A ribbon cutting for Community Crops' new training farm site at the School of Natural Resources' Prairie Pines habitat is 2 p.m. May 14. The event is free and open to the public.
The new training farm site is part of Community Crops' "Growing Farmers Training Program." The program was founded in 2007 to help beginning farmers develop successful small businesses. After outgrowing its former training site in 2012, it partnered with UNL to continue and expand the training program.
“This cooperation will help us inform kids about where their food comes from,” said James Brandle, professor of forestry and director of Prairie Pines. “Prairie Pines offers SNR the opportunity to put into practice our goal of introducing children to the wonders of nature.”
Prairie Pines is a large plot of land on the northeast side of Lincoln. Originally a Christmas tree farm, Walt and Virginia Bagley donated the site to UNL as a conservation and educational facility. The land features a wealth of ecosystems, including hardwood trees, conifers, native prairie, and grasslands, making it an excellent site for farming education and research.
Initially, Community Crops will use about nine acres for its training program, though part of the benefit of Prairie Pines is the opportunity to increase the number of plots available to participants.
For more information about the ceremony, send email to ingrid@communitycrops.org or call 402-474-9802.