Roots of Learning
In late 2012, NBW’s Conservation Agriculture Studio was engaged to re-envision Overlook, a 320-acre cultural heritage landscape in Dalton, Pennsylvania. Originally designed in the early 20th century by the Olmsted Brothers as a weekend and summer retreat, the property carries a rich legacy of designed landscapes shaped by agriculture and ecology. NBW’s work preserves these layered histories while establishing a model that integrates productive agriculture with long-term ecological stewardship.
The resulting Stewardship Plan guides the health, productivity, and economic viability of the landscape through sustainable agricultural practices, habitat conservation, and adaptive land management. A central component of the planning process was a Biological Baseline Survey, undertaken in collaboration with ecologists from the Roosevelt Wild Life Station in Syracuse, New York. This intensive field effort documented species presence and habitat conditions across the site, generating data that directly informed land-use strategies, habitat restoration, and agricultural systems within the long-term plan.
Today, Overlook is stewarded in partnership with Penn State University, expanding its role as a living landscape for research, education, and applied learning. The property supports academic study, ecological monitoring, and hands-on exploration of sustainable land management, reinforcing Overlook’s mission as a working model for conservation agriculture and landscape stewardship.
