McKeon Farm
The property consists mainly of hillside meadows and forest, which provide important habitat for many birds, flora, and fauna. The property also contains wet meadows, which provide important habitat for various species of butterflies. A trail guides visitors around the field and through the gully in the middle of the site and includes many interpretive signs along the way. This trail is accessible to the public from the cul-de-sac at the end of Lauzun Lane and the parking lot on Old Stagecoach Road.
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Approaching McKeon’s farm from the south or west, one travels through heavily wooded areas into the cleared fields and meadows of the farm, offering lovely vistas in all directions.
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The site includes sheep pastures guarded by llamas in the Apple Orchard, the two Ridgebury Pastures and the two Stagecoach Pastures. The sheep and llamas are owned and managed by Henny Penny Farm. The site also includes a teaching garden for individuals on the spectrum run by Cornestore Home and Gardens, and a pollinator garden.
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Click here to get further information on McKeon's history.
Henny Penny Farm has been grazing their animals at McKeon farm since 2015 and have worked under two USDA-NRCS grants to increase the biological diversity both above and below the ground. Henny Penny is a working model of regenerative farming and is committed to protecting the environment by working in harmony with Nature’s rhythms, to raise nurtured, happy animals, while teaching children about food and feeding families the healthiest, most nutrient-dense food possible. Henny Penny’s products can be found at local farmer’s markets as well as online and at their farm store. For more information, visit their site here.
Cornerstone Home and Gardens is a 501(c)3 organization leasing space for their garden in the upper meadow at McKeon Farm. The garden provides special needs educational gardening and job experience to young adults with ASD and other related disabilities, as well as providing volunteering opportunities to Ridgefield High School students. In partnership with Ridgefield Social Services, CG&H donates fresh vegetables harvested at the garden to Ridgefield families in need.
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Click here to get further information and a map of the trail at McKeon.
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A pollinator garden is installed at McKeon in conjunction with Landscape Interactions, to attract and sustain pollinators on the farm. Read the report McKeon Farm Meadows and Hedgerows Toolkit for Landscape Design and Management to Support Pollinator Species at Risk in Western Connecticut for more information.
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If you'd like to plant a pollinator garden of your own to help our pollinators, some organizations sell native plants suited to supporting local pollinators. Click on our Pollinator Pathways web page for more information. To buy native plants, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut’s (CT NOFA) Ecotype Project is a source for truly native wildflowers in Connecticut.
McKeon Farm Tools Museum - Learn more about the tools found in the museum - Mckeon Farm Tools
