Mission and Objectives

Nationwide and at home in the River Region, the Hampstead Institute is committed to promoting sustainable growth through education, agriculture, and sustainable design.

The Hampstead Institute encourages and implements the creation of healthful, sustainable community features and events, establishes farms and networks to supply fresh, local food, and educates the region about healthy, responsible growth to make Montgomery a more vibrant community.

The Hampstead Institute is a community-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in Montgomery, Alabama led by Executive Director, Edwin Marty. For more information on Edwin and the work of the institute, CLICK HERE to read a current news feature.

Meet The Staff:

Edwin Marty, Executive Director

Edwin Marty is currently the director of the Hampstead Institute in Montgomery, Alabama.  Before returning to his home of Alabama to start urban farms in Birmingham and Montgomery, Edwin earned a BA in Anthropology from the University of Oregon and completed an “Apprenticeship in Agroecology” from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  He went on from UC Santa Cruz to work on sustainable farm projects around the world, including Mexico, Mongolia, Australia, and Chile.  He also worked as an instructor for the Outward Bound School for four years in Northern Washington.  

Returning to Birmingham in 2001, Edwin worked for Southern Living Magazine as a Garden Writer while establishing Jones Valley Urban Farm.  In 2006, Edwin left Southern Living to begin working as the full-time Director of Jones Valley Urban Farm.  Since then, the farm has grown to include over 28 acres of urban farm land, employs twenty people and teaches thousands of youth every year about growing and eating good food.  He has also consulted on numerous urban farm projects around the country, including work with the American Institute of Architects Sustainable Design Assessment Team project in Detroit, MI.  He has recently completed a book about urban farming in America called Breaking Through Concrete, to be published by the University of California Press in the winter of 2011.  

In 2011 Edwin resigned as the Director of Jones Valley Urban Farm and accepted a new position with the Hampstead Institute in Montgomery, Alabama.  Edwin will be assisting with the development of a two acre farm in downtown Montgomery, youth education programs, and the development of a state-wide food policy council.  He will also be working as a consultant to assist communities throughout the coutry in developing sustainable food systems.  Edwin is married to the mixed-media artist Andrea Buchanan Marty and has a two year old daughter named Edie Rains.  They have a dog named Rooster.