Author Archive: Alyson Earl

Welcome Horn Farm Center’s New Executive Director, Alexis Campbell

After saying farewell to Horn Farm Center’s former Executive Director, Alyson Earl, we welcomed our new Executive Director, Alexis Campbell to the team this week. Although it has only been a few days, Alexis has been digging in and getting her hands dirty as she becomes acquainted with the ins and outs of the Horn Farm Center. She is eager to learn more about the history of the organization and looks forward to getting to know our community in the coming months.

New Executive Director, Alexis Campbell

“It is an absolute honor to be a part of the Horn Farm Center team. I am so impressed by the talent and dedication of the staff and volunteers. The impact of Alyson’s leadership and the legacy of the farm community – our staff, board, volunteers, supporters, farmers, gardeners, and founding community members – can be seen and felt in every inch of the landscape. There is a true sense of caring here that speaks through the people at the farm, but also the soil, water, and biodiversity. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve the organization and to lead the Horn Farm Center into its next phase of regeneration and growth. 

I look forward to meeting you all, and getting to know the Horn Farm Center community. Please feel free to stop in and say hello or contact me directly at executivedirector@hornfarmcenter.org

Let’s grow together!” – Alexis Campbell

Field Manager, Andrew Horn chopping cover crops at the Horn Farm Center.

This week at the Horn Farm, Field Manager, Andrew Horn, and our Regenerative Farming Trainees took advantage of the cool misty weather to continue experimenting with using cover crops to improve our soils. We worked up quite a sweat using human power to chop and drop the Sorghum-Sudan grass (a C4 Photosynthesizer) and cow peas (Nitrogen Fixer). Their growth has added nutrients to the soil and their biomass will build organic matter. Discover more regenerative agriculture and ecology at the Horn Farm Center. Visit hornfarmcenter.org to learn about our class and workshop offerings.

Upcoming Events:
Saturday, September 5: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, September 8: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 12: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Tuesday, September 15: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 19: Wild Lands: Art of Seeing and Science of Observation (sold out!)
Tuesday, September 22: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 26: Wild Lands: Shelter Building and Finding Water
Tuesday, September 29: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, October 3: Wild Lands: Art of Fire by Friction
Saturday, October 10: Wild Lands: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Saturday, October 17: WildLands: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. Except for family members physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.

Horn Farm Board Selects New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education has announced that they have selected Alexis Campbell to succeed Alyson Earl as Executive Director, effective September 1, 2020. Earl resigned as Executive Director after five years of service to the organization, effective August 31.

Erin Shrader, Board President of Horn Farm Center, said, “Alyson served as the first full time Executive Director of the Horn Farm Center. With her leadership, the farm has grown in capacity, we have refined our vision as an organization, and we have built a strong foundation of earth stewardship to support our mission of educating people about growing food and restoring healthy soil. The work that happens at the farm is the work of our time, the work of healing the land and reconnecting humans to the web of life.”

Outgoing Executive Director Alyson Earl
photo: Michele Johnsen

Outgoing Executive Director Alyson Earl said. “I’m proud of what this organization has accomplished since 2015 when I joined the organizations. There have been some significant milestones including:

• • The farm is permanently preserved, our lease was extended to 99 years, and as of this year all 186 acres are being managed organically. 
  • We created administrative efficiencies, diversified our income streams, grew our staff, expanded our programming, and gained recognition beyond the local level for our pioneering work in regenerative agriculture. 
  • Many, many volunteer hours went into renovating and converting the summer kitchen for commercial use. We built a second greenhouse, started a farming internship to supplement the farm business incubator.
  • We began the ecological restoration projects necessary for reweaving the farm fields and semi wild spaces and added a Woodland Steward Training Program to teach others to do the same.

Earl continued, “I am confident that in hiring Alexis the Board has selected the ideal candidate to take the Horn Farm into the future.”

Incoming Executive Director Alexis Campbell

Incoming Executive Director Alexis Campbell is a native of Berks County. Alexis most recently served as the Associate Director and head of Communications for the Berks History Center in Reading, PA. Alexis is a permaculture practitioner, educator, and longtime student of regenerative agriculture. She holds a B.A. in Letters, Arts, and Sciences from Pennsylvania State University where she explored human systems, politics, and ecology. She is also trained in Commercial Urban Agriculture (2010) and holds certificates in Permaculture Design (2009) and Teaching Permaculture (2012).  

Alexis is dedicated to building community food security, particularly in urban areas. In 2010, she co-founded Permacultivate and Reading Roots Urban Farm, providing fresh food and community education in the city of Reading. She also served on the Regional Reading Food Policy & Action Council and has been active in the Penn Street Market, Reading’s only city farmers market. More recently in her role at the Berks History Center and in partnership with Reading’s Victory Garden Task Force, Alexis led a county-wide victory gardening campaign to promote food security in Berks during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With over 10 years of non-profit experience, Alexis is passionate about cultivating organizational systems that foster creativity, growth, and innovation. She believes that resilience begins with connection: to oneself, to others, and to the earth. Alexis is looking forward to sharing her unique blend of experiences and passion for restorative practices to serve the mission of the Horn Farm Center and the community of York.

Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, September 1: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Thursday, September 3: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 5: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, September 8: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 12: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Tuesday, September 15: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 19: Wild Lands: Art of Seeing and Science of Observation (sold out!)
Tuesday, September 22: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, September 26: Wild Lands: Shelter Building and Finding Water
Tuesday, September 29: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, October 3: Wild Lands: Art of Fire by Friction
Saturday, October 10: Wild Lands: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Saturday, October 17: WildLands: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. Except for family members physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.

Wouldn’t it be great to turn food scraps and yard waste into fertilizer for your garden? We want to show you how to easily make your own compost! In partnership with the York County Solid Waste Authority, we are offering a Backyard Composting workshop that emphasizes affordability and simplicity. Each participant, no matter their level of knowledge or experience, will leave with the understanding and confidence to start producing their own compost at home. This is a hands-on workshop and will include plenty of time to ask questions.

The class will first choose a site for a new compost pile and construct a bin. The low-cost bin utilizes welded wire fencing that creates a 3×3 cylinder. Participants will add leaves and kitchen scraps (and/or whatever materials are readily available and appropriate) in layers just as they would at home. Participants will also get the chance to turn/mix/flip a pile that is pre-existing and see an active pile that is late in the decompositional process. Participants will leave with their own 12 foot roll of welded wire that can be set up and used immediately, a composting brochure that highlights details that were covered in the class, and an appreciation for the natural process we call decomposition. This class is being led by Andrew Horn, Horn Farm Center Field Manager. This class will be held multiple times.  Two additional dates are planned for October. The material covered is the same in each class.  To register, select the date that works best for you:

Saturday, September 5  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 12  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

They’re back! Wild Lands Immersion: Primitive Skills – Fall 2020, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., beginning September 19.

Photo: Michelle Johnsen

Five full-day workshops designed to reconnect you to the land and develop essential survival skills. Register for individual days or the whole series. Students will gain hands-on experience with basic, pre-industrial, woodland-style survival skills/bushcraft. This includes gathering wild foods and medicine, building debris-huts, animal tracking, fire-making techniques such as hand-drill and bow drill, making basic hunting implements such as a survival bow and simple traps, and much more! These classes are being offered as stand-alone one-day workshops but as a group provide a well-rounded introduction to these skills. Discounted package for those signing up for the full five-class session. This class is geared toward adults, but we welcome students 15 years or older. Students age 12-14 may pay to register if they are accompanied by a paying adult. Classes will be held outdoors and are limited to eight participants per workshop. Participants are required to bring and wear a mask when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained.

The farm stand is open for the season! Fresh organically-grown produce from Kilgore Family Farm, one of our farm partners, is available on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The farm stand is located inside the small barn at the Horn Farm Center.

Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, August 25: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Thursday, September 3: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Friday, September 4: York County United Way Day of Action
Saturday, September 5: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Saturday, September 12: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 19: Wild Lands: Art of Seeing and Science of Observation (sold out!)
Saturday, September 26: Wild Lands: Shelter Building and Finding Water
Saturday, October 3: Wild Lands: Art of Fire by Friction
Saturday, October 10: Wild Lands: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Saturday, October 17: WildLands: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. Except for family members physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.