The Community Ecology Institute
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Greenhouse Project

Picture
The Community Ecology Institute has spent the last year transforming 6.4 acre Freetown Farm into a place where people can learn through hands on experience about how they can lead happier, healthier, more connected and sustainable lives (in large part through gardening). In our first full growing season as the stewards of this farm we have been able to produce over 3,000 pounds of food for our local community, much of which has been donated to those most in need due to the COVID crisis. We have received a US Department of Agriculture grant to build a basic hoop house to allow us to expand our food production. We are seeking additional financial support so we can build a more robust greenhouse system that will not only maximize food production from Freetown Farm but serve as a learning space and allow us to start a nursery that focuses on native plants that support biodiversity and heirloom produce.

We are excited and honored to be working with The Rusted Garden on this project!
  We share the same belief that working in gardens is a wonderful way to connect with and build our communities, and create a healthy positive routine in our own lives. The image to the right is of CEI founder Chiara D'Amore and the Rusted Garden founder Gary Pilarchik holding up a piece of greenhouse framing in the location where the new greenhouse will be built at Freetown Farm (just to the southwest of the red "barn"). The rainbow showed up in the image and is a sign of the exciting things to come in this community collaboration! We invite you to be a part of it by making your tax deductible donation below, spreading the word, and if you are local, coming out to help with the greenhouse construction process - check out the fun video below of a restoration we did last fall. Thank you!

There are four ways that you can support this initiative financially: PayPal; Venmo; GoFundMe; and our FlipCause campaign detailed on this page:

The video below is of the restoration of the old, dilapidated greenhouse at the front of the farm in the fall of 2019. This greenhouse is already fully utilized and we have so much more we want to grow and do at the farm that a second greenhouse will make viable. This "greenhouse raising" was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. We can't wait to get going on the brand new greenhouse with your support! If you are local we'd love to have your helping hands with the project when the time comes!
Freetown Farm - 8000 Harriet Tubman Lane, Columbia, MD 21044
© 2020 The Community Ecology Institute. All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • 2020 Impacts >
      • 2019 Impacts
    • Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
    • Team Members >
      • Interns
    • Board of Directors >
      • Advisory Committee
    • Our Partners
    • Press
  • Our Initiatives
    • Climate of Hope >
      • Climate of Hope Classes
    • ​Columbia Families in Nature >
      • About
      • Event Info
      • FAQ
    • Roots & Wings Learning Community >
      • Roots & Wings Classes
      • Roots & Wings Teachers
    • Community Ecology Center >
      • CEC Team
      • Agriculture
      • Environment
      • Education
      • Health
      • Heritage
    • Walkable Watershed
    • Transition HoCo
    • Maker Space
  • Freetown Farm
    • Farm Fresh Food
    • Farm History
    • Farm Founders
  • Volunteer
    • Internships
  • Donate
    • Greenhouse Project
    • Fence Project
    • Goods and services
    • Corporate Sponsors
  • Resources
  • Connect
    • Join Our Team
    • Events
    • Contact Us
  • Blog