In this month’s (May/June 2011) Preservation magazine is an article about how Woodlawn, the former estate of George Washington’s granddaughter Nellie Custis – and a favorite of mine – has implemented a new innovative farming program based on the estate’s roots as a farm. The article explains, “Restauranteur Michael Babin dreamed of starting a sustainable farm just outside Washington DC, to supply fresh, local produce to chefs and also to give the community a place to learn about food production.”
The Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture at Woodlawn was created in November 2010 to fulfill Babin’s dream.
According to Arcadia’s website, the Center aims to “demonstrate an environmentally and economically sustainable model of agriculture and livestock production…using only the highest standards of sustainable growing and cultivating primarily heirloom and heritage foods to increase the biodiversity in the area.”
I love that historic sites who are looking to reinvent themselves and find new ways to remain relevant are finding success in the local farm-to-table movement that has been sweeping the urban parts of America. While this is just one example of what I imagine is a growing trend for historic sites, I am happy that Nellie’s fields are being pressed into service once again – this time to feed a capital city the size of which she and her grandfather George could not have ever imagined in their lifetime!
If you know of other historic sites supplying local restaurants with produce and livestock, let me know more and I can feature them on this blog!
