Horn Farm Happenings – March 13, 2026

Live Stakes: On Sale Now – March 23

Invest in resilient landscapes and community-driven restoration!

Live stake are officially LIVE and available for purchase online, now through Monday, March 23rd!

Harvested from native shrubs and trees growing in our multifunctional riparian buffer, these live cuttings showcase how woody plants can stabilize streambanks, improve water quality, and create habitat.

Live stakes are dormant cuttings from certain trees and shrubs that can be planted directly into the soil, where they take root and grow into new plants.

Place your order today to benefit from these regionally-adapted species! Every bundle supports local ecology and Horn Farm Center’s mission to foster ecological learning through land stewardship, community partnership, and hands-on experiences.

Community Land Care in Action

The warm-up this past weekend was a welcome change as we trained 12 more volunteers for the Horn Farm Center’s Community Crew!

Folks spent the day learning about agroforestry, restoration, and the many ways volunteers contribute to the educational ecosystem at the Horn Farm. As a wrap-up, we turned learning into action: harvesting live stakes for our annual sale and preparing beds in the demonstration field.

The Horn Farm Center’s Community Crew is a service-learning experience offering specialized workdays. From harvesting crops and tending trees to assisting with classes and community events, this volunteer program is an enriching way to get involved with the Horn Farm Center’s mission on the ground.

You can still join us for the upcoming growing season by attending our next Community Crew Training Day on Saturday, April 11th!

Grand Opening Begins April 24th

Your support carried our team through many months of recovery, design, and construction. Now, a new space for learning and gathering awaits!

Join us on April 24th and May 2-3 as we open the doors to the newly-restored farmhouse and education center at the Horn Farm!

Explore the space, connect with community, enjoy refreshments, and even pick up a new skill with special free programs on Sunday, May 3rd. We’re excited to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished together and welcome a new chapter at the Horn Farm!

Forager Training Program

Coming This Summer: Self-Guided Learning Trail at the Horn Farm

The restored farmhouse will bring new and improved indoor learning experiences to the Horn Farm Center – and the outdoors will receive an educational glow-up!

Thanks to a generous grant from the Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Heritage Partner Program, we are developing 10 new interpretive signs that will soon be installed across our learning landscape. The new learning trail signs will teach visitors about the Horn Farm’s history, caring for the land, agroforestry, and more! Each sign will serve as focal points for a self-guided tour, offering a new way for visitors to engage with local agriculture and restoration at the Horn Farm Center.

Of course, designing these signs has revealed a lot of niche and interesting facts that we’re excited to share! Stay tuned–we’ll provide fun tidbits in our newsletter as the project progresses.

For example, did you know the Horn Farm’s farmhouse dates back to the 1840s!? Just another reason to celebrate as we reopen this April!

Conditional Use Application Approved

Last week in a 3:1 vote, the Hellam Township Board of Supervisors approved the conditional use application to build a warehouse next door to the Horn Farm.

The Board now has 30 days to issue its written decision. Once issued, Horn Farm Center will have 30 days to file an appeal. At this time, the Horn Farm Center Board of Directors is carefully deliberating on next steps. Our attorney believes we have a very strong case for appeal, and we are weighing that option thoughtfully in the days ahead.

We are deeply grateful to the many supporters who contributed to our legal defense during the first phase of this process. Those funds have now been fully expended. If we move forward with an appeal, additional support will be needed.

We will continue to share updates as decisions are made. Thank you for standing with us and for your continued support of our mission and community.

Horn Farm Happenings – February 27, 2026

Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Forest Garden Design with Dave Jacke

Imagine designing edible landscapes that are abundant, ecological, and resilient! Whether in your backyard or as part of your professional practice, mastering the art and science of food forest design will deepen your connection to the land and expand your regenerative design skills.

Last year, we partnered with friend, author, and renowned ecological designer Dave Jacke for an informative and inspiring Coppice Agroforestry course. This year in October, we’re thrilled to welcome him back for a 9-day Forest Garden Design Intensive at the Horn Farm Center.

During this immersive learning experience, participants will dive deeply into forest-inspired edible ecosystems, combining hands-on design projects, site walks, lectures, and exercises. You’ll explore how forest architecture, social structure, underground soil economies, and natural succession inform the creation of thriving, productive food forests.

Projects span from urban and suburban homesteads to farm-scale systems. Along the way, you’ll tackle management strategies, economic considerations, and the mindset shifts needed to co-create truly regenerative “humanatural” landscapes.

You’ll leave inspired, skilled, and empowered to design abundant food forests for yourself, your community, or your clients. Please join us for this landmark learning experience!

If you’re interested in learning more about forest gardens ahead of the intensive, we welcome you to attend an upcoming webinar with Dave Jacke, Soil Ecology & Self Renewing Fertility, on March 31st at 6pm.

Forest Garden Design Intensive

This winter, the Horn Farm’s learning landscape has been the snowiest classroom around! Even in the cold, our community has been busy learning and growing.

Sprouting Restoration Skills
Twelve dedicated land stewards completed three snow-packed days of hands-on learning to earn their Ecological Restoration Certificates with Waxwing EcoWorks. Participants strengthened their skills in site analysis, restoration planning, native seed mix design, and stewarding the land with care and intention.

Educational Hikes
Our first free Walk the Seasons class of the year invited participants to tune into the mid-winter landscape. From bark identification to spotting overwintering insects and early signs of spring, even the coldest days offered discovery and wonder.

Celebrating the Conifers
Our Foraging Focus class, Signs of the Pines, explored the beauty and uses of winter conifers. Participants practiced tree ID, sampled foraged teas, learned cultural histories of junipers and pines, and crafted aromatic needle bundles to take home.

Regenerative Growing Begins
This month, we also welcomed four students and two interns to the Horn Farm for the start of the Regenerative Grower Training Program and the spring planting season! Together, RGTP students and greenhouse interns will experience first-hand how to grow resilient, productive plants and food systems.

Gather, Tend, & Enjoy Wild Foods

We all come from ancestors who foraged. Gathering, tending, and enjoying wild foods roots us in our human lineage. By tracing these threads, we can enrich our health, grow our ecological understanding, and deepen our connection with the gifts of the land.

The Horn Farm Center’s Forager Training Program aims to do just that. Registrations are now open to join this 10-week immersion in the foraging lifestyle, taking place on Tuesday evenings beginning May 5th!

This program moves from soil to plate, covering safety, ecology, plant ID, responsibile harvesting, preparation, and more. For 2026, we’re thrilled to offer NEW experiences, including field trips and visits from guest instructors!

Join us to wander, wonder, and wildcraft this spring. Register soon – only 6 more spaces are available!

Forager Training Program

Live Stake Sale Begins March 9th

Looking for a simple, powerful way to restore land? Horn Farm Center’s annual Live Stake Sale begins on March 9th!

Live stakes, or dormant cuttings from certain species of trees and shrubs, are one of the most accessible and effective tools for stabilizing soil, repairing streambanks, reducing erosion, and creating habitat. Planted directly into the ground, they root quickly and begin regenerating landscapes from the ground up.

Locally harvested and ready for planting, live stakes can be used for backyard projects, large-scale restoration work, and everything in between.

Want to learn more about live stakes? Check out our upcoming live stake program.

Livestake Catalog

Board of Supervisors Vote on March 5th

This week, on behalf of the Horn Farm Center, our attorney submitted Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, which are comprehensive documents that outline our position as an opposing party to Conditional-Use Application Z-2025-11. This document details our position that the applicant has failed to meet the legal burden required for conditional use approval to build a warehouse next door.

After the Hellam Township Board of Supervisors review submissions from both parties, a public vote will be held on Thursday, March 5th at 6pm.

The Horn Farm Center will be in attendance, and we would be grateful to have you there with us. Thank you for your continued support and care for our community — your presence at the meeting would mean a great deal.

Horn Farm Happenings – February 16, 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch/S0rgxh7bjk0

The garden is an ecosystem, and the gardener is an ecologist. You’ll often hear us say this at the Horn Farm, but what does it really mean?

At its root, ecology means “home.” A garden isn’t just a collection of plants, it’s a living household filled with relationships between soil, insects, fungi, trees, water, and people. When we garden, we’re participating in that web of life. The more we understand those relationships, the better we can help our plants, our planet, and our communities thrive.

Winter is the perfect time to start dreaming big for the upcoming season, and we’re here to support you with a variety of gardening classes and workshops:

Designing Your Spring Garden
February 26, 2026 | 6PM – 8PM
Succession & Companion Planting
March 12, 2026 | 6PM – 8PM
Healing Your Garden Soil
March 26, 2026 | 6PM – 8PM
Exploring Weeds & Pests
April 9, 2026 | 6PM – 8PM

Join Farm Manager Jon Darby starting February 26th for our gardening workshop series and grow your skills as an ecologist in your own backyard

All About Live Stakes

Live stakes, or dormant cuttings from species like willow and dogwood, are one of the most accessible and effective ways to stabilize soil, restore streambanks, and support thriving ecosystems. Planted directly into the ground, they root quickly and help regenerate landscapes from the ground up.

This spring, Horn Farm Center is offering a variety of ways to learn about live stakes, whether you prefer hands-on field experience, lecture, or guided discussion. However you learn best, there’s an opportunity to build your skills and confidence in using this powerful regenerative technology.

Live Stake Work & Learn with Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Volunteer & Learn: Thursday, March 5 | 4:30-6PM
Stick It & It Will Grow: Planting Habitat with Live Stakes
Webinar: Tuesday, March 10 | 6-7:30PM
Grow a Forest with Sticks: The Secret of Live Stakes
Workshop: March 15 | 10AM-12:30PM
Saving Soil and Water: One Stake at a Time with LSRA
Speaker Series: Wednesday, March 18 | 6-8PM

Ready to put your knowledge into action? We’ll also have locally harvested live stakes available for purchase starting March 9th! Live stakes are ideal for erosion control, habitat creation, and restoration projects of all sizes.

Join us in our community efforts to grow stronger landscapes, one stake at a time!

Livestake Catalog

Foraging & Eastern White Pine

On a snowy hike in the Lower Susquehanna Riverlands, you may come across spruces, firs, pines, hemlocks, cedars, junipers, larches, and more. Can you tell these conifer cousins apart?Click the video link above to learn a few tips to get started with conifer identification.

Signs of the Pines – our newest foraging deep-dive – will be here February 22nd. Join us for any of our upcoming winter walks as we needle our way through conifer ecology, foraging, medicine, crafting, and natural history!

Save the New Dates: Farmhouse Opening

We’re thrilled to officially open the doors of our brand new Education Center in May! This milestone – over five years in the making – was made possible by the dedication, generosity, and belief of our incredible community.

Join us as we celebrate together with a ribbon cutting and open house to mark this exciting new chapter at the Horn Farm.

Education Center Ribbon Cutting
Friday, April 24 | 2PM

Welcome Back Weekend: Plant Sale & Open House
Saturday & Sunday, May 2-3 | 9AM-3PM
More details will be announced soon! Bring your friends and family to help us celebrate all that we’ve grown together. Join us for a joyful celebration of community and new beginnings at the Horn Farm Center as we welcome this new season.