Happenings

Imagine sunlight pouring through the canopy of a forest, birds singing their cacophony of calls as bees buzz from one blossom to another. Branches hang thick with nuts and fruits; you pluck a raspberry as you pass. You come upon a small clearing and dip your feet into ice-cold water, willows and cottonwoods dancing to the slightest breeze. Red-winged blackbirds sway on cattails and as you bend down to flip a rock, crayfish and minnows scurry under the shade and protection of a beaver dam.

This highly productive, highly diverse ecosystem is the future we envision at the Horn Farm. We have broken ground and are ready to plant over 10,000 trees.

We believe that agriculture can regenerate life. At the Horn Farm Center, we employ regenerative practices because the processes for cultivating food have the potential to restore and rejuvenate the health of our ecosystems.

In the past two years, 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 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. This work is supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership.

This spring, in conjunction with Give Local York, we will install a new multifunctional riparian buffer on 6 acres of farmland. We are calling it the Triple 10K Challenge: Our aim is to plant 10,000 trees, raise $10,000, and triple our impact with $10,000 in matching funds.

Thanks to a generous donor, contributions will be matched 100% up to $10,000 – that means your donation will go twice as far this year. You can truly make a difference by supporting the Horn Farm Center!

While you can donate at any time, the real excitement starts at 12:01am on May 7, 2021 online with Give Local York. We will be accepting donations throughout the day until midnight on the Horn Farm Center’s Give Local York page.

Please consider joining our challenge by contributing financially to the Horn Farm Center, either by check, online at hornfarmcenter.org/donate/, or during the Give Local York event on May 7^th.

Imagine the Horn Farm ten, fifty, or even one hundred years from now. Our hope is that our grandchildren can explore and enjoy an educational destination that is teeming with a diversity of life, an abundance of food, and a resilient community. Together we can make this dream a reality.

Please join us in our Triple 10K Challenge by donating to the Horn Farm Center. Thank you for your support.

Click here to accept the challenge!

Horn Farm Center Health and Safety Policy

Due to COVID-19 the Horn Farm Center is offering on-site educational programming with some modifications in order to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers and staff. All classes will be held outside and are limited to 15 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.

Participant expectations are as follows:

• Participants are required to bring a mask and wear it when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. We have a limited supply on hand if you forget yours.
• Physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained except in case of family members.
• Do not attend if sick or recovering.

Until further notice, no indoor classes are available at this time. We are offering virtual classroom experiences via zoom.

Are you up for the Challenge?

The only constant in nature is change – and it is up to us to learn how to adapt!

This past Sunday we had planned to kick-off our Triple 10K Challenge with a volunteer day at the farm. Due to inclement weather, we postponed the planting until this coming Sunday, April 18th from 10am-2pm.

Mother Nature’s change of plans hasn’t deterred us. A small group of volunteers pitched in this Wednesday (pictured above) for the first of many Wednesday afternoon volunteer events.

We have have BIG GOALS this spring. Together we can make it happen!
Our aim is to:

• plant 10,000 trees,
• raise $10,000 and,
• triple our impact with $10,000 in matching funds.

Are you up for the challenge? We have hundreds of trees on site, ready to be planted thanks to Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership. Please join us and register to volunteer this Sunday. If you can’t make it this weekend, there are still plenty of opportunities to get your hands dirty on Wednesday afternoons – now through May 19th. We hope to see on the farm!

Click here to accept the challenge!

Welcome Farm to Freezer YORK!

The Horn Farm Center’s Summer Kitchen is bustling once again after being closed to classes during the pandemic. This month we welcomed a new tenant – Farm to Freezer YORK.

Farm to Freezer offers freshly prepared food made with locally sourced ingredients. Owner, Mary Ellen Martin and her staff are utilizing the Summer Kitchen several times a week to prepare healthy, nutritious, and flavorful ready-to-cook meals to their Freezer Club members. We are proud to support this local business at the Horn Farm!

Horn Farm Center Health and Safety Policy

Due to COVID-19 the Horn Farm Center is offering on-site educational programming with some modifications in order to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers and staff. All classes will be held outside and are limited to 15 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.

Participant expectations are as follows:

• Participants are required to bring a mask and wear it when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. We have a limited supply on hand if you forget yours.
• Physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained except in case of family members.
• Do not attend if sick or recovering.

Until further notice, no indoor classes are available at this time. We are offering virtual classroom experiences via zoom.

The Challenge is On!

Hundreds of trees from the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership are beginning to arrive and we are geared up for our first Riparian Buffer Volunteer Day this coming Sunday, April 11th.

To add to the excitement, we are “upping the ante” with a Give Local York challenge!

This spring, in conjunction with our 6-acre, DCNR-funded, multifunction riparian buffer project, we are embarking on a Horn Farm Triple 10K Challenge!

Our goal is to: 

• plant 10,000 trees,
• raise $10,000 and,
• triple our impact with $10,000 in matching funds.

Thanks to a generous donor, contributions will be matched 100% up to $10,000– that means your donations will go twice as far this year. You can make a difference at the Horn Farm Center by donating, helping to plant trees, or both!

While you can donate at anytime or volunteer during any of our scheduled volunteer days, the real challenge starts at 12:01am on May 7, 2021 online with Give Local York. We will be accepting donations throughout the day until midnight on the Horn Farm’s Give Local York page.

If you plan to give the Horn Farm this spring, please consider giving on May 7th!

While we will be raising funds throughout the day online, we also invite you to visit the Horn Farm Center on May 7th from 11am-4pm for a Triple 10K Challenge Open House and Tree Planting event. We hope that you will join us!

Click here to accept the challenge!

Help Us Plant 10,000 Trees

Thousands of trees have arrived at the farm along with truckloads of woodchips and leaf mulch. We have over 15 volunteers signed up for this Sunday’s Volunteer Day and are looking forward to getting started on the Horn Farm’s new riparian buffer project.

We hope that you can join us – either this Sunday from 11:30am-3:30pm, on May 7th for Give Local York, or one the many other volunteer days we have scheduled for this project. We plan to transform 6 acres of farmland into a multifunctional riparian buffer as part of the DCNR PennVest program this spring and will need an army of volunteers to make it happen!

Sign up to volunteer!

Horn Farm Center Health and Safety Policy

Due to COVID-19 the Horn Farm Center is offering on-site educational programming with some modifications in order to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers and staff. All classes will be held outside and are limited to 15 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.

Participant expectations are as follows:

• Participants are required to bring a mask and wear it when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. We have a limited supply on hand if you forget yours.
• Physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained except in case of family members.
• Do not attend if sick or recovering.

Until further notice, no indoor classes are available at this time. We are offering virtual classroom experiences via zoom.