About Us
Education, Research, Conservation
Greenacres Foundation offers something for everyone. From exploring preserved forests and creeks, capturing beauty in music and artwork, to discovering secrets of farming and gardening. Come enjoy school field trips and summer camps as well as fresh produce from the farm store and special public events. Inspiration is contagious among Greenacres team who truly possess a passion for our Mission.
Our Mission
Greenacres will always reflect the style and grace of founders, Louis and Louise Nippert. Our mission is to preserve for the public an area reflecting the traditional environment of Indian Hill and its historical significance by preserving Greenacres in its current state of woodland and farmland. To encourage conservation and appreciation of nature by providing the public, particularly children, opportunities to study plant and animal life in their natural settings. To encourage appreciation of music and culture by providing facilities and an atmosphere that will encourage artists to display their talents for all age groups.
Our History
Louis and Louise Nippert purchased 47 acres of land known as Greenacres Farm from the Green family in 1949. Between 1949 and 1998, the Nipperts purchased several adjacent tracts of land and today the farm comprises nearly 600 acres. It was originally operated as a mid-twentieth century gentleman’s farm. In 1988, wanting to give back to the community, they started Greenacres Foundation with the intent to preserve the land for the education and enjoyment of future generations. Their mission lives on today, serving over 30,000 students a year, while expanding into new communities.
Our People
Original Founding Members
-
The late Louis Nippert
-
The late Louise Dieterle Nippert
-
The late Marie Eberhard
Current Board of Trustees
-
Carter Randolph, Ph.D.
-
Martin Cooper
-
Lawrence Kyte, Jr.
-
Brad Lindner
-
Ginger Warner
-
Meredith Leslie
-
Jim Ebenschweiger
-
Beth Hellman
-
Louie Randolph
Contact Us
Follow Us
Echinacea, the sweetest ewe in our flock, gave birth to triplet lambs over the weekend!Lamb triplets are fairly rare and this is the first time itโs happened at Greenacres.
Ewes only have 2 teats, making it hard for a momma to feed 3 at once. Thankfully another ewe who had a single baby is also feeding one of the triplets. The livestock team will keep a close eye on all three to make sure everyone gets enough to eat.
It was an all-hands effort to plant brassicas in our Ley field at the start of May! The beds had been resting under a thick tarp for a few weeks, which terminated last yearโs cover crop and helped warm the soil. We added several inches of compost from our onsite compost facility, and gently worked it into the top few inches of soil with a power harrow. Our brassica seedlings are now happily growing - look for this broccolini, cabbage, kohlrabi and kale to be in our farmstore later this season!
Our โAsk a Farmerโ plant and flower sale event is this Saturday 9-1 at our Farmstore! We have veggie, herb and flower plants, and gorgeous cut flower bouquets for Mom. Our garden staff will be on hand to answer questions! All our plants and flowers are grown from seed on our farm, following organic practices. ๐ฑ๐ธ
Ohio Native Plant Month is almost over, but we're still appreciating the plants that make our region beautiful!
We're quite fond of Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) as it is a great understory shrub that can be used to replace invasive honeysuckle. They produce red berries in the fall that are a great food source for migrating song birds.
Earth Day is about celebrating and acknowledging every creature and the habitats they call home. Our staff lives this mentality. Earlier this month, our Research Assistant Chad, found a spotted salamander egg mass while working in our wetland.. a sign of clean, healthy water.
The state amphibian of Ohio, spotted salamanders lay up to 100 eggs in a jelly-like clump in a pool of water. The eggs hatch in a month or so, and the juvenile salamanders live in the water for several months before losing their gills and moving onto land. Amphibians like salamanders need clean water to reproduce, another reason we work hard to protect and monitor our waterways. Happy Earth Day! ๐
๐ธ@philipchad
The Grand Tent is up and we are ready for the start of a busy 2022 event season. Looking forward to hosting you at the Arts Center soon!
@alleen_company
Students from Oyler School visited our Indian Hill location recently - this class had the opportunity to observe our routine cattle vaccinations and they were able to touch the side of one of our bulls. This kind of hands-on education happens all year round here at Greenacres - if your class or homeschool group would like to learn more about our educational programming visit our website to learn more.
The tomato plants in our new greenhouse expansion are almost as tall as Nate! The garden team is experimenting with best practices in LED lighting, beneficial insects, and soil biology to grow tomatoes outside their typical season in Ohio. Fruiting plants are complex, needing different wavelengths of light at different stages to grow foliage, flower, and fruit successfully - and each step of the process can impact fruit flavor. ๐