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The Great Clock at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of Monticello’s most familiar and celebrated objects. The clock was built to Thomas Jefferson’s specifications and has remained in the Hall at Monticello since 1804. “It is a rare survivor and an original artifact,” explains Gardiner Hallock, Robert H. Smith Director of Restoration and Collections, “one that has kept time of many of the momentous events on the mountaintop.” In February 2020, the Americana Foundation awarded a grant to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (TJF) to support extensive conservation of the Great Clock’s exterior and interior. Since March 2020, Monticello’s curatorial and restoration teams have been working with outside contractors to effectuate the restoration. The first task was to deinstall the gong and striker on the roof to determine whether they need to be conserved. Then the main components of the clock were deinstalled, labeled, measured, and staged for transport. A specialized contractor team crated the various clock components and transported them to workshops in Williamsburg and Montross, Virginia for restoration. The clock exterior was examined to identify appropriate restoration activities. TJF believes that this is the first time in at least 100 years that the entire clock has left Monticello. Throughout the process, TJF has used social media and other communication channels to inform and educate the public about the project. A video of the deinstallation was posted as part of a content series that highlights the origin of and details about the architecture, furniture, and other objects at Monticello. Blog posts on Monticello’s website and on social media channels have described the importance of the clock and the need for the restoration project. Information about the project was included in Monticello’s e-newsletter and on a new digital content series, Monticello LIVE. TJF expects the project to be completed and the clock re-installed in Fall 2020. In the meantime, there is a two-dimensional replica of the clock in the Entrance Hall on brackets, which will allow tour guides to continue to tell its story. The Americana Foundation is proud to partner with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation to ensure that the Great Clock continues to serve as an educational focal point at Monticello, engaging the public in stories of creativity, innovation, engineering, history, and conservation. You can find more information about the restoration project on Monticello’s blog. Since 1923, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has preserved and operated Monticello, the plantation home and masterpiece of founding father and third president, Thomas Jefferson. A National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Monticello has welcomed more than 29 million visitors. Learn more about visiting Monticello at Monticello.org.

Restoring the Great Clock at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello

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The Great Clock at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of Monticello’s most familiar and celebrated objects. The clock was built to Thomas Jefferson’s specifications and has remained in the Hall at Monticello since 1804. “It is a rare survivor and an original artifact,” explains Gardiner Hallock, Robert H. Smith Director of Restoration […]

Restoring the Great Clock at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Read More »

Edible Flint grew out of efforts to address issues of food insecurity and challenged access to healthy food, increasing rates of health problems resulting from inadequate nutrition, and increasing amounts of abandoned property and vacant land in Flint, Michigan. It was created by early partners like the Ruth Mott Foundation, the Genesee County Land Bank, Michigan State University Extension, Genesee Conservation District, and countless others interested in collaboration and networking to promote urban gardening. One of the first efforts of the group was a garden tour that featured vegetable gardens worked by people in Flint communities who cultivated gardens to dig in and establish roots in their neighborhoods. Some gardeners focused on feeding their families, some shared with neighbors, and others helped to feed the community through donations. Edible Flint has hosted 11 Food Garden Tours since those early days. The next effort involved creating and sharing a Garden Starter Kit that included seeds, transplants, and instructions for cultivating a 1500 sq. ft garden. To date, Edible Flint has sold more than 2,600 garden kits and has offered tilling (263 gardens), soil tests (600 soil tests), and delivery of compost (~2800 yards of compost) to support neighborhood gardening efforts. Edible Flint also sold hose filters and rain barrels, reducing costs in the wake of the water crisis in Flint. The program has supported more than 1,300 gardens since 2009. One of Edible Flint’s more impactful programs offers training to gardeners interested in meeting their neighbors and cultivating the soil. The training program has graduated more than 200 gardeners. This year, the program will focus on helping people connect the health of their soil with their personal and family health. In 2018, Edible Flint received the donation of land from an established urban farm and has built an outdoor learning space on the property to host programs and classes at the site. The Educational Farm will offer an opportunity for people from Genesee County and beyond to learn about the opportunities of urban agriculture. Edible Flint is looking ahead to the next horizon to meet its mission and continue supporting residents in growing and accessing health food. To help in this effort, Americana awarded a grant in November 2019 that will help the organization attract new participants, integrate themes throughout the programming, and recruit new producers at every scale (home gardeners to produce marketers). We look forward to learning more about how Edible Flint incorporates education and training on soil health into its programs and promotes sustainable agriculture in Flint’s urban environment. You can find more information about Edible Flint at its website.

Edible Flint supports the urban farming community in Flint so that neighbors can access healthy food and reconnect with the land and each other

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Edible Flint grew out of efforts to address issues of food insecurity and challenged access to healthy food, increasing rates of health problems resulting from inadequate nutrition, and increasing amounts of abandoned property and vacant land in Flint, Michigan. It was created by early partners like the Ruth Mott Foundation, the Genesee County Land Bank,

Edible Flint supports the urban farming community in Flint so that neighbors can access healthy food and reconnect with the land and each other Read More »

Asbury Farms Connects Neighbors While Producing Fresh Local Food for its Flint Community

Asbury Farms Connects Neighbors While Producing Fresh Local Food for its Flint Community

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Asbury Farms (Flint, MI) works to strengthen its neighborhood by transforming blighted and underused land into community gardens and supporting local residents interested in growing fresh food or earning a living from food production. The idea for Asbury Farms arose out of the strategic decision of the leaders at Asbury Community Development Corporation to be

Asbury Farms Connects Neighbors While Producing Fresh Local Food for its Flint Community Read More »

Photo 1: This table had been held in storage at the Dearborn Historical Museum for many years because of its condition.

Building the Conservation Field while Preserving Expressions of Cultural Heritage

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Photo 1: This table had been held in storage at the Dearborn Historical Museum for many years because of its condition. The work of restoring historical furniture, buildings, and other items is often detailed and meticulous. Conservators must recognize materials, construction techniques, and surface preparations used in a historical object and then use specialized tools

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Growing Hope (Ypsilanti, MI) launched in 2003 with a mission of setting up and supporting school and community gardens. Today, its activities are much broader – producing organic vegetables and flowers at its one-acre urban education and demonstration farm, operating two farmers markets, one of which is a year-round market hosted at their Ypsilanti Farmers MarketPlace, developing farm and garden programs designed to increase healthy food access to low-income families and youth, organizing volunteers to work at the farm and conducting educational programs focused on nutrition and STEM concepts. The mission of Growing Hope is to foster an equitable and sustainable local food system where all people are empowered to grow, sell, buy, prepare and eat nourishing food. The Americana Foundation is proud to have supported Growing Hope as it positions itself to become a premier garden demonstration and educational site in Washtenaw County. Previous grants from Americana have helped Growing Hope create specialized gardens for demonstrating small-scale urban growing and an interactive, sensory garden for young people. A recent grant helped Growing Hope collaborate with the Ypsilanti Housing Commission and EMU’s Family Empowerment Program to design a farm shares program that increased access to local, fresh vegetables to low-income families. Households that participated in the program reported that the farm share produce increased their access to healthy food, enabled them to try new vegetables with more frequency, and increased their confidence about preparing new vegetables. The grant also enabled Growing Hope to expand its volunteer program, grow and sustain its educational programs, and host field trips at the farm for lower-income youth and partner youth groups. Growing Hope emphasizes the importance of earned revenue and diversified funding streams. In late 2018, Growing Hope hosted three fundraising events at the farm that featured local chefs cooking dinner for long-time supporters and newcomers. In addition, staff of Growing Hope convened community members to help design urban gardens for the Ypsilanti Housing Commission and other local organizations. Growing Hope also rents its marketplace hall for private events and the hall houses an incubator kitchen, which Growing Hope rents to local food entrepreneurs. These activities brought in additional financial resources to supplement grant funding. Americana applauds the work of Growing Hope and its impact on enhancing the food system in Ypsilanti and the surrounding communities. Growing Hope is undergoing a strategic planning process to update and refresh its vision for using the farm for demonstration and community education. When Americana toured the urban farm in early June, the physical space was being updated and the staff was building new raised growing beds to facilitate new and existing programming. New programs may include how to extend the growing season, how to grow vertically and in limited spaces, and how to grow specifically for youth education. We are excited to see what’s next! Growing Hope is a certified non-profit organization registered under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. More information about Growing Hope is available at http://www.growinghope.net.

Growing Hope promotes access to fresh, healthy food for the community and earns mission-aligned revenues

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Growing Hope (Ypsilanti, MI) launched in 2003 with a mission of setting up and supporting school and community gardens. Today, its activities are much broader – producing organic vegetables and flowers at its one-acre urban education and demonstration farm, operating two farmers markets, one of which is a year-round market hosted at their Ypsilanti Farmers

Growing Hope promotes access to fresh, healthy food for the community and earns mission-aligned revenues Read More »

People often ask Americana staff and trustees about the partnership that exists between the Foundation and MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center. In 1987, the Foundation’s founders - Adolph and Ginger Meyer – gave Michigan State University 60 acres of their beloved Tollgate Farm located within the city limits of Novi, Michigan along with a significant grant to cover site development and renovations. The Foundation retained nearly 100 acres of Tollgate consisting of pasture, wooded areas, and working lands, which Americana now leases to MSU for demonstration, education, and research projects. Americana’s office is in the original farmhouse on the farmstead. The founders were committed to protecting farmland, which they considered to be our country’s most valuable resource, from urban sprawl and development. MSU’s use of Tollgate Farm for educational programming advances the founders’ purpose and celebrates America’s agricultural heritage. MSU Tollgate Farm offers children, families, and adults that live in areas that have become increasingly urban an opportunity to enjoy unique, hands-on agricultural experiences. Educational programming at the Farm includes 4-H youth programs, homeowner horticulture, school field trips, food systems education, farmer training, Master Gardener classes, and immersive agriculture and nature-based summer camp and pre-school programs. Students, campers, volunteer gardeners, and other visitors experience farm animals, the joys of gardening, and walks in the woods. The facility even has a conference center that is used by MSU Extension but can also be rented by businesses and the community. MSU estimates that Tollgate programs attracted more than 20,000 participants in 2018. Almost 7,000 school children from across southeast Michigan came for field trips. In the spring, more than 50 volunteer “Edu-leaders” demonstrated maple-sugaring to nearly 1,500 visitors. More than 120 shareholders enjoyed fresh vegetables that were organically grown in the farm’s community-supported agriculture program. Pumpkinfest, an annual fall event, attracted more than 2,000 people to the farm over one October weekend. Over the years Americana has supported the use of MSU Tollgate Farm for agricultural education through additional grants. In 2018, for example, Americana helped to support two educational positions that enabled MSU Tollgate to host more than 500 summer campers – the most successful year yet – and more than 75 pre-school children in the popular Farm Sprouts program. Americana grants have enabled MSU to provide financial aid to children who might not otherwise be able to participate. And Americana grants have contributed to repairs and significant upgrades of the buildings and other improvements on the farm property to ensure safe and accessible facilities for farm programs. In all, since 1997 Americana has awarded more than $2 million in additional grants for facilities maintenance and upgrades and to support MSU’s high-quality Tollgate programs. Americana applauds MSU Extension’s research-based approach to educational programming and its commitment to providing opportunities for children, families and adults in an increasingly urban area to learn about American agriculture through hands-on experiences. The MSU-Americana partnership reflects mutual commitment to MSU’s mission of teaching, demonstration and research and the Foundation’s mission of supporting sustainable growth and development of American agriculture and community food systems, the conservation and preservation of our natural resources, and the protection and presentation of expressions of America’s heritage. Find more information about MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center here.

Americana partnership with Michigan State University endures for more than 30 years

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People often ask Americana staff and trustees about the partnership that exists between the Foundation and MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center. In 1987, the Foundation’s founders – Adolph and Ginger Meyer – gave Michigan State University 60 acres of their beloved Tollgate Farm located within the city limits of Novi, Michigan along with a

Americana partnership with Michigan State University endures for more than 30 years Read More »

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