Ecological Restoration Certificate
Online & In-Person
January 2027
Launched in 2024, the Ecological Restoration Certificate explores chemical-free strategies for caring for the land. Led by Waxwing EcoWorks and hosted by the Horn Farm Center, this program is designed for active and aspiring professionals, conservation volunteers, landowners, and environmental advocates alike. Join one of two tracks–an accelerated online course, or a hybrid intensive with hands-on learning at the Horn Farm.
Learn how to partner with nature
And assist in recovering degraded ecosystems to create healthy, resilient habitat for wildlife and people.
This workshop helps you cultivate a toolbox and and ethic for compassionate stewardship of your local ecosystem. You’ll explore regenerative skills for ecological healing, focusing specifically on restoration practices that prioritize human power instead of chemical intervention.
Whether you’re an experienced conservationist, a budding professional, or simply passionate about environmental restoration, you’ll gain new perspectives and skills that are increasingly crucial in today’s world. Non-chemical restoration is powerfully versatile; you can adapt what you learn to residential land management, a landscaping business, larger-scale conservation, regenerative farming, and more. To help build a resilient practice, you’ll also participate in mindful movement and writing exercises that underline your role as a member of the ecosystem.
Choose Your Learning Path
Online Accelerated Track
7 hours
Thursdays, January 14 & 28 | 5 – 8:30PM
Two virtual sessions covering key technical information for non-toxic restoration:
- Foundational restoration standards and methods.
- Native plant communities and allies.
- Chemical-free alternatives for land stewardship goals.
- One 30-minute guided movement break per session.
Hybrid Intensive Track
19 hours
Thursdays, January 14 & 28 | 5 – 8:30PM (online) *Saturdays, January 16 & 30 | 10AM – 4PM (in person)
In addition to all virtual content, students will engage in hands-on learning at the Horn Farm Center:
- Observing and assessing site history and ecological elements (plants, soil, microclimates, etc.)
- Controlling dispersive plant species using non-toxic methods.
- Designing native plant communities and seed mixes.
- Implementing a restoration project.
*Winter weather may alter in-person dates. Snow dates are set for January 23rd and February 6th.
On either path you choose, you’ll build a language and sensibility for ecological restoration that does not rely on toxic intervention, helping you become a better advocate for these practices in your community.
Why Join?
The skills and perspectives explored in this program are useful across the spectrum of ecological restoration work–from professional development to personal enrichment. Our sessions together unite hard skills–environmental literacy, resource awareness, and ground experience–with place-based learning to deepen your sense of empathy and connection with the land. If you identify with one or more of the attributes below, you’ll find heightened benefit in joining this program:
- You are a practicing or budding professional in the fields of ecological restoration, conservation, landscaping, and environmental education / advocacy.
- You are a volunteer land steward and/or educator with a conservancy, environmental nonprofit, or community program like the Master Watershed Stewards.
- You are a landowner with access to degraded woodland and meadow habitats that can serve as refuges for biodiversity.
- You’re an environmental advocate looking to connect with peers and co-conspirators who share your passion for defending and supporting nature.
Anyone seeking an alternative to conventional, chemically-driven approaches to ecological restoration will also find this program uniquely empowering. Together, we’re developing a community of like-minded land stewards pursuing restoration in non-toxic ways.
Payment & Other Details
Program Costs
Online Accelerated Track: $175 / person
Hybrid Intensive Track: $495 / person
Payment Options
When registering, you can pay in full or submit a deposit of $75 to enroll in a payment plan.
Depending on your track and the timing of your enrollment, payment plans can consist of two to three installments. Customized payment plans may be offered if requested.
For students following a payment plan, all installments must be submitted by Thursday, January 14th at noon.
At this time, we cannot offer scholarships to offset program costs. We will update this information if financial support becomes available.
Program Schedules
Online Accelerated Track
- Thursday, January 14 | 5-8:30pm
- Thursday, January 28 | 5-8:30pm
Hybrid Intensive Track
- Thursday, January 14 | 5-8:30pm | online
- Saturday, January 16 | 10am-4pm | in-person
- Snow day: Saturday, January 23rd
- Thursday, January 28 | 5-8:30pm | online
- Saturday, January 30 | 10am-4pm | in-person
- Snow day: Saturday, February 6th
In-Person Logistics
Physical Activity: students should be comfortable standing for long periods, walking on steep grades (briefly), and performing manual labor such as removing plants and planting trees. Since students will work together, we can accommodate different mobility and exertion levels to some degree. You may bring a chair and observe the working portions if needed.
Outdoor Preparedness: January is the coldest month of the year in the Lower Susquehanna Riverlands. Barring inclement weather that renders driving or working conditions unsafe, we will plan to host our in-person sessions primarily outdoors. We’ll be in wild areas on the Horn Farm property, which require about 1/4 mile of walking on grass paths to access.
What to Bring: please pack in the following for in-person sessions.
- Warm clothes, sturdy boots, and gloves for working outside in winter weather. You are welcome to bring an extra change of clothes. Expect to do a fair amount of walking on potentially muddy or uneven ground.
- A journal/notebook and writing utensil.
- A reusable water bottle (refills available on site).
- A packed lunch (fridge space available but not guaranteed)
- Backpack snacks as preferred.
- A backjack, sitting pillow, or folding chair if you’d like to sit off the ground.
Punctuality: Plan to arrive ~10 minutes early to each session so the group can get started on time. In-person students will assemble at the Horn Farm’s farmhouse before the class begins.
Before registering, please make sure to review the Horn Farm Center’s Cancellation and Refund Policy.
About the Instructor
Elyse Jurgen
M.Ed, CBLP, CERPit
Elyse Jurgen, M.Ed, CBLP, CERP, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co., is a community collaborator inspired by rebuilding ecological literacy and biodiversity with her team of ecological practitioners. Ample hikes and plant community observations in nature spark her imagination, bringing a rare blend of art and science into her practice. Her work deepens your connection to place, and empowers you to take meaningful action to maximize your land’s potential to support wildlife and enhance human well-being.
Elyse leads three adult certification programs- the Ecological Restoration Certificate and Ecological Gardener Training Program with the Horn Farm Center and Habitat Advocates with the Lancaster Conservancy, and also coordinates Lancaster Schoolyard Habitat to engage urban youth in building biodiversity in schoolyards. She also facilitates conservation landscaping training to guide existing landscaping crews to embrace more resilient practices.
She is certified as an Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP), Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP), Permaculture Designer, and earned an Ecological Gardening Certification from Mt. Cuba Center. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education, 7-12 Biology Teaching Certification, and also participated in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology program. She has also earned a MovNat certification and is currently enrolled in a Qigong teaching certification program as a means to tend to our best restoration tools- our human bodies!
