Green Story

Family-owned and operated for the better part of 200 years, Prescott Farm has a history as rich as its landscape. Originally established by Colonel Dudley Prescott of the New Hampshire Militia, who had received land grants for his service during the Revolutionary War, the proceeding decades and centuries would see the farm change family hands multiple times, before ending its tenure as an active farm in 1950.

Today, the sprawling 160-acre farm is stewarded by the Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (PFEEC), which has helped transform the historic grounds into an expansive campus rife with beautiful scenery and unique environmental education opportunities in equal measure. From harvest celebrations to maple sugaring classes, nature adventure camps to gardening symposiums, Prescott Farm’s steadfast commitment to the region’s ecological heritage is one that takes a number of dynamic forms.

In 2005, Prescott Farm built a new program facility, the Samuel P. Pardoe building, which touts green features as expansive as the center’s grounds, including locally-sourced spruce and hemlock; south-facing windows that invite natural light; CFL lighting throughout the building; geothermal heating and cooling; high-efficiency water-heating units; low-flow plumbing; reflective roofing material; native lawn plantings; and, last but not least, a solar photovoltaic system which provides nearly half the heat required for the building.

PFEEC offers environmental education classes and courses for all ages, as well as outdoor programs, field trips, camps, and long-term partnerships with local schools. Designated as an official New Hampshire Wildlife Viewing Area, the grounds feature 3.5 miles of hiking trails that include ponds, fields, historic barns, flowers, vegetable gardens, and sprawling woodlands.

Needless to say, the PFEEC is – and will remain – a Lakes Region treasure committed to maintaining the region’s unique ecological heritage and educational opportunities.