Anyone who has been involved in the northeast Ohio food scene as it’s exploded over the last decade and a half knows of Darwin Kelsey. When he became the founding director of the Countryside Conservancy, which he created in 1999, that scene was in its infancy. The North Union Farmers Market had launched just four years earlier; there were no urban farms and no small army of valued-added food businesses. And few restaurants made the now ubiquitous boast that their ingredients were “fresh, local, seasonal.”
Kelsey was on the cutting edge of all that, blazing the trail and leading others down it. The mission of the Countryside Conservancy was (and is) “connecting people, food and land by increasing public awareness of how food and farming impact personal, community and environmental health, and by inspiring personal commitment to building a resilient, sustainable food culture.”
One of the main ways it did that was by restoring and leasing farmsteads in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and providing assistance to those new farmers to help them thrive, using sustainable farming practices. In addition, the farms showcase their practices to visitors, helping spread ideas about sustainable growing and healthy eating.
But now that those ideas have taken root and are being carried on by people he inspired, mentored and taught, he’s retiring to the position of director emeritus. He’ll remain in an advisory role through the end of the year and offer input into the search for his successor. He leaves big shoes to fill.