Women for Shepherd Tabler Farm Open House
Dr. Peter Vila (l) and Madison Hale ’21 (r) prepare the grown tunnel ahead of guests
Director of Alumni Relations Katie Gordon ’12 greeted guests as they arrived
Kathy Jo Blue ’80 gives an introduction as the lead volunteer for the event. Kathy’s family sold Tabler Farm to Shepherd in the 1990s.
Guests of all ages attended Sunday’s event
The tour guides for the event were Madison Hale (l), Dr. Jeff Groff (c), and Dr. Peter Vila (r)
Listening to Dr. Peter Vila explain about the aquaponics facility
Inside the aquaponics facility
Examining the fish that make the aquaponics facility run smoothly
A group listens to Madison Hale explain about the crop production system
Madison, who has served one growing season as the farm’s coordinator, is responsible for founding the native food forest, initiating sales of produce to the VA Center in Martinsburg, and working with local nonprofits to provide food donations for those in need.
A native food forest is one of the recent projects at the farm
A group explored the grow tunnel
Dr. Jeff Groff, professor of physics and chair of the Department of Environmental and Physical Sciences, tells a group about the apiary. Dr. Groff is the resident bee keeper at the farm.
Showing an old honey comb tray
Aramark Catering provided treats representative of items being produced at the farm
fresh produce from the farm’s grow tunnel
