Living side by side with nature

PUTNAM COUNTY — Anne Coburn-Griffis, owner of Quarry Farm in Pandora, says co-existing with nature is important because there is only one Earth. Coburn-Griffis says her background is in marketing and design mostly but "it's been a weird career." When she started her career, she also started volunteering with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. She says all the while, Quarry Farm had been in her family for generations. But up until it came into her possession, it was just a family farm. "We decided to open it up to the public and it just kind of combined all of our skills," she said. The land was farmed and the farm used as a private family retreat for years, but to return it to what it was and to preserve the area, it needed to be opened up as a public space. It's called Quarry Farm because up until the turn of the 20th century there was a functional quarry on the property. According to a Quarry Farm webpage, the property was used for flagstone and lime burning. In the early 20th century, the quarrying operation hit springs and the quarry filled in. In the early 1940s, Everett Seitz and his family bought the property for use as a cattle farm. Thirty years later, Gerald and Laura Coburn took ownership of the property and "began restoring the stream's riparian corridor, the floodplain and woodland and maintained it as a retreat and nature preserve." Also on the property is Red Fox Cabin, a cabin that was relocated from West Virginia that serves as a visitor center for public education and school tours. Now both the farm and cabin are under the care of Coburn-Griffis and her family, she says she's worked hard to preserve the natural beauty of the land and give others an opportunity to not only appreciate that beauty, but also how to live in tandem with the natural inhabitants. "My husband, my daughter and I did wildlife rehab training with Nature's Nursery in Toledo," Coburn-Griffis said. "… We still do a little bit of wildlife rehab, but we specialize in the farm animal sanctuary, which is delightful for kids to come out and see the animals." Coburn-Griffis said that currently, Quarry Farm has several animals available for programming, including raccoons, opossums, a fox, a corn snake, pigs and other animals. "We just try to show people what they would encounter on a farm, both wild and domestic," she said. When asked which animals she likes the best, Coburn-Griffis said she has a real soft-spot for the pigs, more specifically for a pig named Nemo that fell off a transport truck near Columbus. "She's 10 years old now, way past what pigs are normally supposed to live… She's really sweet and very curious," she explained, also saying pigs have the emotional development of a three-year old human. "She gets scared if you yell at her." Coburn-Griffis believes education about wildlife and the natural world is important at any age because "we need to recognize that you never stop learning," she said. "There's so much more to learn out there." As far as upcoming programming, she says Quarry Farm does all different kinds including a workshop about invasive species, living side-by-side with wildlife, birding sessions, hikes around the property and 5K runs. Tours or school programming is by appointment only. More information can be found at thequarryfarm.org. Raised by a family of farmers and teachers, Coburn-Griffis says Quarry Farm is perfectly set up to educate the public on how to take care of the natural world. "If you can educate the children about an issue then you're reaching the next generation, but there's a whole lot more people of every age can learn," she said.