Mission & History

Our mission

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center inspires people to eat healthy, sustainably grown food and to steward our natural resources for future generations.

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization located on 240 acres of forest and farmland bordering the Snoqualmie River in Carnation, Washington. Oxbow researches and practices sustainable farming methods, grows food and native plants, and educates people of all ages about agriculture and the environment. Collectively, Oxbow’s work takes real-time action to combat climate change, promote biodiversity, and encourage healthy food systems.

Oxbow connects to the public through special events, educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and a Farm Share program. 

Land and history

Oxbow acknowledges that we are on the Indigenous Land of Coast Salish peoples who have reserved treaty rights to this land, specifically the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (sdukʷalbixʷ). We thank these caretakers of this land who have lived, and continue to live, here since time immemorial. 

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 2009, Oxbow is comprised of upland forest and a patchwork of working agricultural and forested riparian lands in the lowlands on 240 acres bordering the Snoqualmie River in western Washington. Our namesake “oxbow lake”—a meander of the river that was naturally cut off from its main stem—is a key feature of Oxbow’s diverse, ecologically-important landscape.

Oxbow is dedicated to growing organic food and native plants, to studying and building a resilient, biodiverse ecosystem, and to educating children and the general public about food, farming, and the environment.