Heritage Farm figures to be a major destination spot in the city, though many may not have heard of it at this point.
“Look, I just want to be honest, a lot of people don’t even know what we have now,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said during a recent ground-breaking ceremony. A voter-approved $12.2 million grant to upgrade the 11-acre park should change that.
Located inside ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, the new Heritage Farm will offer a wealth of information about the city, the state, and its people. Construction is expected barring unforeseen setbacks to be completed in a year, city officials said.
“It’s going to be a testament to deeply rooted, important farming techniques that have been used in the Rio Grande Valley for really since time immemorial when we think about our Indigenous cultures,” Keller said, according to KOB.
Keller said one of the assets of the Heritage Farm is that it’s going to grow food that will be fed to the zoo animals at the BioPark. “We’re going to practice what we preach when it comes from farm to table,” Keller said.
Other updates will include the creation of four stained glass windows featuring Native wildlife, three new large animal pastures, two new animal barns, and one outdoor classroom, according to KOB.
Another feature will be an electric train. “A lot of people are like, well, what happened to the train inside the zoo?” Keller said at the press conference. “Well, that’s going to be over here.”
The train will seat up to 100 passengers and operate on a one-mile loop.
The parking lot, park entrance, and ticketing booths are also scheduled for renovation. Walkways also will be widened.
“It’s an awesome experience that we want to really make sure that the entire city knows about because really, this is a hidden treasure,” Keller said.
Heritage Farm opened in 2004 to showcase traditional New Mexican farming methods from the 1800s.
