Down on the Farm: Whitney Freeman brings a passion for sustainable living & farming to Ridgefield

Upon driving down Ridgebury Road, it’s hard not to marvel at the beautiful stretch of farmland, known as McKeon Farm. You may be happy to know that the farm animals that so gracefully grazed on the McKeon pasture last summer, will be back in the spring.

“The lambs will be born in February,” explains local sheep farmer, Whitney Freeman. Once weaned from their mom, the lambs will take residence at McKeon Farm, joining other farm animal friends.

On December 19 at a Ridgefield Town Hall meeting, attendees agreed to lease 15 acres of the former McKeon farm property to Freeman. The lease was an important part of Freeman’s future agricultural plans which include building a well on the property.

Freeman is committed to sustainable living. She moved to Ridgefield eight years ago hailing from England where she earned her doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Cambridge and worked as a scientist before starting her own Garden Design business.

Last year, Freeman opened Henny Penny Farm, a 2-acre homestead on Ridgebury Road. “It is a teaching farm,” says Freeman, who hosts local girl scout troops and is passionate about giving back to the community. “Last year we hosted Hootenanny and donated all of the funds to the food pantry in Danbury...we are going to do it again in the fall,” she says. 

Freeman's eight year old daughter Penny (shown in photo #1 & #2 and with Whitney in photo #3) is a student at Wooster School in Danbury.

"I loved being at the fields this year. It was really rewarding connecting with the community in that level. One sweet couple even snapped a photo they took of me and popped it in the mail with a hand-written note which really meant a lot to me," says Freeman.

*Images courtesy of Dan Bigelow Photography