The recipient provides outdoor-based learning experiences for pre-kindergarten through high school students through the hard bargain farm environmental center to foster appreciation, awareness, and…

The National Park Service (NPS) awarded a $195,000 Cooperative Agreement to the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Inc. under CFDA 15.954 (National Park Service Conservation, Protection, Outreach, and Education) on September 17, 2025, with completion scheduled for September 16, 2035. The award funds outdoor-based learning experiences for pre-kindergarten through high school students delivered through the Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center in Maryland. The Foundation will foster environmental appreciation, awareness, and lifelong stewardship of the natural environment while providing interpretation of cultural artifacts, archival materials, heritage landscapes, and structures at the Hard Bargain Farm facility.

This cooperative agreement supports the NPS mission of complementary conservation and educational activities. The Alice Ferguson Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Accokeek, Maryland, leverages this funding as part of its broader environmental education and watershed conservation portfolio that serves approximately 4,000 students across 80 schools in the National Capital Region and Chesapeake Bay area. The award funds comprehensive field-based education that addresses natural resource stewardship and environmental science instruction for underserved and economically diverse student populations.

The recipient provides outdoor-based learning experiences for pre-kindergarten through high school students through the hard bargain farm environmental center to foster appreciation, awareness, and lifelong stewardship of the natural environment. This includes interpretation of cultural artifacts, archival, and other related objects, landscapes, and structures of hard bargain farm.