A farm just shy of 400 acres in Bedford County is one of the latest land parcels to become protected under a conservation easement through a Virginia land conservancy organization.
The most recent addition to protected acreage under Central Virginia Land Conservancy and Blue Ridge Land Conservancy is a 390-acre farm in the northern part of Bedford County.
The farm off Big Island Highway was not for sale when Wendy Schumann first drove by it in the late 1980s, on a trip away from her home in the Virginia Beach area where she worked as a paramedic and volunteered with various charitable organizations, but she knew it was where she wanted to live.
“I got tired of the city,” Schumann said. “I said, ‘I’ve got to find a place to hide. I need to get out of the city.’”
Having grown up in a small, fairly rural Midwest town, the countryside was calling.
Schumann inquired with a local real estate agent, who in turn spoke with the farm’s previous owner, but since the owner was not interested in selling at the time, Schumann started looking elsewhere in the area.
After seeing some other properties, Schumann’s dream came true: the owner decided to sell the farm. Schumann purchased the property in 1988, finished having a new house built on it in 1999, and has spent the last 35 years living there in harmony with nature, what she calls a symbiotic relationship.
A lifelong gardener and self-described conservationist since childhood, Schumann cultivated an organic garden on the property, and shared apples with the wildlife from the trees scattered about the grounds. She also operated a greenhouse for a few years, and attempted to start a business with a blueberry patch. Schumann shared eggs, herbs and vegetables with colleagues and community members, and got her house running on passive solar.
Turkeys, bears, coyotes, deer and birds of all kinds are among the myriad wildlife that find a safe haven on the 390-acre expanse, which is protected from hunting.
“I sit out on the porch, and I can watch them. I just love sitting out there and watching their life cycles,” Schumann said. “I hear the coyotes at night, and the whip-poor-will just started a few days ago. It’s peace to me.”
The land features about 200 acres of forest, Schumann added. It was selectively logged in 1985, and the operation resulted in a series of trails on the property. These trails made for perfect walking and ATV riding, she said.
The farm was not only a sanctuary for Schumann and local wildlife. For 29 years, it also functioned as a retreat for her former EMS and paramedic circles, mainly from the Virginia Beach area. Groups got together for camping and cookouts, and a respite from the busy city.