Connecting area residents to Loudoun’s vital agricultural history while providing locally-grown fruits and vegetables for its food insecure population today.

About the Community Farm

The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows launched in early 2019. In its first season, the farm produced almost 5,000 pounds of fresh fruits and veggies including potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and melons. In addition to our production goals, we hosted a variety of educational programs and events, including Family Day at the Community Farm. We would not have had such a successful first season without the help of our volunteers. They donated 544 hours of their time to the farm!

In great news, PEC was able to bring Dana Melby on board during the fall of 2018 as the Farm Manager.

A native of Frederick County, Virginia, Dana grew up surrounded by agriculture and developed a passion for horticulture at a young age. Prior to joining PEC she worked in a variety of roles throughout the industry, from greenhouse production to orchard management, and every step in between. Most recently she worked for Virginia Tech as a Field Research Specialist where she managed peach, apple, and cherry orchards as well as vineyards.

Dana earned a bachelor’s in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado. After a transformative experience studying subsistence agriculture in Samoa, she went on to pursue a Masters in International Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. While at Oklahoma State she worked with a local food bank to develop a garden and production plan to supplement their programs.

Community Farm Plan for 2020

There are several management areas within the 140-acre Roundabout Meadows property owned by PEC. The Community Farm is located on the approximately 40 acres within the triangle created by the traffic circles at Howers Branch Road, Route 15 and Route 50. The address is 39990 Howsers Branch Dr. Aldie, VA 20105.

Our 2020 season will kick off in February and we are planning to increase our cultivated area to 3 acres, more than doubling our production. In addition, this year we will be expanding the number of crops and varieties we grow. We will be trialing new specialty crops such as peanuts, passionfruit, and sour gherkin cucumbers. We will even begin planting our orchard and berry patch! In the winter of 2019, we completed the construction of our new greenhouse (thanks to a grant from the Chichester Dupont Foundation). This addition will allow us to greatly increase our productivity and extend our season later into autumn. The greenhouse will also provide a space for expanded educational program offerings. Upcoming events can be found at pecva.org/events.

Approximately 80 acres of the property, on the south side of Howsers Branch, is being managed for livestock grazing. In 2017, livestock exclusion fencing, hardened crossings and alternative drinking water were installed. The result has been significant improvements in water quality. In addition, some areas are being converted to native warm-season grasses, with noticeable increases observed over the past two years. In 2018, the lease for the pastures was modified to encourage rotational grazing.

Another 20 acres in the southeast corner is being managed to demonstrate wildlife habitat restoration. Along with the Old Carolina Road roadbed, this area will be accessible for education and passive recreation by a trail being designed in collaboration with Oak Spring Foundation, the Fauquier Loudoun Garden Club, and NOVAParks.

Learn about volunteer opportunities on the farm >>

Video: Wrapping up 2020 at the Community Farm

We had an incredible 2020 season at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows! Thanks to the tireless work of over 470 volunteers, we donated more than 25,000 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce to our partners at Loudoun Hunger Relief! What was expected to be a slow and steady increase ...
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Farm to Food Pantry Initiatives During the Pandemic

Since March, with the help of partners and supporters, The Piedmont Environmental Council has provided 25,000 pounds of vegetables, 25,000 gallons of milk, and more than 11,000 pounds of local beef and pork to the food-insecure in our nine-county region of the northern Piedmont. That’s more than 50,000 pounds of ...
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Summer on the Farm

PEC's Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows welcomed volunteers of all ages back out to the farm in a socially distant manner, beginning in June, with over 300 people helping out so far! As of early September, we have surpassed our goal and donated more than 22,000 pounds of fresh produce ...
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Video Updates from the Community Farm

Dana Melby and Pete Walton working on at the Community Farm. Photo by Marco Sanchez Check out the latest video updates from Dana and Pete at PEC's Community Farm! Supporting those in need in our community is more important than ever. Everything grown at the farm is donated to Loudoun Hunger ...
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Spring at Roundabout Meadows

A lot is going on, at and around our 141-acre Roundabout Meadows property at Gilberts Corner in Loudoun County. We’ve got a new trail opening, the second season for the Community Farm and news to share about the market property at the northeast corner! New Trail Opening We are excited ...
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Year One on the Farm

Aerial view of PEC's Community Farm. Photo by Hugh Kenny Loudoun County is one of the most affluent counties in the nation and simultaneously home to some 14,000 people without reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. It is consistently one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, and yet over 200,000 ...
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Let There Be Fruits and Veggies

PEC’s new Community Farm manager, Dana Melby, is preparing for Roundabout Meadow’s first growing season. Photo by Marco Sanchez The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows was founded with two ideas in mind: to connect residents to Loudoun’s vital agricultural economy and to provide locally grown fruits and ...
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Volunteer Opportunities at the Community Farm

Volunteers Xaviera Hessifer, her daughter Chloe and her sister Carolina Herrera. Photo by Marco Sanchez. PLEASE NOTE: Out of caution for our volunteer, staff, and community's health we have postponed volunteer opportunities at the Community Farm for the time-being. We greatly miss our volunteers and look forward to having them ...
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About the Community Farm

The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows launched in early 2019. In its first season, the farm produced almost 5,000 pounds of fresh fruits and veggies including potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and melons. In addition to our production goals, we hosted a variety of educational programs and events, including ...
Read More

Growing Connections: The Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows

PEC’s habitat and stewardship specialist, Celia Vuocolo, at our Roundabout Meadows property, where a community farm is being planned. Photo by Marco Sanchez Food brings people together. But healthy food is sometimes hard to come by. Despite Loudoun County’s reputation as a wealthy community, a surprising number of children in ...
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This project is made possible through generous funding by Prince Charitable Trusts, the George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Foundation, 100WomenStrong, the Chichester duPont Foundation, The Luminescence Foundation, David Ford, George L. Ohrstrom, II, Jean Perin, and Viviane Warren, along with other individual contributions from numerous members of the local community.