The Tivoli Nature Preserve Project
The Farm on Peaceable Pastures is working on a project for the City of Albany in the Tivoli Nature Preserve. Livestock will be used to graze phragmites, an invasive wetland reed, from the preserve in order to improve visibility and restore bio-diversity. The broader goal is to improve the preserve for enjoyment by residents of the surrounding West Hill and Arbor Hill neighborhoods, where opportunities for enjoyment of the undisturbed environment are otherwise rare. Currently, the preserve is under-utilized and viewed by many as an unsafe dumping group. We hope to help make the space a safer and more desirable place to spend time.
As the City of Albany prepares the necessary infrastructure within the preserve, the animals enlisted for the job have been wintering at Normanskill Farm. We have been caring for sheep and a small number of chickens there since last fall. Each of the nine original sheep gave birth over the winter, so 18 sheep will move to the Tivoli Nature Preserve this summer. The sheep will remove phragmites, the invasive wetland reed, through an intensive rotational grazing style. This style of grazing not only improves bio-diversity but also general soil health.
We hope to also bring 25 laying hens into the preserve. The hens will live primarily in the barn yard, a old baseball field that now houses a small barn. We will build a portable chicken coop, with which we will also be able to bring the chickens through the preserve. Allowing chickens to graze through pastures following the sheep will further improvements to the soil and control parasites populations.
The chickens will really do much more than that! They will be a fun attraction for families to visit in the preserve. They will be an opportunity for learning about agriculture. They will produce eggs to purchase at a reasonable price. They will be an opportunity to explore community farming.
What We Need
The funds from this campaign will be used to purchase pullets (young hens), a solar-powered fence charger, and the materials needed to build a portable chicken coop. Any leftover funds will be used to purchase feed and other equipments.
We will build the coop chicken coop primarily with salvage materials. We estimate needing approximately 65 sq ft of space in the coop, which will fix nicely as a 7' x 9' or so structure on a hand-drawn or bicycle-drawn wagon. There are so many amazing designs for these "chicken tractors" -- check some out here on google! We have experience building chickens coops previously with salvage materials and are excited to jump back into functionally creative building!
Other Ways You Can Help
We encourage you to contact us to discuss any material or time donations you think may be of use!
