in 1861, Isaac Steele rented a horse in San Francisco and rode south to Rancho Punta del Año Nuevo, searching for land to expand his family’s dairy operation. One look and he declared the area “cow heaven” and immediately arranged for a ten-year lease with an option to buy the southern part of the rancho. Except there was never any question that Isaac would own the farm. He began building his home at Green Oaks Creek and moved into it in 1862. After his death in 1903, his granddaughter Catherine B. Steele inherited the property, which was held until 1981. Then, with help from the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), the property was removed from the speculative market. (Whew!) Today it’s called Pie Ranch, and it’s not only a working farm (where they plant wheat for pie crusts and berries for filling; raise bees for honey, goats for milk and chickens for eggs) it’s a center for education and social change that encourages hands-on learning about the full cycle of food production. Pie Ranch’s goal is to inspire people to know more about building a healthier food system. Although much of its activity is based on the farm, it also works in the city with individuals, organizations, and public agencies to foster stronger relationships between urban and rural communities. Now, with the help of the POST Trust, Pie Ranch is forming the Green Oaks Agricultural Trust (GOAT) to protect and restore the original Green Oaks Ranch, which will become the permanent home of its ambitious Youth Education Programs. And if all that isn’t enough, Pie Ranch is also developing a commercial storefront in the Mission district of San Francisco to serve as the urban link to Pie Ranch and to other local farms. But perhaps most important, Pie Ranch and the Green Oaks Agricultural Trust are launching a three-year capital campaign to permanently protect the site. The project needs support. It needs partners. It needs volunteers. Go to Pie Ranch and see all the amazing, beautiful, and delicious things that are happening there. And wait till you see the original farmhouse. You don’t have to be a cow to know it’s heaven.