Agraria is a new, educational research farm just outside Yellow Springs, focusing on sustainable agriculture. We have many public events per year and soon, through a grant partnership with the nature conservancy, we will be restoring the natural creek system here and the original wooded and wetland habitat along its corridor. These natural features will contain hiking trails that will be open to the public. Agraria is currently a part-time public hotspot, and soon will be a fully public one. As one of the land stewards here and an avid birder, I hope to begin collecting public-facing avian data, not only for eBird but to encourage others to come to check out our new programs!

With the property close to the Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle School campus, both Community Solutions and school leaders see multiple opportunities for local students to get out and onto the land.

The granting of an easement by adjacent property owners Rick and Mary Donahoe to construct a public path for walking or biking between the middle/high school campus and the Agraria site will allow easier access for villagers as well, Jennings said. She estimated the path will be complete within two years.

The local schools’ project-based learning, or PBL, curriculum is well poised for taking advantage of the environmental and agricultural learning opportunities there, leaders say. McKinney science teacher Rebecca Eastman, for one, is expanding the middle school’s “Project Bluebird” PBL onto the Agraria property.

The ultimate goal is that “Agraria will serve as a living laboratory for citizen scientists of all ages,” according to Community Solutions literature.

Toward that end, the organization plans eventually to construct an open-air Educational Pavilion, in addition to the existing 7,000-square-foot barn, to house classes as well as special events in the upper field of the property.