Education Center & Farm Market: Greenacres Expands at Nippert Barn
If you’ve driven by our Indian Hill locations on Spooky Hollow Road this year, you’ve probably noticed the construction on our north campus. We are excited to announce that the Nippert Barn is being renovated to serve as our second dedicated agricultural education center and the new home of our Farm Market. Once completed, it will offer guests of all ages unique opportunities to experience Greenacres in new and engaging ways.
Children attending field trips will learn about generative agriculture and farm-to-market concepts, deepening their connection with the environment and gaining a clearer understanding of where their food comes from. Visitors of all ages can enjoy rotating educational content built as part of the Farm Market experience or participate in scheduled programming. The market will continue to offer fresh meat and produce and is scheduled to open in mid to late November.
With the growing popularity of our agriculture-focused field trips, we’ve outgrown the capacity of our Kennel House facility, which is currently our only dedicated agriculture education space. This renovation comes at the perfect time. Surveys show that 40% of 4th and 5th graders don’t know hamburgers come from cows, and 16 million Americans mistakenly believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. The new education center will help bridge this knowledge gap through hands-on learning experiences focused on sustainable farming practices, the journey of food from farm to market to table, the lifecycles of animals, and much more!
“This new facility will provide community learners with a concrete connection between our pastures and the products we grow. Our aim is to offer hands-on experiences that close the knowledge gap on agricultural topics while bringing state standards in subjects like Social Studies and Science to life. We also see this as a chance to teach how we farm for biodiversity using Holistic Management practices, ensuring that actions taken to restore land and livelihoods are ecologically, socially, and economically sound.” – Scott Wingate, Chief Program Officer, Greenacres Foundation
In addition to its educational mission, the new space will enhance the visitor experience at our Farm Market through rotating quarterly exhibits that showcase the variety of programs Greenacres offers—from research and agricultural operations to environmental preservation and our commitment to keeping Cincinnati a thriving hub for the arts.
The renovated space will also serve as a versatile venue for mid-sized, mission-related events. Demand is growing for livestock workshops, farm-to-table dinners focused on nutrition, and opportunities to learn from our gardening staff. The building provides the perfect setting for these activities, offering direct access to our pastures, gardens, and woodlands.
Our commitment to sustainability has made this renovation particularly exciting. We’ve taken great care to blend the building’s historical integrity with modern sustainability features. It is now equipped with geothermal heating and cooling, exceeds modern insulation standards, and incorporates strategies to maximize natural light while minimizing heat gain. We also prioritized recycling materials wherever possible. One highlight is the reuse of the original wood in the classroom space, preserving the beautiful old-growth wood paneling. The renovation also includes a rainwater capture system feeding into an underground cistern and a new wetland design to help purify runoff.
We greatly appreciate your continued support and look forward to many more years of community engagement and education at our new facility!
