Author Archive: Alexis Campbell

Horn Farm Happenings – July 01, 2022

We Are Growing to Reach Our Goals!

Just as biodiversity is essential to the health of our ecosystems, a rich diversity of board membersstaff, and volunteers is foundational to the health and success of our organization. Growing and diversifying the Horn Farm Center team is one of several Strategic Goals outlined in our 2022-2025 Evolutionary Plan.

Our goals are ambitious but we are well on our way. This spring we welcomed five new staff members to the Horn Farm Center team!

Community Engagement Coordinators, Andrew Leahy  and Avary Sassaman are responsible for facilitating meaningful engagement through program coordination, events, and outreach.

Andrew (Rue) Sterner and Logan Kline are assisting our Land Stewardship Team this summer by providing essential farm maintenance and helping with our weekly CSA.

Lori Webster is our Financial Assistant and Bookkeeper, applying her extensive background in accounting, billing, and customer service to support the Horn Farm Center’s financial administration.

The Horn Farm Center team is growing and we couldn’t be happier to be a more capable organization. Together we will grow healthy food, restore our natural ecology, and teach others to do the same.

Click here to learn more about the Horn Farm Center Team


Thank You for Cycling the Solstice!

The 2022 Cycle the Solstice Benefit Ride was a huge success thanks to nearly 100 riders who adventured through the Susquehanna Riverlands to support the Horn Farm Center. Despite the high winds on June 18th, participants had a great time riding and sharing their enthusiasm for cycling, local farms, and healthy lifestyles.

We thank the participating cyclists, volunteers, and Cycle Works of Wrightsville for supporting the Horn Farm Center and our mission!

We also thank the following event sponsors and contributing businesses:

Thank for making the 2022 Cycle the Solstice Benefit Ride a success!

Land Steward Class of 2022

Congratulations to 8 students for successfully completing the 2022 Land Steward Training Program! During the 16-week course, our new land stewards learned how to transform degraded landscapes into healthy, biodiverse, productive habitats.

While the 2022 Training Programs are complete, a Waiting List is currently available for 2023. If you are interested in enrolling in the Land Steward Training Program for 2023, please register for the Waiting List.

We thank the Powder Mill Foundation for funding the 2022 Land Steward & Ecological Gardener Training Programs. We appreciate their commitment to making a positive impact in our community and environment.


 

Ecological Gardeners Class of 2022

We also congratulate 11 students for successfully completing the 2022 Ecological Gardener Training Program! During the 16-week course, ecological gardeners learned how to design wildlife habitat and explored native plants, lawn conversion methods, scaled designing, and seasonal management techniques that can be applied to commercial, schoolyard, and residential spaces.

The program is taught by Elyse Jurgen of Waxwing EcoWorks. We thank her for her hard work designing and leading the program, and for bringing her expertise in education, training, and ecological gardening to the Horn Farm Center.

If you are interested in enrolling in the Ecological Gardener Training Program for 2023, please register for the Waiting List.

This year was our pilot program for the Ecological Gardener Training. We thank the Powder Mill Foundation for funding our signature Training Programs and for supporting our efforts to expand our offerings with this new program.


Riparian Buffer Volunteer Day

Are you interested in protecting local waterways with us? This spring, we added 4 acres and hundreds of trees to our multifunctional riparian buffer. We need help with general maintenance and upkeep!

Join us at Horn Farm Center on Sunday, July 17th from 9:30-11:30am to learn about this ongoing restoration project and help us perform some general maintenance.

We’ll check on tree stakes and shelters, remove bird nets, and clear invasives. This will be a great opportunity to learn about local ecology and meet both new and returning volunteers!

Click here to Register


mike with pawpaws

Save the Date: York County Pawpaw Festival

Join us for the 18th annual York County Pawpaw Festival – an outdoor, family-friendly festival celebrating York County’s beloved pawpaw!

This year’s Pawpaw Festival, presented by Horn Farm Center and UPMC, will be held on September 24th & 25th from 10am-3pm at the Horn Farm Center. Things will be a little different this year, but we aren’t going to let the farmhouse fire stop us from hosting this wonderful community event.

At the event, pawpaw fruit (both wild and cultivated varieties) and trees will be available for purchase. Other pawpaw related items will be available including pawpaw cookbooks, books, and t-shirts. In addition, the festival will feature local food vendors, artisans, and community organizations.

The York County Pawpaw Festival is part of York County Watershed Week in partnership with the Watershed Alliance of York. 

Horn Farm Happenings – June 14, 2022

Cycle the Solstice is Here!

This weekend we are celebrating the upcoming Summer Solstice with a scenic bike ride! After a long hiatus due to COVID-19, the 6th Annual benefit bike ride has returned. Join us on Saturday, June 18, 2022 for Cycle the Solstice, hosted by The Cycle Works of Wrightsville to benefit The Horn Farm Center.  All proceeds will help the Horn Farm Center carry out their mission as they continue to recover from the 2021 farmhouse fire.

Cycle the Solstice is a 30- or 62-mile bike ride through York and Lancaster counties that showcases the beauty and the bounty of the Susquehanna river valley. Riders will depart from the Horn Farm Center, located at 4945 Horn Road, York, PA 17406, starting at 8:00am in the morning, riding their chosen loop at their own pace. Along the way, riders will stop at local small business farms and markets for refreshments produced at the farms and other local food and agriculture businesses.

Upon completion of the ride, participants will enjoy a catered lunch by Leg Up Farmers Market and musical entertainment by Bend the Rails, a soulful blend of gutsy folk, blues, and country music.

The cost to ride is $32.00 for the 62-mile ride and $27.00 for the 30-mile ride.

A limited number of lunch tickets are available for those who prefer not to ride but want to enjoy the celebrations at the Horn Farm. Lunch tickets are $15/person and can be purchased on the registration page.

The 2022 Cycle the Solstice Benefit Bike Ride is sponsored by:

  • The Cycle Works of Wrightsville

  • John Wright Restaurant

  • Leg-Up Farmers Market

  • Shank’s Mare Outfitters

Click here to learn more and register. 


The Cycle Works of Wrightsville

The Cycle Works of Wrightsville is a locally owned bike shop in Wrightsville, PA. Their aim is to serve you with a smile and to help you have as much fun on your bike as they do. Our friends at the Cycle Works are out for more than the bottom line. Their family-oriented and service-first approach is a reflection of their dedication to customer satisfaction and an extension of their belief that cycling can be so much more than just a hobby.

We thank The Cycle Works of Wrightsville for organzing the annual Cycle the Solstice benefit ride and for supporting the mission of the Horn Farm Center.


Thank You John Wright Restaurant!

This year’s Cycle the Solstice fundraiser couldn’t be possible without the help of John Wright Restaurant, who is sponsoring the event.

John Wright Restaurant always does their best to provide the freshest ingredients possible. They take pride in the quality of their food by purchasing from local farmers. Their personal relationships with farmers ensure that their products are not processed or pre-made. Not to mention, John Wright Restaurant provides a unique dining experience with exceptional service!

Thank you John Wright Restaurant for being a valued member of our community and for supporting the Horn Farm Center!


 

More Good Businesses Doing Good

We also wanted to give a shout out to two local businesses for supporting our fundraising efforts this weekend. Thank you Leg Up Farmers Market and Shank’s Mare Outfitters for being a friend of the Horn Farm Center. We are so grateful for your support. If you haven’t visited these local businesses, you are truly missing out!

Shank’s Mare Outfitters specializes in sales and rentals of recreational, touring, and fishing kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, disc golf gear, and outdoor accessories.

Leg Up Farmers Market is a full-service natural foods grocery store in York, PA  that supports the work of Leg Up Farm, a nonprofit therapy center for children with special needs, and Able-Services, a nonprofit day program service for adults with special needs.

We also thank the following businesses for providing healthy snacks, rest stops, and beautiful scenery for the ride:

 


allegheny pawpaw

Save the Date: York County Pawpaw Festival

Join us for the 18th annual York County Pawpaw Festival – an outdoor, family-friendly festival celebrating York County’s beloved pawpaw!

This year’s Pawpaw Festival, presented by Horn Farm Center and UPMC, will be held on September 24th & 25th from 10am-3pm at the Horn Farm Center. Things will be a little different this year, but we aren’t going to let the farmhouse fire stop us from hosting this wonderful community event.

At the event, pawpaw fruit (both wild and cultivated varieties) and trees will be available for purchase. Other pawpaw related items will be available including pawpaw cookbooks, books, and t-shirts. In addition, the festival will feature local food vendors, artisans, and community organizations.

The York County Pawpaw Festival is part of York County Watershed Week in partnership with the Watershed Alliance of York. 

Horn Farm Happenings – May 27, 2022

15,000 Trees & Counting!

In the past four years, we have planted over 15,000 trees at the Horn Farm Center! We couldn’t have done it without Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership and their Ten Million Trees for PA initiative.

The Horn Farm Center is part of the watershed that feeds the Susquehanna River, one of the three oldest rivers in the world. Our work as land stewards not only affects the ecosystem that the Horn Farm exists within, but also the health of the river, and the Chesapeake Bay.

In 2018, we began the work of transitioning several acres of farmland into multi-functional riparian buffer landscapes. By planting over 17,000 trees on the Horn Farm by the end of 2022, our goal is to produce food and agroforestry products while protecting the health of our waterways, from the Kreutz Creek, to the Susquehanna and beyond.

We knew we had our work cut out for us. But what we didn’t know, and what we discovered, was that we had a whole community waiting to help us through the K10 Partnership. The materials, trees, resources, and community support have been incredible and the impact has been significant. Thanks to K10 we will be able to meet and exceed our goals!

We are so close! Our final tree plantings will be held next spring 2023. 

A special thanks to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers, who planted trees in sun, rain, wind, and SNOW, including our friends at the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, York College of Pennsylvania, YCSCT Enviro Club, Watershed Alliance of York PA, York Penn State Master Watershed Stewards, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, Hellam Township EAC, GIANT employees, Keep York Beautiful, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, The Stone Independent School, and several other volunteer groups. We are so thankful for their hard work, enthusiasm, and generous spirit.

In addition to support from K10 Partnership, this work is funded by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PennVest; Mid-Atlantic Media Hub Fund of York County Community Foundation; and The GIANT Company and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Healing the Planet grant program.  

Together we are beautifying our community, reducing the impacts of climate change, and protecting York County’s waterways!


Ride to Support Horn Farm Center

Join us on Saturday, June 18, 2022 for Cycle the Solstice, hosted by The Cycle Works of Wrightsville to benefit the Horn Farm Center.

Cycle the Solstice is a 30- or 62-mile bike ride through York and Lancaster counties that showcases the beauty and the bounty of the Susquehanna river valley. Riders will depart from the Horn Farm Center in the morning, riding their chosen loop at their own pace. Along the way, riders will stop at local small business farms and markets for refreshments produced at the farms and other local food and agriculture businesses.

Upon completion of the ride, participants will enjoy a catered lunch and musical entertainment by Bend the Rails, a soulful blend of gutsy folk, blues, and country music.

A limited number of lunch tickets are available for those who prefer not to ride but want to enjoy the celebrations at the Horn Farm. Lunch tickets are $15/person and can be purchased on the registration page below.

Click here to register. 


Claim Your Share: A Few Spots Left!

Your weekly box of organically-grown, farm-fresh produce awaits you!

The Horn Farm CSA runs 20 weeks from June through October. Each week offers seasonal, organically-grown produce. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Spring: lettuces, spinach, kale, swiss chard, spring onions, beets, herbs
  • Summer: kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, beets, summer squash, watermelon, cataloupe, onions, herbs, and more!
  • Fall: garlic, beets, turnips, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, swiss chard, spinach

Pick-ups are at the Farm Stand located at 4945 Horn Road on Wednesdays from 2:30-6:30pm. 

Full Share:  $750
Half Share: $400

Click here to register.


Stewarding, Gardening, & Learning Together

We are only 4 weeks away from the close of our signature Land Steward & Ecological Gardener Training Programs. Since February, students have been immersed in hand-on learning at the farm and off-site. Field trips have included learning adventures to Hungry Hook Farm, Mt. Cuba Center, and Millport Conservancy. Students are also working on their own design and installation projects, helping to increase the ecological health and biodiversity on the farm.

We are so thankful to the Powdermill Foundation for funding this program and its expansion this year. Their support has provided the materials, equipment, off-site learning experiences, instructors, field trips, and student scholarships to make this program a success!

 


Save the Date: York County Pawpaw Festival

Join us for the 18th annual York County Pawpaw Festival – an outdoor, family-friendly festival celebrating York County’s beloved pawpaw!

This year’s Pawpaw Festival will be held on September 24th & 25th from 10am-3pm at the Horn Farm Center. Things will be a little different this year, but we aren’t going to let the farmhouse fire stop us from hosting this wonderful community event.

At the event, pawpaw fruit (both wild and cultivated varieties) and trees will be available for purchase. Other pawpaw related items will be available including pawpaw cookbooks, books, and t-shirts. In addition, the festival will feature local food vendors, artisans, and community organizations.

The York County Pawpaw Festival is part of York County Watershed Week in partnership with the Watershed Alliance of York. 

 


Wanted: Equipment & Expertise

We are currently in search of a number of items and services that will help us achieve our mission to connect soil, food, and people in ways that improve the health and resilience of our community. 

Expertise/Services

  • Seeking an IT professional who is able to offer occasional technical support
  • Seeking a painting contractor who can help revitalize our corn barn (accepting bids and welcoming discounts or pro bono offers).
  • Seeking an active or retired mechanic, who would like to offer their time to occasional volunteer projects on our farm equipment and vehicles

Equipment/Materials 

Can you help out? To offer your time, talents, equipment, or tools, please contact Farm Manger, Andrew Horn at farmmanager@hornfarmcenter.org.