Sr. Joanne Buckman, O.S.U., Ph.D., - Crown Point Ecology Center

Nominated by Delle Nadler, Crown Point Ecology Center

Sr. Joanne Buckman is mindful of our purpose to respect the land. She is the protector of the Sisters of Dominic’s vision to provide a greenspace of hope for all who are committed to restoring Earth. The greenspace is Crown Point Ecology Center in Bath, Ohio where Sr. Joanne is Director. The mission of Crown Point is to give a voice to the principles of community, sustainability, justice and spirituality. It is a model in our region for sustainable agriculture and Farm-Based Environmental Education programs.

Crown Point is located on a 130-acre historic farmstead comprised of nine children’s gardens, a 10-acre certified organic farm, woodlands, fields and meadows, and a pond-wetland ecosystem. The farm operation supports an 85-subscriber Community Supported Agriculture (aka CSA) program, an ongoing commitment to share 35% of its harvest to feed the hungry, a market stand at the Peninsula Countryside Farmers’ Market and an annual organic plant sale.

Since 1997, in a unique partnership with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Crown Point’s donation of 182,000 pounds, i.e., 91,000 tons, of vegetables has provided 121,333 meals for the hungry in eight Ohio counties! One recipient reported that Crown Point’s donation was the only reason her family ate fresh vegetables and that she learned how to eat a diversity of vegetables as a result of Crown Point’s donation. Crown Point’s educational internships and apprentice farmer training enables the next generation of teachers and farmers hands-on training in sustainable eating and living, organic agriculture and the importance of community demonstrated by Crown Point’s CSA program and service to the hungry through donations to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. These two educational training programs are Crown Point’s effort to train the next generation of teachers and farmers in sustainability.
Children’s educational programs challenge youth to embrace new knowledge through hands-on experiences on the farm. A whole systems approach to viewing the natural world and students’ relationship to it is at the core of these programs.
One objective is to increase children’s knowledge of the food pathway, plant / farm – cultivate / harvest – prepare/cook – eat / table, by engaging children in farm chores, gardening and sampling the vegetables. Often parents say, “I wish this type of experience was part of my child’s everyday curriculum.”

Over the last four years, Sr. Joanne has deepened Crown Point’s impact in the community and has integrated sustainability and the triple bottom line into it operations. Her kindness and generosity to others inspires individuals to take responsibility for our community and the land that feeds us. Since growing up on the shores of Lake Erie, she is a faithful environmentalist. She leads Crown Point to service beyond the scope of any other organization through its donation to feed the hungry. Friends call her a renaissance woman. She is steadfast in bringing Crown Point to everyone as conveyed in this message: “listen to the land, learn its lessons, it speaks to us.”