This year, VES Land Trust helped Tony and Shirley Picardi protect an additional 11 acres on Holly Point Farm and Gigi Hyland conserve 58 acres on HY3 Farm. The original Holly Point Farm easement protected 54 acres of woods, wetlands, ponds, and fields. The 11-acre addition adds extensive shoreline and marsh on Occohannock Creek and a grassland wildlife habitat.
Holly Point Farm, 64 acres protected by a VES Land Trust held conservation easement. The original easement was donated by Tony and Shirley in 2011.
“It was an obvious and easy decision to establish a conservation easement on the fifty-three acres of the farm that my parents passed on to their children. It commemorated their mutual love of nature and ensured their spirits would forever abide unmolested among the tall trees and the woodland pond. This year, after having bought out my siblings, it became possible to attach an additional eleven acres to the original easement. This combined 64-acre easement protects the entirety of Holly Point Farm. Shirley and I consider this farm our legacy. We have no children to survive us, but this nature preserve will survive us and live on in perpetuity., explained Tony Picardi.
HY3 protects just under a mile of shoreline on Parker Creek, 19 acres of agricultural land, 3 acres of mixed growth forest, and 22 acres of wetlands including two saltwater ponds.
Saltwater pond on Hy3 Farm, 58 acres protected by a VES Land Trust held conservation easement.
“Cherished memories are born from time spent in beauty and with those we love. That is what our family farm, the HY3 farm, means to me. The farm has always been a place to share with beloved family. It is also a place of great natural beauty and a critical habitat for the wildlife of the Shore, including migrating shorebirds and songbirds. As more and more land is developed, it was critical for our family to conserve this tract of land and preserve its environmental value," reflected Gigi Hyland.