What this land is for, in the organization's own words.
Crown Point expresses its mission through organic agriculture and environmental education programs built around four core values. None of them are aspirational — each one already has a name and an address on this farm.
“To demonstrate the practical applications of ecology and to connect spirituality, social justice and environmental protection.”
“To be a role model for food security and sustainable land use, through farm stewardship, advocacy, education and collaboration.”
Four values, held together — the way Crown Point measures whether the mission is actually being lived.
A mission statement with nothing pointing to it reads as aspirational. One with named programs and numbers reads as already true. Here's where each value already lives on this farm.
Community
A farm is only as strong as the people who show up to it — shareholders, gardeners, neighbors, and volunteers alike.
- 110–120 CSA families fed every season
- 8 Community Garden plots open to any household
- An honor-system Farm Stand open dawn to dusk, daily
Justice
Farm spaces and the sustainable food movement have too often excluded the communities who stand to benefit most. Crown Point works to change that directly.
- 50+ refugee families farming 5 acres of their own through Vulnerable Voices
- Community Garden pricing built so cost isn't the barrier
- The All Abilities Fall Festival, a standing commitment, not an event
Spirituality
Rooted in the charism of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, who made a values-driven choice about this land before Crown Point Ecology Center even existed.
- A 1988 no-synthetic-chemicals decision, a year before the Center was founded
- A ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, independently governed
- 171 years of continuous stewardship of the same ground
Sustainability
Certified organic, soil-first, and designed to still be productive for whoever farms this land next.
- USDA Certified Organic every year since 1994
- Soil-building, low-till, diversified growing practices
- A paid Regenerative Farmer Training Program teaching the next generation
These words didn't appear overnight — they came from a specific history and a specific relationship with the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Read Our Story & History → or see what "a ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace" means in practice →
Words are easy to state. Land is harder to steward.
See the mission and values in action across Crown Point's programs.