We re-stocked the online store this morning. In addition to more culinary herbs, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers, we have added some herbs that are known for their medicinal qualities. Herbs such as elecampane, feverfew, high mallow, lemon balm, marshmallow, mullein, sage, self-heal, skullcap, tansy, and yarrow can all play a role in boosting immunity and restoring health. Plants are available only by online preorder. Plant orders placed by Friday at 10:00 a.m. will be ready for self-serve pick up at the farm on Saturday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. https://hornfarmcenter.org/shop
Though we can’t meet at the farm for now, please reach out to us via email, phone, Facebook, or Instagram!
In case you missed it, Horn Farm Board of Directors President Erin Shrader announced some changes in store at the farm.
Hello Horn Farm Community,
I am writing to you today with news of changes at the farm. For the past five years, we have benefited from the visionary leadership of Alyson Earl, our Executive Director. During this time of global upheaval, a time that has been coined “The Great Pause,” we have had a chance to look more closely at our priorities, our growth, and the arc of our life story. Like many of us, Alyson has found that her journey requires her to make some changes which include transitioning out of her position as Executive Director at the farm. With the responsibility and foresight that are so typical of Alyson’s style of leadership, she has provided us with a long resignation period and will not be leaving her position until August 31, 2020.
Alyson has served as the first full time Executive Director of the Horn Farm Center. With her leadership, the farm has grown in capacity, refined our vision, and built a strong foundation of earth stewardship to support our mission of educating people about growing food and restoring healthy soil. Here are some of the important milestones that we have accomplished with Alyson’s leadership:
● The farm is permanently preserved, our lease with York County was extended to 99 years, and as of this year all 186 acres are being managed organically.
● We have a staff of five people, have expanded our programming, and gained recognition beyond the local level for our pioneering work.
● Many, many volunteer hours went into renovating and converting the summer kitchen for commercial use. We built a second greenhouse, and started a farming internship.
● We began offering CSA shares and partnered with other farms as a drop off location for their meat, eggs, and mushrooms.
● 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.
● In the past two years DCNR invested $220,000 in grants for the work we are doing to establish stream-side plantings designed to improve water quality in our watershed.
We could go on and on. The Horn Farm has really come into its stride in the past five years, and we are so excited about the momentum we have built and the direction we are headed. Educating people to feed themselves and care for the land is more important now than ever before, and we are ready and excited to carry on the important work that Alyson and her staff have set into motion.
As a board of directors, we are finding opportunity in this transition. We are taking time to evaluate the characteristics of leadership that we are seeking in our next Executive Director. We are bringing mindfulness, intention, and clarity into this process. We will release more information about the position and ways to express interest in the coming weeks.
We are so grateful to Alyson and the team she has cultivated at the farm: Jon, Andrew, Wilson, Pam and our farmers, volunteers, and program participants. 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.
In gratitude,
Erin Shrader, RN
President, Board of Directors
Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education
Alyson Earl – Horn Farm Executive Director