs!), a prop design day to help transform the farm, and two rehearsals of the script, we are only one dress rehearsal away from event day. This year’s Twilight Tales will follow Gemmy

Their work on the tobacco barn and Laurel Branch — through the application of “witch’s brew” (turpentine, boiled linseed oil, and pine tar) — will help preserve our 18th century historic buildings from harsh winter weather. The signs they helped to paint and build will provide self-guided park visitors with directions and information about the site. The barnyard fencing they fixed and the sheep shelter roof they replaced will add to the success of our heritage livestock breed

Godiva, one of our spring Hog Island Sheep lambs. If you love animals and would like to spend a few hours each week working on the farm, join the Livestock Farmhands volunteer team on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm to assist with the successful management of our Heritage Livestock Program. Volunteers will work closely with staff members to help feed, clean the barn, repair livestock fencing, clear brush, maintain pasture and barnyard areas, and more. Livestock Farmhands

In January, a young man named Ian (the son of one of our bluebird monitors) contacted us to see if he could do his Eagle Scout Service Project at the foundation. I had just attended my cousin’s Court of Honor ceremony and I was so impressed with everything he did in order to achieve the rank that I was really excited to get the chance to work with Ian. Ian did not disappoint, and less than four months later, we have an absolutely beautifully renovated Event Kitchen to share w

To commemorate their 40th Anniversary, Denison Landscaping is giving back to the communities it serves by conducting 40 in-kind landscaping projects to be completed throughout the year. As a part of this “40 Green Initiatives” project, the Accokeek Foundation was selected to identify a landscaping project on site that would improve its daily operations. After discussing the various needs of the site with members of the Denison staff, installing an irrigation system in the Acc

In the wake of the bombing this month at the Boston Marathon, my facebook newsfeed was inundated with posts and statuses lamenting the state of the world today. Friends and family were sharing thoughts like “what is society coming to?,” “people are pure evil,” and “I fear for my children and their future.” This certainly isn’t anything new–it was the same story after the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado, and countless other tragedies since, excuse my cli

I am five months and two days (is it really already March?!) into my service year with the Accokeek Foundation, Volunteer Maryland, and AmeriCorps. There are times when I feel as if I haven’t accomplished anything I was sent here to do. I feel as if the weeks are slipping away into months, and there is no way I will possibly meet all of the goals I set for myself in September. The e-mails and calls seem to never stop coming in, the paperwork in all its glorious tediousness se