They call it a work in progress, but for volunteers at Charnews Farm in Southold, it's a little piece of paradise where they can get their hands dirty planting flowers and, eventually, the vegetables that will help feed a community.
The 23.4-acre site on Youngs Avenue, just north of Founders Village, was purchased by Peconic Land Trust last spring for $2.4 million with an eye toward not only preserving farmland, but perpetuating working farms on the North Fork.
The site abuts the previously purchased Hubbard property, bringing the total spread to about 40 acres, Peconic Land Trust vice president Tim Caufield said. Southold Town purchased development rights on the land for $1.6 million, helping to offset the land trust's investment.
The goal is to promote regional agriculture through the production and sale of mostly organic foods while educating the community at large about what it takes to plant, nurture and harvest farm crops. The site hasn't been farmed for at least two decades.
"We have kind of a blending of activities here," Mr. Caufield said. Besides the planting and cultivating efforts that take place on Fridays, Saturday mornings feature educational talks by farmers and environmentalists.
On Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m., an aromatherapist will be on hand to talk about growing herb gardens.
And an open house is slated for noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30, to familiarize the community with activities at the site.
Typically, Mr. Caufield starts his Friday morning in the field helping volunteers prepare the soil for a 40-foot-square vegetable garden near the site's northwest corner.
"Tim is like a permanent fixture, making all of these things happen," said volunteer Rona Smith of Orient. She got involved at Charnews Farm through the efforts of John Henry, who has enlisted many of his Orient neighbors in both fundraising and farming.
"They're great people with a lot of motivation," Ms. Smith said of her fellow volunteers.
Volunteer Guido Dossena of Laurel, up to his elbows in soil, planted hibiscus while discussing his commitment to Charnews Farm.
"I like gardening and I think the land trust is doing some amazing things," he said. The dedication he once gave to his work in financial services, the retired Mr. Dossena now devotes to the farm.
"It's a chance to work outside and be a part of this great space," said John Dispenza of Orient, also retired.
When Pamela Thompson of Southold isn't working as a Stony Brook University dean, she can be found on the farm with what she calls "the Friday Honey-Dos. It's a fabulous group of people," she said.
It's a chance to meet like-minded people and to be with "a lot of recovering corporate executives," Mr. Dispenza joked.
"Land preservation is dear to my heart," said volunteer Kevin Benner, an architect who created the landscape design for the farm.
"I like it out here and I like it to stay the way it is," volunteer Dean Sambach of Southold said.
Fred Lee of Sang Lee Farms has leased 17 acres to grow vegetables that he'll sell at his Peconic farm stand. He had been leasing another land trust-owned plot in Cutchogue that's now for sale, so the transition to the Southold farm was easy, Mr. Caufield said.
The long-range plan is to involve the Long Island Farm Bureau, the Audubon Society and other local organizations committed to environmental protection activities in efforts to preserve the farm and educate the public.
The farmland was originally owned by the Grattan family, who built a house there in the 1880s. The Charnews family bought the property in the 1940s and the land trust purchased it from the children of Daniel Charnews Sr.
Ask about development plans and Mr. Caufield will point to Mr. Benner's overall landscape design. But he's quick to note that nothing is written in stone and that the land trust very much wants input from the local farming community.
The land trust has received a pledge of up to $257,000 from an anonymous couple and is now seeking matching funds from others who want to support the Charnews Farm development. The land trust's Web site lists the fundraising goal as $772,796. More than 40 individuals and organizations have already pledged money.
Contributions may be sent to the Peconic Land Trust, P.O. Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969. To volunteer at the site, call Pam Green at the Peconic Land Trust office, 283-3195.
