Historic O'Brien Farm opens new public learning centre sharing time-tested skills and preserving history

The historic O'Brien Farm tucked above the bustling city of St. John's overlooking what is nowthe Avalon Mall opened its gates to the public on Saturday to celebrate the opening of its new learning centre.

The family-oriented event drew dozens of people who were promptly handed a map to explore the grounds of the over 200-year-old working farm for themselves withlive traditional Irish music setting the soundtrack for the day.

"It's nice to just to have all these folks come out and see all the hard work that's been put into redoing the farm over the last couple of years," said Aaron Rodgers, farm manager.

"Four generations of O'Briens actually lived here, all the way until 2008."

The learning centre is made up of four buildings: Thimble Cottage, theproperty's outdoor classroom, the newly opened interpretation centreand the kitchen barn.

The City of St. John's, the provincial governmentand the government of Canada's Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agencyplayed a major role inthe farm's development in addition ofsupport from donors.

A total of $1.2 million was spent on developing the new learning centre.

Rodgers said the founding of the non-profit O'Brien Farm Foundationwas a reaction to preserve the farm from city construction and growth "pushing farm land around."

"We've been working hard on it, and finally it's kind of open to the public now," he said.

"We farm on the spaces that have been farmed for hundreds of years, we have buildings that are on spaces where there were buildings for hundreds of years. It's kind of nice."

The O'Brien Farm remainsan active, working farm to this day with a focus on educating the public about sustainable food production. The farm also shares the history of Irish settlement in St. John's through the story of the O'Brien family.

Volunteer Rose Smart sits on the farm's interpretation committee, which put together the historical exhibit inside the interpretation centre complete with artifacts fromthe last 200 years.

"Thimble Cottage more centres on the O'Brien brothers themselves. This puts them more in the context of the whole Irish farming community of the Freshwater Valley, which most people can't even imagine now with all the building," she said.

"The guys that came over to be fishermen, because they could get land here which is unheard of in Ireland they stayed,even though it was so difficultand the land was so lousy. All the farms were small and struggling."

Smart said the farm remains a legacy of the O'Brien family and promoting thevalues of sustainable agriculture and respecting the land.

"It is kind of a well-kept secret in some ways. It's really tucked away and that's part of its charm," she said.

"We treasure it, so we want the community to treasure it, too. Everybody who comesloves it. We just have to get everybody to come."

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