Nonprofit Aggregator: Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

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

April 16, 2016. It was a peaceful morning on the Potomac River. The sun was shining, there was hardly a breeze to ripple the river’s surface, and spring’s warmth was finally beating out winter’s brutal cold. It was a perfect April morning. Too perfect. How could we guess at the horrors that awaited us?

10 am. The volunteers began to arrive for the 28th Annual Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up. They checked in, gathered their trash bags and gloves and grabbers, and headed out for the shoreline. They chatted and smiled with one another, and prepared to collect what they thought would be your run-of-the-mill litter–plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the river.

10:30 am. The first tennis ball is found. How funny and whimsical it seemed to find a faded Wilson wash up on the shoreline. Was someone playing fetch with their dog and lost their ball? What is this ball’s story–how did it come to land in Piscataway Park?

10:45 am. More tennis balls. Some look to be brand new, while others are missing their fuzzy yellow shells altogether. Concern began to spread among the trash collectors. Where are they all coming from? How can we possibly collect them all?

11:30 am. Chaos. One group came across a pile of 43 tennis balls, just stacked there in a pyramid, as if the tennis balls were gathering for some sort of ritual. Others began to run out of room in their bags, with no end to the balls in sight. Confusion ran rampant as all those witness to the invasion wondered “Why!?” and “How!?” Where have the tennis balls come from and why do they float so desperately to our shorelines?

We may never know why the tennis balls decided to invade this April. But we do know that it’s thanks to the valiant efforts of those volunteers that stood on the shoreline and bravely fought to stem the tide of the invasion that I live to pass this message on today. Never forget this day, and the lesson that the trash on the streets in your neighborhood could one day make it to our shores to invade again. Never forget.

Thank you to the volunteers who participated in this year’s Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up!

Your efforts led to the removal of 75 bags of trash and recyclables (including a total of 193 tennis balls!) from the shoreline in Piscataway Park. You also managed to remove almost 300 additional pounds of bulk trash. That’s an impressive haul!

If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share with us, e-mail outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on social media: (facebook, instagram, twitter).

Click here to learn more about the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative, and how you can get involved in litter prevention year-round!

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

April 16, 2016. It was a peaceful morning on the Potomac River. The sun was shining, there was hardly a breeze to ripple the river’s surface, and spring’s warmth was finally beating out winter’s brutal cold. It was a perfect April morning. Too perfect. How could we guess at the horrors that awaited us?

10 am. The volunteers began to arrive for the 28th Annual Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up. They checked in, gathered their trash bags and gloves and grabbers, and headed out for the shoreline. They chatted and smiled with one another, and prepared to collect what they thought would be your run-of-the-mill litter–plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the river.

10:30 am. The first tennis ball is found. How funny and whimsical it seemed to find a faded Wilson wash up on the shoreline. Was someone playing fetch with their dog and lost their ball? What is this ball’s story–how did it come to land in Piscataway Park?

10:45 am. More tennis balls. Some look to be brand new, while others are missing their fuzzy yellow shells altogether. Concern began to spread among the trash collectors. Where are they all coming from? How can we possibly collect them all?

11:30 am. Chaos. One group came across a pile of 43 tennis balls, just stacked there in a pyramid, as if the tennis balls were gathering for some sort of ritual. Others began to run out of room in their bags, with no end to the balls in sight. Confusion ran rampant as all those witness to the invasion wondered “Why!?” and “How!?” Where have the tennis balls come from and why do they float so desperately to our shorelines?

We may never know why the tennis balls decided to invade this April. But we do know that it’s thanks to the valiant efforts of those volunteers that stood on the shoreline and bravely fought to stem the tide of the invasion that I live to pass this message on today. Never forget this day, and the lesson that the trash on the streets in your neighborhood could one day make it to our shores to invade again. Never forget.

Thank you to the volunteers who participated in this year’s Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up!

Your efforts led to the removal of 75 bags of trash and recyclables (including a total of 193 tennis balls!) from the shoreline in Piscataway Park. You also managed to remove almost 300 additional pounds of bulk trash. That’s an impressive haul!

If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share with us, e-mail outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on social media: (facebook, instagram, twitter).

Click here to learn more about the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative, and how you can get involved in litter prevention year-round!

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

In like a lion and out like a lamb. No, I’m not talking about the month of April, but last Saturday’s annual Lattes with Lambs event at the Foundation. After a blustery week, and a wet and cold start to the morning, the clouds parted and left us with a truly beautiful afternoon to enjoy all of the food and fun happening on the farm.

With cheese making demonstrations, taste testing courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead, and a shake-your-own butter activity, the “Dairy Area” gave everyone a chance to learn hands-on how dairy products go from cow-to-culture. The sheep-to-shawl activities (as well as demonstrations done by The Spinning Loft), which included wool washing, carding, dyeing, and felting, demonstrated how wool straight from the sheep is transformed into your favorite yarns and sweaters.

And let’s not forget the main event: the chance to meet some of the new lambs and calves born on the farm this spring. Visitors got behind the scene tours of the barn and barnyard, experienced life as a free-range chicken from inside the mobile chicken coop, and celebrated Nigel the lamb’s first birthday with a special alfalfa cake made just for him.

Thank you to all who attended this event to help support the Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Preservation program. Your support helps us increase the numbers of these critically endangered breeds, while raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity in livestock.

Check out some of our favorite photos from the event below:

Farmer Ann demonstrates sheep shearing techniques for a crowd of on-lookers. All of the wool sheared from the sheep each spring is processed into yarn and sold at the Visitor Center to support the heritage livestock program.

Shemika turns visitors into the farm animal of their choice at the face painting booth.

Nigel enjoys his birthday cake made from alfalfa.

Visitors take a cruise around the site on the hay shuttle.

Break time for some Panera soup and Starbucks Lattes!

What is rotational grazing, and why do we do it here at the Foundation? These kids and visitors learn by pretending they are cows in “The Hungry Games.”

Cheese sampling courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead.

Cheese making demonstrations show how to make your own mozzarella right at home.

Check out more great photos from the event on Instagram #lattes4lambs. Have some photos you want to share? Feel free to send them to us at outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on Instagram (accokeek_foundation) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/AccokeekFoundation).

We want to extend a huge thank you to all of those who helped make this event a success. To the volunteers who helped staff the activities; to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Miller Farms for donating coffee and donuts; to Farmer Ann for the sheep shearing demonstrations; to The Spinning Loft for wool and fiber demonstrations; to P.A. Bowen Farmstead for the cheese tasting; and to the National Park Service. 

All photos in this blog entry taken by volunteer Ron Liljedahl. 

Support the livestock (and much more) year-round by joining to become an Accokeek Foundation Member today!

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

In like a lion and out like a lamb. No, I’m not talking about the month of April, but last Saturday’s annual Lattes with Lambs event at the Foundation. After a blustery week, and a wet and cold start to the morning, the clouds parted and left us with a truly beautiful afternoon to enjoy all of the food and fun happening on the farm.

With cheese making demonstrations, taste testing courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead, and a shake-your-own butter activity, the “Dairy Area” gave everyone a chance to learn hands-on how dairy products go from cow-to-culture. The sheep-to-shawl activities (as well as demonstrations done by The Spinning Loft), which included wool washing, carding, dyeing, and felting, demonstrated how wool straight from the sheep is transformed into your favorite yarns and sweaters.

And let’s not forget the main event: the chance to meet some of the new lambs and calves born on the farm this spring. Visitors got behind the scene tours of the barn and barnyard, experienced life as a free-range chicken from inside the mobile chicken coop, and celebrated Nigel the lamb’s first birthday with a special alfalfa cake made just for him.

Thank you to all who attended this event to help support the Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Preservation program. Your support helps us increase the numbers of these critically endangered breeds, while raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity in livestock.

Check out some of our favorite photos from the event below:

Farmer Ann demonstrates sheep shearing techniques for a crowd of on-lookers. All of the wool sheared from the sheep each spring is processed into yarn and sold at the Visitor Center to support the heritage livestock program.

Shemika turns visitors into the farm animal of their choice at the face painting booth.

Nigel enjoys his birthday cake made from alfalfa.

Visitors take a cruise around the site on the hay shuttle.

Break time for some Panera soup and Starbucks Lattes!

What is rotational grazing, and why do we do it here at the Foundation? These kids and visitors learn by pretending they are cows in “The Hungry Games.”

Cheese sampling courtesy of P.A. Bowen Farmstead.

Cheese making demonstrations show how to make your own mozzarella right at home.

Check out more great photos from the event on Instagram #lattes4lambs. Have some photos you want to share? Feel free to send them to us at outreach@accokeek.org, or tag us on Instagram (accokeek_foundation) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/AccokeekFoundation).

We want to extend a huge thank you to all of those who helped make this event a success. To the volunteers who helped staff the activities; to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Miller Farms for donating coffee and donuts; to Farmer Ann for the sheep shearing demonstrations; to The Spinning Loft for wool and fiber demonstrations; to P.A. Bowen Farmstead for the cheese tasting; and to the National Park Service. 

All photos in this blog entry taken by volunteer Ron Liljedahl. 

Support the livestock (and much more) year-round by joining to become an Accokeek Foundation Member today!

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

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

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 by a Catalogue nonprofit 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!

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

This post is a reprint of a post by a Catalogue nonprofit that originally appeared at College Bound.

“Before attending the University of Connecticut, my first thought was that I would be an outcast, my peers wouldn’t be friendly and I would have a hard time adjusting. Today,...

This post is a reprint of a post by a Catalogue nonprofit that originally appeared at College Bound.

“Before attending the University of Connecticut, my first thought was that I would be an outcast, my peers wouldn’t be friendly and I would have a hard time adjusting. Today,...