Accokeek Foundation Annual Report 2011

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accokeek foundation 2011 annual report............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

OfficersPatricia E. Williams Chair Gabrielle Tayac Vice ChairMary Boyd SecretaryAlan McCurry TreasurerWilton Corkern President

TrusteesChristine BergmarkCarl BuchheisterKate ClancyNorton Dodge*•Jean Wallace Douglas*•Marietta EthierSusan GageKaren HamptonJohn Jameson*Mary Leigh*Dorothea LeonnigJames Potts*Del. James E. Proctor, Jr.Eugene B. Roberts, Jr.Alfred RotondaroMark Alexander Wright*emeriti• deceased

StaffWilton Corkern PresidentLaura Ford Director, Development and CommunicationsLisa Hayes Director, Education and Public ProgramsMatt Mulder Director, Agriculture and Environmental StewardshipHelen Nelson Director, FinancePatti Norment Director, Operations

Abigail Barber Museum Theater InternAnjela Barnes Coordinator, Marketing and DevelopmentBrittany Barnes Marketing InternMolly Bauman Seasonal Farm HandAlison Bode Educator MaryAlice Bonomo Manager, Education and Visitor ServicesMeghan Bonomo Visitor ServicesColette Buchholtz Assistant Manager, Ecosystem FarmCourtney Buchholtz Manager, Ecosystem FarmJose Castillo Farm CoordinatorGerald Datcher Facilities CoordinatorMary Farrar Site InterpreterChristine Ferguson EducatorMary Anne Fernandez Educator and Visitor ServicesPolly Festa Livestock ManagerMariah Fry Museum Theater InternMarquia Garcia Office AssistantTricia Hardin Coordinator, Public Events and InterpretationKeely Hollyfield Seasonal Farm HandDave Jackson Site MaintenanceShanice Jones Museum Theater Intern

Catherine Krikstan Stewardship Coordinator, CCC VolunteerMarcus Manchester EducatorMatt Mattingly Manager, National Colonial Farm and Historic InterpretationMolly Meehan Outreach and Education CoordinatorLindsey Mitchell Museum Theater InternTerri Nevins Seasonal Farm HandCandra Pennington Visitor ServicesCharlotte Politano Visitor ServicesJessica Robinson Visitor ServicesScottie Swann Grounds CoordinatorRyan Walker Land Conservation CoordinatorColleen Walter Site InterpreterJeannette Wheeler Museum Theater InternJosephine Withers Educator

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a message from the president

Stewarding a national park where agriculture is a unify-ing interpretive and educational theme (both 18th and 21st century), one becomes very aware of cycles. There are the growing cycles for crops, the life cycles of the heritage breed livestock, and the maintenance cycles for

equipment and vehicles on which we depend. This idea of cycles lends itself to reflect-ing on the institution as well. In Fiscal Year 2011 the Foundation began preparing for one of the inevitable cycles of an institution, that of a change in leadership. After more than twenty years, Wilton Corkern began preparing to pass the torch of President to the successor chosen by the Board of Trustees— me.

As Director of Education and Public Programs, I had focused my time on the experiences we provided to visitors, particularly at the National Colonial Farm, and on expanding our interpretation of African American history and developing interpretation related to the history and culture of the Piscataway people, for whom Piscataway Park is a sacred land-scape. Preparing to step into a new role, I widened my focus, learning more about the im-portant work the Accokeek Foundation has done and continues to do in land conservation and sustainable agriculture. My admiration for this remarkable organization grew stronger as I immersed myself in understanding the intricately woven tapestry that is the Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park.

Institutions with a long and venerable history can sometimes get stuck in the past, trying to preserve and recreate what the organization started out to be. Ever since its incorporation in 1957, the Accokeek Foundation has prided itself on a commitment to innovation. In the early years, the organization became a recognized leader in land preservation, not only through protection of its own land, but through its efforts to change laws and forge part-nerships that made it easier to preserve more land. These efforts and a unique partnership with the National Park Service were instrumental in the creation of Piscataway Park, for which the Accokeek Foundation donated the first parcel of land. We were an early player in the field of agricultural history museums and the preservation of heirloom seeds and heritage breed livestock. Twenty years ago the organization expanded its agricultural focus by creating the Ecosystem Farm, making it an early leader in the sustainable agriculture movement with its farmer training and community supported agriculture programs. These are only a few examples of the many ways this institution has, in the words of our founder, Frances Bolton, sought to “understand clearly our function in taking initiative, pioneering, mustering knowledge and competence.”

Lisa Hayes President

http://accokeekfoundation.org

2 | accokeek foundation 2011 annual report............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

For more than 10,000 years humans have been interacting with a treasured landscape now known as Piscataway Park. From the Piscataway people, who remain connected to their cherished homeland, and the colonists, whose interaction with the land shaped it in many ways, to the present-day members of the surrounding community; each person has had a special connection to this place.

According to its 1957 charter, the Accokeek Foundation’s mission is “to preserve, protect and foster, for scientific, educational or charitable use and study for the benefit of the people of the nation, the historical sites and relics, trees, plants, and wildlife rapidly disappearing from an area of great natural beauty along the Maryland shore of the historic Potomac River.”

For over 50 years, the Foundation has been providing unique outdoor-learning experiences for park visitors. Whether it is a school group visiting the colonial farm museum for the first time and learning how a child in the 18th century lived, played, and worked; a local family on their weekly visit to the barnyard to see the heritage breed cattle, sheep, poultry, and other livestock; or a budding new farmer seeking training and inspiration on how to run a sustainable farm operation—each has had a profound and lasting experience because of this place and land. With a commitment to creating these types of meaningful interactions for years to come, while enhancing the general visitor experience, the Accokeek Foundation has three strategic priorities: expanding farmer training and stewardship outreach, increasing public access to the park’s natural and interpretive assets, and expanding interpretation of American Indian and African American culture and history. The highlights in the following pages illustrate how these priorities helped us to reach diverse audiences during the past fiscal year, connecting both new and returning visitors to the park and its resources.

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“to preserve, protect and

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great natural beauty... .”


Expanding Farmer Training and Stewardship Outreach

Agricultural practices have a profound impact on the health of natural systems and human com-munities. To fulfill its mission, the Accokeek Foundation demonstrates the dynamic and com-plex connections between people, crops, land, water, and livestock. The goal of the Foundation’s sustainable agricultural and environmental stewardship program is to promote practices that are environmentally sound, socially just, and economically viable to help people to live in balance with nature.

Common Ground: Growing Agriculture, Restoring the BayTo find common ground between those who work the earth and those who work to save the Chesapeake Bay, members of the agricultural and environmental fields were invited to a confer-ence titled Common Ground: Growing Agriculture, Restoring the Bay. Funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and held at the National Wildlife Research Refuge in Laurel, Maryland, the conference produced a lively discussion about environmental protection, land preservation, and farm viability. In addressing the almost 80 guests in attendance, conference speakers found common ground in discussing the land itself—sustainable agriculture and land preservation were presented as integral steps on the path toward restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Food Justice SeriesA new program was created to examine and spotlight the issues that affect food justice on a local and global scale in a series of four events that began on Cesar Chavez Day in March 2011. From the challenges to build-ing local and just food systems to the threat that genetically-modified foods can pose to our environment and our health, the series brought together farmers, policy makers, community members, and advocates to cul-tivate insight and conversation about these pressing matters of food justice that each of them witnesses firsthand.

Throughout the series, panel presenters in-cluded: Denzel Mitchell, urban farmer, chef,



and food educator from Baltimore; Michele Levy, Co-Director of Crossroads Farmers Market; Don Bustos, Chair of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative and veganic farmer from New Mexico; Mapy Alvarez of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative; Holly Freishtat, Food Policy Director for the Baltimore City Department of Planning; Jeremiah Lowery of Common Good City Farm; Margaret Morgan-Hubbard and Christian Melendez of ECO City Farms in Edmonston, Maryland; Kathy Ozer, Executive Director of the National Family Farm Coalition; Angela Adrar, Field and Outreach Coordinator at the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural; and Tirso Moreno, Founder and Executive Director of the Farmworker Association of Florida.

The series furthered community engagement and outreach, through partnerships with Capital City Public Charter School, whose sixth-grade class created several pieces of agriculture-inspired artwork as part of a lesson on the industrialization of food; Rural Coalition; National Immigrant Farming Initiative; and Busboys and Poets, a community gathering place with locations throughout the metro Washington D.C. area.

NIFI/Rural Coalition PartnershipThrough strategic partnerships, two projects were initiated and completed with funds received through a grant from the USDA 2501 program. With these projects, the Accokeek Foundation expanded its networking with diverse audiences, created an environment conducive to developing cross-cultural relationships, and developed many Spanish language translations of the Foundation’s outreach materials.

National Immigrant Farming Initiative: This project, funded by the USDA 2501 program, was designed to reach underserved, socially disadvantaged, and limited resource communities with training and resources. José Castillo, an agronomist who grew up farming in Guatemala, was selected to receive one year’s training and assistance to help him begin his own farming operation. He worked full time for the season at the Ecosystem Farm, attended training programs, and began his own private agricultural pro-duction, which includes honey and produce in Prince George’s County.

Rural Coalition: Together with the Rural Coalition, the Accokeek Foundation examined ways to address the root causes of the USDA’s struggle to effectively connect with the diverse

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producers they serve. The Foundation’s work with the project included assisting with research through farmer focus groups and the development of strategies to enhance services for farmers.

Agricultural and farmer-focused trainings were expanded to provide the necessary knowledge and skills for beginning farmers. Many programs were offered free to participants to make them accessible to all.

60 total CSA shares filled with

produce went out to

86 homes.

500 beginning

farmers reached through

new farmer-

focused training

programs.



Enhanced Public Access to Interpretive Assets

Visitor Services Improvements

In early 2011, work began on giving a fresh look to the visitor services center. The interior received a new coat of paint and a redesigned store layout, mak-ing more space to accommodate future interpretive exhibits. One new feature, popular among the more than 2,500 school-aged youth visiting last year, is a children’s Discovery Corner that includes a rescued box turtle named Edgar and a hands-on learning center where kids can use all of their senses to learn about nature. Postcards were designed and made

available for sale so that visitors could take Edgar along on their travels, sending back photos in a “Flat Stanley” fashion to highlight the places Edgar went. These photos are on display in the visi-tor services center.

Historic Buildings and Site Maintenance

Jeff Thompson of Colonial Woodwrights, an award winning company that specializes in historic tobacco barns, was contracted for repairs in the roofs over the pents (closets) of Laurel Branch, the nationally reg-istered historic farmhouse preserved by the National Colonial Farm interpretive program.

Further inspection of the house uncovered the need for more repairs, such as replacing the mor-tar in the chimney and a few exterior clapboards. Restoration work will continue and includes an ap-plication of a “witch’s brew” to the exterior to seal and preserve the wooden clapboards. This impor-tant preservation work is made possible by individ-ual and corporate donations, as well as government and foundation grants.

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Education and Interpretation

More educational offerings and tours were added during 2011 to connect the area’s youth to nature and the outdoors throughout the year. These programs included specialty summer tours and Sprouts, a nature-themed program for preschoolers. As another way to enhance the visitor experience through interpretation, the museum theater program returned, delighting visitors to the National Colonial Farm with stories of “Crime and Punishment”... from the Pillory.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) Colonial Camp visited the National Colonial Farm, while a group of fourth-graders from the National Children’s Museum’s summer camp chose to visit the farm as a means to explore issues of child-hood obesity, healthy living, and being active outdoors. Touring the Pumpkin Ash Trail to the Ecosystem Farm, the youth group learned about where their food comes from and how it can be grown sustainably with little impact to the environment. Afterward, the students used natural watercolors to paint postcards.

Sprouts introduced approximately 100 preschoolers to the wonders of the natural world by pairing time spent outdoors with stories, songs, crafts, and games based on central themes—butterflies, birds, autumn leaves, colors, and rain.

“Crime and Punishment” in the 18th Century

The Museum Theater Internship program takes shape around the particular talents and chemistry of selected interns who work at the National Colonial Farm each summer and learn about 18th century life on a small tobacco farm in Maryland’s Tidewater region while developing scripts based

14,310 park

visitors including

public event attendees.

2,354 youth reached through K-12 programs and

tours.

“[Our educator] was very informative and led a great tour. The living history interpreters were outstanding! What a great immersion experience for all of us.”

—Patricia Sowers, D.A.R. Colonial Camp



on a predetermined theme. The 2011 theme of “Crime and Punishment” provided abundant material for the six young women who, through an unique method of interpretation, entertained weekend visitors with “Songs and Tales from the Pillory” and a vignette on how bastardy was dealt with in colonial Maryland. The culminating event on July 30 featured a performance of “Goody Two Shoes” (a children’s play created in collaboration with the National Children’s Museum) and “Murder on the Potomac,” with Mistress Nancy Fletcher Marple Drew solving a crime. The visitor experience is best summed up by a comment from manager of the National Colonial Farm, Matt Mattingly: “If there was one thing that struck me the most about this year it was the number of visitors who actually thanked us for what we did at the colonial farm. Not a thank you for the tour or talking to us, but thank you for doing what we do. In 18 years I’ve never heard it more than this year.”

Expanded Interpretation of American Indian and African American Culture and History

Historic interpretation staff explored ways to expand upon the interpretation of the diverse cultures of the region through Maryland food traditions. The monthly Foodways program gave visitors a look at not only what colonists ate or how their meals were prepared, but also at why they ate what they did. Through the unifying subject of food, participants discovered the region’s historical roots and cultural traditions and how those eating habits have changed the ecology and landscape of the Potomac Tidewater region.

In May 2011, through a partnership with the National Museum of the American Indian’s Cultural Resource Center, the colonial farm welcomed special guests from the Zea Pueblo in New Mexico who prepared

traditional American Indian cuisine. Visitors watched as staff and volunteers helped prepare rabbit and venison stews, brined beef, muskrat, tortillas, and fry bread over an outdoor, open fire.

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With the 11th annual African American Heritage Day held in the fall, the Accokeek Foundation celebrated the region’s African American history and culture. This popular cultural program, curated for the first time by a public history fellow, invited museum professionals, speakers, and performers who entertained and educated the public about the “Enduring Traditions: Rich Connections to Our Past.”

Volunteering at the Accokeek Foundation

Throughout the year, the Foundation is truly fortunate to have a commmited corps of volunteers who dedicate their time, energy, and expertise to the programs of Piscataway Park, including blue-bird monitoring, maintaining the colonial kitchen and museum gardens, Stitch ’n Time textile club, Colonial Foodways, livestock and pasture care, the Ecosystem Farm, and the public events held at the National Colonial Farm.

From everyone on the staff and the board of trustees of the Accokeek Foundation, thank you to all of our volunteers—past, present, and future.

Over 20 recipes

prepared during

Foodways.

7 fleeces of heritage

breed sheep’s wool and

23 skeins of yard were

processed.

365 volunteers

contributed more than

1400 hours from Oct 1,

2010 to Sept 30, 2011.



Accokeek Foundation thanks all who supported our work over the fiscal year from October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.

$50,000+Estate of Bill and Clara MoranNational Park ServiceWallace Genetic Foundation

$10,000 – 49,999Corina Higginson TrustMarietta Ethier and John McGarryMarpat Foundation Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the UnionNational Immigrant Farming InitiativePEPCORural Coalition

$5,000 – 9,999Eugene and Lynn RobertsState of Maryland

$2,500 – 4,999Christ Church GeorgetownAlan and Gail McCurryClara Moran

$1,000 – 2,499 Norton and Nancy DodgeHomegrown CoffeehouseTom and Susan Gage Dorothy LeonnigWalter M. Meinhardt James and Barbara PottsRichard Riddell and Anne Fortney University of Maryland, Western Maryland Research and Education Center

$500 – 999Chesapeake Bay Foundation John and Linda DerrickJane H. Gilbert

Lisa Hayes and Ted ManekinJohn Jameson and B.J. Shorak Mary and Elizabeth Leigh William and Stephanie Saylor Washington PostPatricia Eileen Williams

$250 - 499Will BakerCarl and Babs BuchheisterNeal Sigmon and Mary Ann LawlerByron and Becky Williams

$100 - 249Joseph and Erica BarryChristine Bergmark and Brett GrohsgalRobert Berlin and Jim NewmanJohn BerryJoseph and Rebecca BriggsMarney Bruce Dan and Julia Calhoun William Cole and Virginia Rice Morton Richard Douglas CollinElizabeth DameThomas Ellwanger and Ellen HancockFleming Douglas Capital Management, Inc.John and Laura FordCliff and Mary GeorgeBonnie HenkeThomas and Debbie HewsonJohn HindleKaren HoagbergPhil and Sue JonesSteve and Rose KimMarianne KlinkBurton KummerowDon and Carolyn LeCroneNorman and Susan LindebladEric and Sylvia Livingston Alexander and Leigh Mackay-SmithMichael McCarthy Marie Helen McGlone

Myra McGovern and Stephen Lorenz Richard and Judy MeadeDaniel and Rosemarie Nielsen, Friends of Old Time BanjoChas OffuttNorman and Marilyn RandallMary T. RiceMargaret SchmidJames and Jean ThompsonWilliam and Grace ThriftSkip and Johanna Vaughan Edward and Sylvia Wilk

$99 and UnderAaron and Bonnie AckleyJanet AlgerMarion AlleyOthelia Ernestine AshleyMary BabiarzRaymond and Gypsy BanksErika Bauer Sandra BauerRoger and Lisa BazzarreJack and Liz BeardsleyRobert BooneDon BriggsMarjie BrownKen Bryson and Nancy SulfridgeJoe and Michelle BuckinghamTim and Annmarie BuckleyCarol BurbankLarry and Caroline CarbaughWalter and Holly CarrAlberta Lee Carson

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Andrew and Kendra CarterMartin Carts and Paola Addamiano-CartsLinda Cappellano-SarverBob ChristensenAlta ClaytonCatherine Cloud and Magdi BadawyCindy CobleighRuss and Meg ColeErika ColonWilton Corkern and Mary Bruce BatteWilson and Nancy CoudonAnthony CrenshawJames CristElizabeth DavisonRosemin DayaFranz de LeonAdam DempseyNitin DoshiJames DowneyMary ElderRobert E. and Olivia FarncombCory and Erica FeckoRandall and Carol FiertzPatsy FletcherStephen and Page FoxNanette Fremont and Rita BergmanCharles and Ruth GaumondRobert and Charlotte GillespieGaby GollubFrank and Isabel GottronJoyce Gray

Grace GriffithSusan GustafsonGail HaltRaymond HansonMichael HardyMichael HarrisKaren HeysIngrid HowerJim and Jane HudnallPerry and Diane IvesJacquelyn E. JayDion and Jenny JohnsonPatrick and Paula JonesJoanna KamererFrank and Ann KaneSaeid and Mary Ann KarimiDaniel KatzMisty KoperTracy LabrieGeorge and Beverly LindePaul and Barbara LivingstonArthur and Deanna LutzSheryl MadduxJakir ManelaRuth Kappy O. MajekodunmiLinda MarksBobby MartinDonald R. MasseyJenna Williams MathersMichael and Amy McGrawFrancis McMullenPaul and Elaine McVinneyMary C. MeansMartha MidgetteMount Vernon EstateMoyaone AssociationRobert and Marion MulhollandTerrance Murphy and Essence CampbellRobert and Maureen MurrayMajeehad Neale and Farooq I Al-FarooqDonald and Phyllis NelsonJane Norman and Paul JettClaire O’BrienJohn and Caroline O’ConnellLynn ParentLinda Parker and Michael Hartford

Shelu PatelVerena PetersHarold and Mary Lee PhelpsDennis and Charlotte PolitanoRonald and Rebecca PollackRizwan Ramakdawala and Rosemin DugaAnne-Marie RamseyDavid and Margaret ReichardGayle Madeline RietmulderRobert and Joan SchreckMatthew Schwaller and Sheryl Romeo Steven and Josie SchwalmTom and Adrien SeatonDebbie SharekDanielle ShillamMargaret SiegelJack and Joan SmuckJames SnowJohn Stempin and Cara Fogarty Roger and Sandra StephonScott and Suzanne StewardJames and Elizabeth StewartEric and Susan StrausBill Suworoff and Betsy ReidGabrielle Tayac Eric TillmanJames and Wendy TinsleyYvette TroyanCharles Trozzo and Gail RothrockBarbara UhlerJeanette VaughanJack and Stephanie VictoryVirginia WadsleyLouise WebbRosemary Weller, Tanta-Cove Garden ClubFred and Lois Anne WilliamsJosephine WithersLeigh and Janie WorthingMark Alexander WrightSara L. YoungZaid Zaid Cathie Zimmerman Nancy Zydell



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Contributions 29%

Program Income 4%

Foundation Grants

10%

Government Grants

57%

FY 2011 REVENUES

Fundraising 5%

Management & General

13%

Natural Resources

17%

Agriculture 20%

Education 45%

FY 2011 EXPENSES

revenuesContributions .........................................$435,435Government Grants ...............................855,455Foundation Grants ..................................146,500Program Income ....................................... 60,124

Total Revenues ............................$1,497,504

A copy of the audited financial statement and IRS Form 990 is available by calling 301-283-2113 or emailing [email protected].

program expensesEducation ...............................................$559,417Agriculture................................................243,933Natural Resources ...................................211,349

support expensesManagement & General .........................158,446Fundraising ................................................. 69,534

Total Expenses ............................$1,242,679

Change in Net Assets ................... $254,825

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Photographs taken by and copyrighted by the Accokeek Foundation. More photo hightlights can be found on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/accokeek


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Accokeek Foundation Annual Report 2011

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