Nonprofit Aggregator: Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

left to right: Chief Billy Tayac, Accokeek Foundation CEO and president, Dr. Lisa Hayes, Chairman Francis Gray, Dr. Virginia Busby, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer, and NPS Regional Director Bob Vogel, at Piscataway Park sign dedication on March 24, 2016.

Accokeek, MD (March 24, 2016) — With Congressman Steny H. Hoyer and National Park Service National Capital Region Director Bob Vogel’s dedication of a new entrance sign at Piscataway Park, local nonprofit Accokeek Foundation launches a campaign to raise visibility of this national park in southern Prince George’s County.

A land conservation effort that began sixty years ago when Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton bought a 500-acre farm on the Potomac River to save it from development evolved into one of the most significant preservation stories in the Chesapeake Bay region. Bolton founded Accokeek Foundation in 1957 to spearhead preservation of six miles of Potomac River shoreline, an effort that led to the creation of Piscataway Park. Situated directly across the river from George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Piscataway Park was the first national park created to preserve a historic vista, as well as the first to include both private and public land. This preservation now positions Piscataway Park as a destination educational and recreational site for area residents, schools, and a growing number of national and international visitors.

“We are delighted to be joined by federal, state, and local partners such as the National Park Service, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the Alice Ferguson Foundation, the Moyaone Association,  and the Piscataway Tribes of Maryland, who play such a critical role in stewarding this special place. I am deeply humbled to be following in the footsteps of Frances Bolton, a visionary leader who recognized that saving a landscape from development is not the end of a journey, but a beginning,” stated Dr. Lisa Hayes, Accokeek Foundation President and CEO. “For the Accokeek Foundation, this sixty-year journey has been one of innovation that started with the creation of one of the country’s first living history farms, the National Colonial Farm, and continued with creation of one of the region’s first organic farms, the Ecosystem Farm. Now we stand at the beginning of a new phase in our journey and look forward to the next sixty years of innovation.”

The sign dedication was followed by a reception in honor of Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton’s 131st birthday, whose March birthday fittingly falls in Women’s History Month.

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For nearly 60 years, the Accokeek Foundation has been a steward of the land. Through a partnership with the National Park Service, the Accokeek Foundation interprets the past, present, and future of agriculture and environmental stewardship at Piscataway Park. The Foundation’s programs include interdisciplinary school tours for students, historical and modern farm museum exhibits, heritage breed livestock conservation, natural resource stewardship and land conservation, and the Piscataway Cultural Landscape Initiative.

Media Contact:
Anjela Barnes, Director of Marketing
twitter: @accokeek
301-965-9566

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.

Among my list of favorite things about working at a farm is that from my office window I get to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the barnyard. This means I get to watch a lot of exciting distractions throughout the day — escapee lambs running wild in the yard, chickens free ranging under my window; I’ve even been greeted by a hog once. Never a dull day at the farm!

High on the list of favorite things is definitely watching the heritage hens free range and be chicken-like.

One afternoon I noticed that Polly, our livestock manager, was having a particularly challenging time getting all of the hens back into their coop for the evening, so I helped. (I’m always eager for the break from the computer screen!) With Polly at the coop guarding the door I rounded up the stragglers. Our dialogue at this point was what inspired this blog post:

Polly: Is that all of them?
Me: Yes, a spotty chick, fluffy cheeks, fuzzy feet, and the Dominque.
Polly: Strangely, I know exactly which breeds you’re talking about!

If you’ve visited the farm this year, you’ve likely to have encountered a few of the heritage chickens ranging freely around our barnyard and offices, each with their distinctive characteristics and personalities. While it’s easy for those who work with the animals regularly (like Polly) to know each animal, including the many breeds of chickens on the farm, for the rest of us it’s not so easy. To help with the identification of the chickens seen at the farm below is a helpful guide along with my personal translations:

Dominique

aka: “Dominique”
I know these ones so I don’t have an alternative name for them, though they look similar to the Plymouth Barred Rock (or Rock Chick).

Sussex (Speckled)

aka: “Spotty Chick”
From a distance it looks like it has spots on it.

Brahma (Light)

aka: “Fuzzy Feeet”
This one confused me the most. The light variety of the Sussex above is very similar to ol’ Fuzzy Feet here which looks similar to Delaware chickens, so I gave up trying to remember. But as you can see the Brahma sports leg-warmers, so Fuzzy Feet she shall be!

Welsummer

aka: “Kaleidoscope Chickey”
A rare bird of Dutch origin, lays beautiful dark brown eggs. In the sunlight their colorful feathers have a “sparkle” to them which is why I call them Kaleidoscope chickens.

Dorking (Silver Gray)

aka: “Laced Neck”
Her neck feathers look very Elizabethan: lacey and fun! She’s majestic and thinks that she is of higher nobility than the others. This is why she has taken up residence in the barn where she can live like a queen instead of in the coop with the common-folk! Ashley calls them Dorks. I don’t think the Queen likes that.

Easter Eggers (Ameraucana/Araucana)

aka: “Fluffy Cheeks”
These are among my favorites of all of the breeds. Their cheeks, they’re so fluffy! Like Col. Burnside and his mutton chops. They are called Easter Eggers because they lay a pale blue/green egg.

This is another Fluffy Cheek chicken with different coloring. She’s showing off a bit here.

So, why all the different chicken breeds you ask? Two years ago, when our farmers decided to try their hand at egg production, Polly chose a variety of chickens who would produce a colorful array of eggs — from dark spotted brown, light brown, white, and blue/green. The result is a unique brand of eggs that are sold at the farm! Because our ladies are free to roam, these eggs are both delicious and healthy with a deep orange yolk (the sign of a healthy and happy chicken!).

On your next visit, stop in the visitor’s center, pick up a carton or two (or three!), then meet the chickens who laid your eggs!

photo credit: Jessica Burton

This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.