Transform How You See Invasive Plants!
When it comes to invasive plants, Alyssa Dennis of Eclipta Herbal asks an intriguing question: “Why not harvest our way toward biodiversity?”
On Saturday, June 3rd at the Horn Farm Center, we’ll spend a day among the plants exploring this question. Join us from 10am to 5pm for Invasive Apothecary: A Healing Perspective of Invasive Plants–a workshop spanning the creative and medicinal possibilities of some of our most infamous non-native plant species.
We’ll dive deep into alternative pathways for confronting the threats facing native biodiversity, underscoring how relationships–not animosity–should guide our care for struggling local environments.
Participants will depart with ID tips for key non-native plants, ideas for creative re-uses, and invasive plant medicine tincture.
If you’re interested in this workshop and want to learn more, check out the Instagram LIVE Q&A we hosted with Alyssa this past Monday! The interview begins about 2 minutes into the video, covering topics like herbalism, place-based learning, and creative relationships with invasive plants.
Click here to learn more and register
Congrats to our 2023 Trainees!
And just like that, it’s graduation season for our training program cohorts!
This past Monday, Land Stewards presented the research projects they worked on throughout the program to an audience of peers and staff. Topics ranged from wetlands to mosses, de-extinction to rewilding language, local park restoration, the soil food web, ecotherapy, and more! They concluded their final full day together with the bestowing of certificates and a walk around the farm, revisiting the many restoration actions they undertook over the past 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, our Ecological Gardeners put three month’s-worth of site observation and design to action by planting hundreds of plugs of native perennials and grasses in two new restoration areas at the farm. The likes of mountain mint, golden groundsel, ironweed, Joe Pye weed, and more are now establishing themselves on a forested hillside once overtaken by stiltgrass and a wet meadow conducive to pollinator habitat. Bordering our foraging trails, these plantings will enhance our educational spaces while setting the scene for enriched biodiversity: providing habitat refuge and the seed bank necessary for nature to heal autonomously over time.
Our instructors are in the works with 2024 planning and already can’t wait to see what next year will bring! If you’re interested in our training programs and would like to be added to the waiting list, fill out the form below. Wait list contacts will be the first to know when registrations go live this summer!
Sign up for the 2024 Training Program Mailing List
“I have always been passionate about the beauty around me, but since taking this training program at the Horn Farm, I have found a new relationship with nature. I have a greater connection, awareness and focus due to better knowledge of how things work in the big picture. This knowledge is empowering because I feel like I can make a difference in the world and certainly on my own property. Bringing this awareness to the world can be life changing.”
– Kathy S, 2023 Land Steward
Save the Date and Sign Up to Help!
Spring has sprung and the pawpaw trees are flowering, which means we’re just four months away from the 2023 York County Pawpaw Festival, presented by the Horn Farm Center and Explore York PA.
Join us on September 23rd and 24th, 2023 from 10am to 3pm to celebrate native plants, natural lands, local vendors, and, of course, the ancient fruit that flavors our region each fall. We’re looking forward to our 19th year of taking “have it made here” to a whole new level!
Visit our Pawpaw Festival webpage for the latest information on the festival. A few changes are in store for this year, including ONLINE PRE-SALES and presentations from guest speakers, so stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks.
If you’re planning to lodge overnight, book your stay quick and easy using our travel link.
And don’t forget to consider volunteering to help make the Pawpaw Fest a success! We are looking for volunteers to help with many aspects of the event, including set-up/clean-up, parking, overseeing the registration table and kids’ activities, pawpaw sales, engaging visitors, and more.
We’ll see you when the pawpaws ripen at the Horn Farm Center!
Only One Week Left to Claim Your Share!
From June to October, CSA members receive a weekly box of seasonal, organically-grown produce. Here’s what you can expect:
- Spring: lettuces, spinach, kale, swiss chard, spring onions, beets, herbs
- Summer: kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, beets, summer squash, watermelon, cataloupe, onions, herbs, and more!
- Fall: garlic, beets, turnips, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, swiss chard, spinach
Fill your plate with local flavor this year! Become a member of the Horn Farm CSA to support local, regenerative farmers and the Horn Farm Center’s land-healing mission.
Pick-ups are at the Farm Stand located at 4945 Horn Road on Wednesdays from 2:30-6:30pm.
Full Share: $825
Half Share: $440
Sign up-today to claim your share! Registrations close May 31st.
Click here to register
Bow Making is Back!
“My experience was very educational and Wilson does such a great job. He has such a depth of knowledge and is patient with you; encouraging you to keep trying. I would highly recommend taking an immersion like this. I felt like many of the other classmates created a bond and were helpful extensions of knowledge. Lots of fun!”
– Barbara, 2022 Primitive Skills Intensive participant
Over three consecutive Sundays in June: the 11th, the 18th, and the 25th, we’ll take to the forest for for an intensive workshop on crafting your own, fully-functional bow and arrows using primitive materials. All three classes will take place from 9am to 4pm at the Horn Farm Center.
Our time together will span all elements of the bow making process including: stave selection, initial shaping, curing, crafting arrows, tillering and string construction, advanced tillering, and shooting.
Students will learn how to craft a hunting-quality wooden bow suited to their own height and strength along with a handful of arrows. Due to the fact that potentially dangerous tools will be utilized, tool safety will be taught and strictly followed for the well-being of all participants. Additionally, students will be given their own tool set, covered in the class cost, for ease of instruction.
NOTE: participants must be able to hike one mile into uneven, wild forest terrain and work using fine motor skills and small hand tools for an extended period of time.
Bow making is a process of longevity and though it requires strenuous work, honing the skills of bow craftsmanship can be very rewarding. Whether you’re a hunter, woodworker, or explorer, we hope you can join us for this intense and fulfilling experience!