Hard Bargain FarmEnvironmental Center

Accokeek • Maryland

Building for a Strong foundation

Environmental Education on the Potomac

Annual Report 2012

Board of DirectorsMichael Herman, President

Nancy Gasparovic, Vice PresidentDan Jackson, SecretaryHarold Phelps, Treasurer

Abe Haspel • Steve Kim • Linda Lampkin • Stevenson McIlvaine • Frank Nicolai • Snapper Poche • Betsy Reid •Liz Theobalds

• Bud Wareham • Nancy Weiman

Executive DirectorLori Arguellles

Alice Ferguson Foundation 2001 Bryan Point Road 1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 275 Accokeek, Maryland 20607 Washington, DC 20037 Tel. 301.292.5665 • Fax 301.292.1070 Tel. 202.973.8203

fergusonfoundation.org

Our Mission To connect people to the natural world, sustainable agricultural

practices and the cultural heritage of their local watershed through education, stewardship and advocacy.

Building for a Strong Foundation

Dear Friends,

Over the past year, we have achieved so much together as we continue Building for a Strong Foundation. In 2012, we worked with 16 Trash Free Schools as part of our multi-faceted Trash Initiative to rid the Potomac River Watershed of litter. We made nature come alive for close to 11,000 Pre-K through 12th grade students at our Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center, and at national and state parks throughout the region through our Bridging the Watershed partnership with the National Park Service.

We continue to be inspired by all those with whom we connect, from the nearly 15,000 volunteers who participated in our annual watershed-wide cleanup to the dozens of teachers trained at our annual Teacher Institutes to the thousands of students who get to use nature as their classroom thanks to our field studies. And we are constantly challenging ourselves to be ever more innovative. Just one of many examples is the creation of the Trash Free Network, an online community dedicated to increasing regional stewardship by transforming the way in which groups identify and engage with activities that build toward a trash-free future.

Among our greatest accomplishments in 2012 was securing the resources necessary to begin construction of our Potomac Watershed Study Center, which is designed to meet the most stringent of green building requirements as laid out in the Living Building Challenge©. Generous commitments from private sources, as well as the State of Maryland and Prince George’s County, mean that in the coming year we will be able to construct our new facility. These cutting-edge buildings will make it possible for us to “walk the talk,” and educate and foster the next generation of environmental stewards on a whole new level.

All of our efforts are made possible with the generous support of a community of dedicated funders and individuals who care deeply about our work and recognize the powerful impact of our programs. We are grateful to all and invite you to take a virtual walk in nature as you read this report.

Sincerely,

Lori Arguelles Mike HermanExecutive Director Board President

Strong Foundation

Water High and Water Low -Springbrook High School Student

Water high and water lowWater swift, fast, and slowCreatures here or plants thereWater exists everywhereNear our water there existsHistorical places which is a remembrance ofArsenals long agoAnd the water high is now the water low

With nature as our classroom, the Foundation seeks to foster the next generation of environmental

stewards through our field studies at Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center (HBF) and at national and Maryland state parks through our Bridging the Watershed (BTW) program. The two programs combine to serve students from Pre-K through twelfth grade and help instill an awareness and appreciation of our natural world. Our award-winning programs encourage middle and high school students to be scientists through a rigorous STEM-based (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) curriculum, and open the doors of discovery to younger students who are experiencing the woodlands, wetlands, and waterways of our 330-acre farm for the first time.

EDUCATION

Expanding the ClassroomCourses at Hard Bargain Farm immerse students in various field studies involving fun and innovative hands-on activities and field investigations designed to engage all learning styles. In 2012, the monthly Home School program expanded to increase successes by allowing more choices in the curriculum and theme of the students’ visits. Additionally, the Hard Bargain Farm Education program, through grants from NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education and Training program and the Environmental Protection Agency, reinstated the Outreach Coordinator position, making it possible to reconnect with schools that the Foundation has worked with in the past. As a result, 11 schools are now participating in our Schoolyards as Classrooms project. To further engage area schools, AFF staff worked to revitalize the Trash Free Schools project, which works to educate and empower students, faculty, and staff to reduce their school’s waste footprint by providing education and resources.

Hard Bargain Farm Major Accomplishments:• Conducted a successful two-week Teacher Institute for 28 teachers from

Prince George’s County, MD.• Held the first annual Family Fun Day on June 9, 2012 in conjunction with

Maryland Get Out of Doors Day. Families took part in activities that included visiting the animals in the barnyard and the children’s garden, a wagon ride to the Potomac River, and a campfire at the log cabin.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.”-Baba Dioum, Senegalese Poet and Conservationist

From Classrooms to Parks (and Beyond)In partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), BTW is designed to promote student academic achievement, personal connections with the natural world, lifelong civic engagement, and environmental stewardship through hands-on curriculum-based outdoor studies in national parks and public lands. Creativity and innovation abounded as staff sought to meet the demands for the current program and also to expand beyond the Potomac River Watershed. New, energetic educators joined the team invigorating the program with their enthusiasm and ideas to better engage students and make science more relevant.

Bridging the Watershed Major Accomplishments

• Expanded into three parks in the Northeast Region of the National Park Service. As a result, we trained 18 park staff and teachers at Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, MA; Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, Bear Lake, PA; and Assateague National Seashore, MD.

• Updated teacher training modules to provide more professional development in environmental education.

• Engaged 50 students from Suitland High School in a pilot service learning program providing litter prevention information on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

• Piloted a new park-specific module, The Battle to Save Water Quality, at Monocacy National Battlefield.

By the Numbers• 6,478studentsservedthroughBTWfield

studies• 4,536 students served through HBF programs• 173BTWfieldstudiesheldin21parks• 53 teachers participated in Teacher Institutes • 25teachersparticipatedinTrash Free Schools

workshops • 20rangerstrained• 16 School participated in Trash Free Schools• 11 schools participated in our Schoolyards as

Classrooms• 3 new parks added to the BTW program

ADVOCACY

The word “advocacy” can sometimes be a lightning rod, but at its core is the fundamental notion of

actively supporting something important. In our case, we actively support protecting our watershed from the negative impact of trash. Our Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative seeks to have the institutions, infrastructure, and policies in place that are needed to create a lasting reduction of litter throughout the watershed. Since the Trash Initiative was started nearly a decade ago, we have focused on five core components to accomplish this goal: public education, market-based approaches, policy, enforcement, and regulation.

“There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.”

-President Lyndon B. Johnson

Trash Initiative Major Accomplishments:• Implemented the Regional Litter Prevention

Campaign in five communities through the Trash Free Communities project by providing grassroots support and increasing awareness of litter issues through collaborative engagement.

• Convened the seventh Annual Trash Free Potomac Watershed Summit November 7, 2012 at the Silver Spring Civic Building where more than 225 participants gathered to learn, discuss, plan, and take action on strategies to eliminate trash from our waterways. Keynote speaker, Jean-Michel Cousteau is pictured above left; Maryland Delegate Heather Mizeur and student participants are pictured above right.

• Engaged ten agencies from nine jurisdictions to raise awareness of litter, illegal dumping, and related crimes, the laws associated with them, and their effects on our communities, our economy, and the Potomac River during Litter Enforcement Month (LEM) in April 2012.

• Worked with the Trash Free Maryland and Trash Free Virginia Alliances to pass litter reduction policies that have proven to be successful at providing simple economic incentives for reducing litter.

By the Numbers:

• 4,000 officers engaged in Litter Enforcement Month • 53 members of the Trash Free Maryland Alliance • 49 presentation, meetings, or informational

sessions were held by Trash Initiative staff • 19 Trash Free Potomac Facilities were supported

by the Trash Free Facilities program• 7 schoolyard cleanups held as part of the

Trash Free Schools Project• 6 members of the Trash Free Virginia Alliance

Creating Communities to Tackle Trash In 2012, with generous support from REI, we launched the Trash Free Potomac Network to form an online community to connect volunteers, organizations, businesses and governments by providing year round information on local cleanups, workshops, and trash monitoring opportunities. The information gathered from the Trash Network will also provide crucial data by feeding directly into the FieldScope program. The National Geographic Society approached AFF to participate in their FieldScope program, a web-based platform that provides a forum for collection and analysis of citizen science projects that involve geographic data. The partnership will greatly increase our ability to share and analyze data, connecting volunteers to regional needs, and create cleanups that have broader impacts.

STEWARDSHIP“...the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.” -Wendell Berry, Author and Poet

2012 Cleanup by the Numbers• 14,616 volunteers • 660 cleanup sites in Maryland, the District of

Columbia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia

• 262 tons of trash removed• 31,000 plastic bags• 1,566 tires • 139,000 beverage containers

The 24th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup

Each year, thousands of stewards in the Potomac watershed join together to improve the communities we live in and take part in the Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup. Since 1989, through partnerships with businesses, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and youth groups, more than 114,000 volunteers have eliminated over 6 million pounds of trash from our watershed during the month of April. Held on April 14, the Cleanup brought in a record breaking number of volunteers, allowing the Foundation to not only increase regional stewardship, but further raise awareness about and increase engagement with the trash issue plaguing the Potomac watershed.

trashnetwork.fergusonfoundation.org

DEMONSTRATION

One of the Foundation’s greatest assets is the land and historical buildings we are

privileged to manage. In February 2012, the rebuilding of the Harry Patton Tool Museum was completed, to the delight of hundreds of school students. After the August 2011 earthquake, an assessment was made of all buildings on the site. It was determined that the chimney at the log cabin was damaged beyond repair. After deconstruction it was rebuilt with vintage bricks to be historically representative.

Building for the FutureThe Potomac Watershed Study Center, our newest and most innovative and ambitious initiative, is now ready to come to life after years of planning.

The Center will embrace the most advanced environmental design and construction principles of our lifetime and be a net-zero water, net-zero energy, zero-waste and carbon-neutral facility that will meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge©. The Overnight Lodge and the Day-Use Building are the main components of the Center and will be complemented by two sleeping cabins and a wetlands boardwalk. The Center will demonstrate how the natural and human-built worlds can interact in a mutually sustaining way.

This innovative Center will greatly improve the Foundation’s ability to educate and inspire the scores of students and teachers who visit Hard Bargain Farm each year. Our educators will integrate the Center’s components into our curricula, and we anticipate that the opportunities of “teachable moments” will blossom as the Center is built and the components are used by students and teachers.

DEMONSTRATION

By the Numbers:• 1,800 bales of hay harvested and stored• 1,100 people attended our annual Oktoberfest

celebration• 545 people attended Spring Farm Festival• 270 volunteers logged 3,333 hours at HBF• 75 laying hens produced 1,240 dozens of eggs• 45 young broiler chickens raised, processed and

sold• 17 beef cattle rotationally grazed throughout

our farmland

Highlighting the Value of Local Produce At the center of AFF lies the working farm, which not only serves as an educational tool for the visiting students, but also demonstrates the importance of locally sourced produce and sustainable agriculture practices. Over the past year, production of sustainably raised beef, chicken, and eggs for sale has been the main focus of the farming operation. The new rotational grazing program at the Farm is a success, greatly reducing the need for hay. In spite of one of the most severe summer droughts in our region, the beef cattle grazed for the greater part of the year, and in so doing added valuable nutrients back into the soil.

The Arts and Cultural Heritage at Hard Bargain FarmHenry and Alice Ferguson’s legacy is honored through our performing arts programs and cultural heritage preservation efforts. This year, the Hard Bargain Players produced and performed three plays including Fuddy Meers, Hoodoo Love, and And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson. The Concert in the Woods series featured a variety of music including jazz, bluegrass, country, rock, and folk at the Hard Bargain Amphitheater. Fergie’s Gardeners, a member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., conducted tours of the Country Place Era gardens Alice created.

Cultural Heritage preservation efforts included the completion and adoption of the Scope of Collection of objects owned or created by Alice and Henry Ferguson. Part of that collection are archived letters, photos and other documentation that are in the process of being scanned, read and translated into digital files by a newly formed group of volunteers, “Alice’s Scribes.” The purpose is to deepen our understanding of the Fergusons and their years at Hard Bargain Farm from source material in the archives at the Farm. This work is especially important in light of our proposed application for the National Historic Register and for attracting academics, historians, and others to our cultural heritage.

“The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery - not over nature but of ourselves.” – Rachel Carson, Conservationist and Author

Public Sector PartnersDC Water & Sewer AuthorityEnvironmental Protection AgencyDistrict Department of the EnvironmentMaryland Department of AgricultureMaryland State Department of EducationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Chesapeake Bay Office, Marine Debris ProgramNational Endowment for the HumanitiesNational Park Service, National Capital Region Prince George’s County GovernmentPrince George’s County Farm BureauU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Corporations, Foundations and OrganizationsAlexander & CleaverArnold & Porter LLPBlue Ridge VoyageursChaney FoundationCharlie’s Family RestaurantChesapeake Bay Roasting CompanyChesapeake Bay Trust Cheverly Garden ClubCircus Ice Cream, Inc.Community Bank of Tri-CountyConstellation EnergyEfusion Consulting, LLCExxonMobilFacchina, LLCGenOn EnergyG.S. Proctor and Associates, Inc.Hazen, Inc.HMSHostLiving Oceans FoundationLogistics Management InstituteMaddy’s Bar & GrilleMOM’s Organic MarketMorgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB)Motorola, Inc.Moyaone Association, Inc.O’Brien and Gere Engineers, Inc.Old Line BankPaint Branch Garden ClubPreservation Maryland Heritage FundQuintilesSheryl Romeo Real EstateSkanska Infrastructure DevelopmentSMECO

Solly’s TavernStarbucks FoundationTanta-Cove Garden ClubTitle Professionals, LtdThe Keith Campbell FoundationCommunity Foundation for the National Capital RegionThe MARPAT FoundationThe Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationThe Summit Fund of WashingtonUnited Way of Charles County, Inc.United Way of the National Capital AreaWashington Gas Westmoreland Hills Garden Club

Individual DonorsAaron & Bonnie AckleyChris & Bonnie AillsMatthew AlcideGary & Candace AllenMichael Leventhal & Judy Allen-LeventhalBen ArbutiskiLori Arguelles & John CoxDavid & Tanya ArguellesBryan & Donna ArlingJames ArmelLinda ArmwoodDavid BakerMary Jo BanisRichard & Lydia BarbourBrad BarteeJoris BenningaBrij & Nancy BhargavaDeborah BiesiadeckiElmer “Bud” BilesRobert BooneSybelline BowieChristine BowlingLynn BraganGary BrashearMarney BruceKenneth Bryson & Nancy SulfridgeCynthia BuccoRon & Shawna BuchsenBilly BuckJoseph & Michelle BuckinghamAnne BucklerElizabeth BurkeConnie BurleyAngela Calos

Jackie CamerlinkPeter & Anne CampbellCaroline CarbaughQuick CarlsonOden & Lillian CattertonAnn ChabKevin ChandlerJohn Chesley & Cynthia Heerwagen-ChesleyBob & Mary ChristensenThomas Clay & Kathleen Jenkins O’DayCatherine CloudEmily CohenMichael Cohn & Linda WitkinAdelaide CopelandPaul and Linda CoverstonSteve & Ginny CrakeRochelle Creighton-TompaAlvan & Janet CrewsMarc CruzBecky Curtis Judith DavisJeff DefordDavid DeJesusJoe & Peggy DeStefanisJohn & Virginia DildineHenry DiLorenzoJules DingleKenneth & Peggy DixonSusanne DonohueDaniel & Carol DonohueFred & Mary DownsJohn & Ann DraperJohn & Hildegard DroterJohn DullahanFarleigh EarheartRobert & Norma EdwardsThomas Ellwanger & Ellen HancockJohn & Kathleen EnterlineAlan & Barbara EvansJon & Alexandra EvansThomas FahyRobert & Olivia FarncombKatrina FaussLeslie FazioStanley & Patrice FetterRosalie FedorukDonna FinneyfrockRobert Fisher & Maritza CastroPeter FontneauRichard & Susan FortgangMartha Franklin

Our Community of SupportWe are grateful for the support and donations of the following individuals and organizations. Their contributions

have helped us to provide high quality programming to students, teachers, and citizens in the region.

Luke FrazzaNanette Fremont & Rita BergmanTom FryChristina GallahanAlan & Sharyn Gantt Nancy GasparovicThelma GasparovicCharles & Ruth GaumondClifford GeorgeMargaret GeretyKimberly Gilbert-ToelleRobert & Charlotte GillespieRobin GoodEdward GrahamGraham GrangerMike GrantJesse & Carol GraybillJason & Darlena GriffithKatherine GronbergDavid GrossmanScott GudesJoe HageLeona HaidenAndrew HallRobbie & Natalie HamlettSteven HannesRhonda HansonKimberly HarbJohn Hardenberg & Mindy CookmeyerWilliam & Stephany HarperAbe & Diane HaspelAlan HeckAnthony HedleskyMark HermanMichael HermanAnn HermanRobert Herman & Barbara WienKent HibbenTom HipschenStewart & Jo HobbsJohn & Denise HofbauerR. Diane HoffmanJeffrey HoisingtonMichael & Mary HuffmanMelissa HuntTodd HutchinsonDan JacksonJay, Annette, & Jerome Jackson Judy JacksonLeslie & Paulette JacobiDavid JeffriesLynsey Jeffries

Alexandra JellerettePhil & Susan JonesRoland JonesRalph V. JonesDan KatzLouis & Patricia KaufmanTina KemperJustin & Amy KenneyPhilip KiefferCarolyn KierSteve & Rose KimKevin Kirby & Eileen Monnin-KirbyTimothy KirkPeter KlebaurGregg & Amy Kneipp Laura KnoxBridget KouryElizabeth Kraft & Robert HornHarry & Millie KriemelmeyerArthur KruegerMichael KutzlebGabrielle LajoieJames & Margery LaMarLinda Lampkin & Ron DickeyMary LandonThomas & Iris LantzTodd & Dara La PorteChris LaRochelleJulie LawsonCarolyn LeCroneWilliam & Janet LeggJay & Jane LewisJay and Mary LillyGeorge & Beverly LindeJohn & Rita-Ann LindstromDavid & Diane LishinSamuel Litzinger & Laura KingPaul & Barbara LivingstonSylvia LivingstonEric LivingstonJoseph & Gail LivingstonLeonard LongWayne & Rosa LordAndrew LoveArt & Deanna LutzMerriann LynchEdward & Carol MacauleyMeredith ManningPete MarraElizabeth MartinMuscoe Martin, Jr.Matthew & Renee Mason

James MastersMilan & Evelyn MateyWilliam MayhewJames McAndrewsBill & Krysti McGeeStevenson McIlvaine & Penelope BreesePaul & Elaine McVinneyRichard & Judy MeadeBruce & Tawna MertzSteven Metalitz & Kitt GageVince MeyerMichael & Christine MicknickRoger & Martha MidgetteDavid & Karen MilesThomas V. M. MillerVivian MillsJohn & Betty MitchellPatty MooreSkip MoosherVelma MorganRichard & Janeen MorseRobert & Marion MulhollandAngela Murphy-WaltersPhyllis NelsonFrank & Shirley NicolaiDebra NooneEugene NorthropMartha NortrupPeter NyceScott & Dorothy OdellGeorge & Laura OmohundroWilliam Oshinsky & Elissa GordonMary Page & Neady BrownAleksandrs & Anita ParinsWilliam & Janet ParkerLillian ParksRobert & Maureen ParletteClarence & Kathleen ParrishPhillip PasqualleDrue Pearce & Michael WilliamsJim & Jan PesterLarry & Gwen PetersHarold & Mary Lee PhelpsSnapper & Janel PocheAnthony PomillaRoamer PredmoreMathann PurvisRobert & Eleanor QuigleyRussell & Meg RameyNorman & Marilyn RandallPeggy ReichardEdward Reisman

John ReuterSue RialeRay & Liz RiceElizabeth Rives & Alison WillocksEdith RobertsKeith RobertsWilliam Robertson & Anne Stokes Sheila Robertson SmithAlexander RobinsonMatthew Schwaller & Sheryl RomeoKyle SalisburyDon & Connie SaltarelliGeorgena SanchezDonald Williams & Carolyn SanfordWilliam & Stephanie SaylorBetsy Reid & William SuworoffJohn & Grace SchlosserMargaret SchmidSuzanne SchoelerAaron SchoenewolfMr. Robert SchreckHazen & Shirley SchumacherCasey Olney & Martha SchumacherRuth SchwallerDaniel SchwartzTom Schwenn & Catherine Plaisant-SchwennBill & Rhonda ScottPeter & Kathryn ScuderaCharlene SellnerMattie ShaferEarl & Doris SharpYoung Sook Oh & Enoch ShinMalcolm & Julie SimpsonDon SlaterOwen & Farley SmithRobert SmolinskiJack & Joan SmuckMargaret SpringMike & Ama SpruillAlan & Elaine StillwellSteve StoughBlaise & Deborah StrandquistPeter StrassMary Sullivan & Natalie HamlettEloise SwickAmy Tarleton

Dan & Poss TarpleyLarry & Kay TaubDonald & Harriet TaylorGerald & Sue TePaskeLiz TheobaldsJim & Jean ThompsonMark & Patricia ThompsonKenneth Tolo & Patty ElderMichael & Karin TomeKevin ToneMichael TonerDavid & Le Etta TownsendJeanne TroyDavid TrudnakPaul TuraewSteven & Ikuko TurnerValerie UsherPatricia VandersliceMarianne VennemannWilliam VincentAnna WadhamsNancy & Holly WagnerBud & Marilyn WarehamJulia WashburnNick & Carolyn WasylczukDavid & Marilyn WeaverDavid & Nancy WeimanApril WeimerGlenn & Eve WelchMargaret WestonScott WhippleGeorge & Katie WidenerMichael WilliamsRoss WilliamsByron & Becky WilliamsVicki WilliamsFrank WillisRon WilsonRobert & Linda WilsonJonathan & Brenda WrightSamuel & Sunday WynkoopJeffrey & Denise YeagerArnold & Judith YochelsonChristina Zechman BrownDonald & Sharon ZimmerLonny ZimmermanCathie Zimmerman

In-kind ContributionsAccokeek FoundationAccokeek LibraryBill TownsendBaltimore Symphony OrchestraBates Trucking Trash Removal, Inc.Bradford Renaissance PortraitsC & O Canal TrustCharlie’s RestaurantColorNet PrintingDan JacksonDC Chamber of CommerceDC Metro Chocolate Toursde Muddy MuttDeanna LutzEdible ArrangementsFire and IceGiant FoodJanet LeggJon GillespieKatherine SanzKatrina FaussLona PowellLynn HollyfieldMike HermanNancy GasparovicNational Golf ClubOn Top Home ImprovementPort Tobacco PlayersPeggy ReichardPatrice HenkelPotomac Riverboat CompanyREIRobert PriceShawna BuchsenTelemundo Washington, DCTKM MarketingTotal Wine & MoreTwo Cats StudioWeim DesignWilliam KlinkWilliam Suworoff

BequestsEstate of Dixie Scoville OtisEstate of Gloria Fister

Our Community of SupportWe are grateful for the support and donations of the following individuals and organizations. Their contributions

have helped us to provide high quality programming to students, teachers, and citizens in the region.

In Memory of Thelma GasparovicGary & Candace Allen Arvanitis & Chittum FamiliesElmer “Bud” BilesSybelline Bowie & Keenan BayolDaniel & Carol DonohueTimothy & Deborah GasparovicMichelle HankoRichard & Sharon Lee UgianskyJudith Yochelson

In Memory of Margaret E. GarrisonElmer “Bud” Biles

In Memory of Ann M. GerstenbergerPeter Gerstenberger

In Memory of Amelia InterdonatoTanta Cove-Garden Club

Gifts in MemoriamGiving gifts in memoriam is a meaningful way to honor loved ones and also sustain the Foundation’s mission of connecting people to nature and inspiring them to care for our natural world. Some families whose loved ones have passed invite friends to contribute to the Foundation as a way to show their support and love. Individuals have also given in memory of a friend or relative. We consider it an honor and appreciate the opportunity to be included in these remembrances.

In 2012, we lost a very special person who had been integral

to the operations of the Alice Ferguson Foundation since its inception in 1954. Thelma Anita Gasparovic served as Henry ‘Fergie’ Fergusons’s personal secretary and was also secretary of the Foundation for many years. When student trips were scheduled, it was Thelma’s cheerful voice on the other end, ensuring their visit was flawless and memorable. She was able to work from home and used the Gasparovic family telephone number for Foundation business. As the visitors to the farm multiplied so did the phone calls, and everyone knew which number to call! She eventually bequeathed the number to the Foundation it is still our main line today. We have many things to thank Thelma for, not the least of which is the telephone number that enables thousands of students to visit and enjoy Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center every year! We look forward to dedicating the deck and breezeway of our new dayuse education building to Thelma once it is completed as part of our Potomac Watershed Study Center. We are grateful to Nancy Gasparovic for her capital campaign pledge in Thelma’s honor and to Thelma’s many friends and family members who have made a donation in her honor.

Pictured Right: Thelma Gasparovic, her husband Walter “Ladd”and their two children, Gary and Candy, who moved to Moyaone Reserve in the 1950’s.

REVENUE Individuals $140,853 Government 1,105,399 Foundations 200,801 Corporations 71,086 Investment Income 415,367 Program Income 137,177 TOTAL REVENUE $2,070,683

EXPENSES Programs Educational Programs $688,950 Trash Free Potomac 377,224 Bridging the Watershed 422,788 Capital Projects 165,438 Total Programs 1,654,400 Support General & Administrative 240,360 Fund Raising 379,263 Total Support 619,623

TOTAL EXPENSES $2,274,023 CHANGE IN NET ASSETS $(203,340)

2012 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION ASSETS Cash $2,688,061 Investments 3,828,482 Receivables, Prepaid Expenses 110,604 Land, Buildings, Equipment, less depreciation 844,872 TOTAL ASSETS $7,472,018 LIABILITIES Accounts Payable, Payroll Withholdings 71,283 Accrued Payroll, Accrued Vacation 133,408 Deferred Revenue 1,728,463 TOTAL LIABILITIES 1,933,154 NET ASSETS Unrestricted Net Assets 4,839,054 Temporarily Restricted Net Assets 699,810 TOTAL NET ASSETS 5,538,864TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS $7,472,018

2012 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Join Our Community of Support

By supporting the Alice Ferguson Foundation, you are making a significant contribution to the conservation of the Potomac River

watershed’s natural heritage. Your gifts support our Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center and Bridging the Watershed environmental education programs, as well as our Trash Free Potomac Initiative and the cultural heritage and agricultural legacy of one of only three 20th Century artists’ estates intact in Southern Maryland.

Financial donations We accept cash, check, and credit card donations via mail or on our online donation page. fergusonfoundation.org/support

MembershipLearn more about the membership levels and associated benefits at fergusonfoundation.org/support or by calling (202) 973-8203. If you are already a member, consider giving the gift of membership to introduce your friends, family, and coworkers to the Foundation.

Barnyard Animal AdoptionBy adopting an animal, you help provide the food, shelter, and care it takes to keep our furry and feathered friends happy at Hard Bargain Farm, while also supporting the Foundation’s education programs. These animals are essential to the experience our students have here; getting to know them helps to bridge our world to theirs. This makes a great gift for kids!

Corporate SponsorshipThe Foundation annually seeks corporate sponsorship for several annual events, including Oktoberfest, the Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, and the Trash Summit. We also invite sponsorship of particular programs or activities (e.g. a class trip to Hard Bargain Farm, Bridging the Watershed teacher institutes). A range of sponsorship benefits are available. Please contact (202) 973-8203 if your company is interested in sponsoring any aspect of our work.

Workplace GivingIn 2012 the Foundation joined the mid-Atlantic chapter of EarthShare, a national non-profit federation who connects people and workplaces with ways to support environmental causes. The Foundation will receive an allocation of donations made to EarthShare and all donations specifically designated for our organization. Encourage your non-federal workplace to run an EarthShare giving campaign. The Foundation appears in the Combined Federal Campaign under EarthShare; our organization number is 62564.

Legacy GivingMaking a legacy gift, also called a “planned gift” or “deferred gift,” is a wonderful way to show your support and appreciation for AFF and its mission while accommodating your own personal, financial, estate-planning, and philanthropic goals. AFF has received several generous bequests in recent years that have propelled us toward our 60th year with even more energy and promise. Learn more at fergusonfoundation.giftplans.org.

In-kind donationsDonations of time, talent, and materials are always welcome and help defray the cost of offering our programs. Contact (202) 973-8203 to get our “wish list” and to arrange the donation of your non-monetary gift.

Support our Working Farm We offer grass fed beef and free-range chicken and eggs at Hard Bargain Farm. The proceeds go back into farm upkeep and our educational programs. Contact Eileen Watts at (301) 659-1666 for more information.

Find out about other ways you can support AFF at fergusonfoundation.org/support

2001 Bryan Point RoadAccokeek, MD 20607

1255 23rd St NW, Suite 275Washington, DC 20037

Tel. 301-292-5665 • Fax: 301-292-1070email: fergusonfoundation@fergusonfoundation.org

fergusonfoundation.org

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