In March, French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust preserved a 10.4-acre family farm in Charlestown Township, adding to the 1,100 acres of beautiful open space in the township. This new easement will protect the lush, rolling fields on Buckwalter Road, and will purify the newly-named Buckwalter Run stream corridor. French & Pickering is deeply grateful to the mother read more
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March
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February
New Pennsylvania Farm Bill Proposal Includes $6 Million for Farm Conservation Practices
On February 14, Gov. Tom Wolf joined Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding to unveil the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, a proposal to provide support for and continued investments in the state’s agriculture industry. Among other provisions, the plan includes an additional $6 million to support on-farm conservation practices and would help make Pennsylvania a leader in organic read more
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January
Heritage Conservancy Preserves 114-Acre Bonk Farm
Ever since the Richland Township Land Preservation Board made a wish list 15 years ago of the properties it would like to see preserved, two properties remained at the top of the list: the Herrmann property and Bonk Farm. Heritage Conservancy preserved the Herrmann Property in late 2018, and is happy to announce the Bonk Farm is now also protected in perpetuity. The 114-acre read more
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January
New Future for Old Tennis Court Farm
In January, Natural Lands transferred ownership of Old Tennis Court Farm, a community garden in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, to Neighborhood Gardens Trust. Though less than an acre, it includes more than 40 garden plots. Members care for their own plots and share in the upkeep of the garden as a whole, including a set of community benefit plots the harvest from which read more
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January
Brandywine Conservancy Receives Grant to Acquire 569-Acre Natural Area
The Brandywine Conservancy has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to be used towards the acquisition of a 569-acre natural area along the Octoraro Creek in Lower Oxford and West Nottingham Townships, Chester County. This area is a portion of the 952-acre Glenroy Farm property that spans Chester and read more
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January
WPC Protects Farm as Part of Farmland Access Initiative
On January 3, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) announced the acquisition of farmland in Findley Township, Mercer County that will soon be available for lease to local farmers to grow crops or raise livestock as part of the Conservancy’s program to help support the local food economy by making land more accessible to local farmers. The demand for locally grown food, read more
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October
Lancaster Farmland Trust Preserves 500th Farm
Thirty years and 500 farms. Not a bad track record for an organization once described by a Wall Street Journal writer as “a not-for-profit organization with a tiny staff and a shoestring budget.” Lancaster Farmland Trust has preserved the beautiful, productive farmland of Lancaster County for thirty years. But it’s not the years in their life, it’s the life in their years read more
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October
Willistown Conservation Trust Preserves Family Farm
The Willistown Conservation Trust added 10 more acres to its growing collection of permanently conserved lands when Kate and Ben Etherington granted a conservation easement to the Trust in mid-October. The conservation of their idyllic 10-acre Rooster Run Farm, located within the 316-acre Leopard Tract on Grubbs Mill Road, is a true gift to the community. “I grew up on this read more
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October
French and Pickering Preserves 118-Acre Farm
Imagine these fields filled with fifty houses instead of hay. Another hundred cars sitting in traffic on Charlestown Road. Thanks to the Epstein Family, Charlestown Township, and French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, you don’t have to. This land, the view, and its natural resources are now protected in perpetuity for everyone to enjoy today and for our children read more
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August
Another 30 Farms, 2,300 Acres, Protected Through ACEPP
On August 10, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced that Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board permanently preserved 2,303 acres on 30 farms in 16 counties for agricultural production. “These newly preserved farms represent an investment in the future of our state economy, our environment, and the world’s food supply,” said Redding. read more
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July
Four Farms Receive Clean-Water Award
The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection, recently presented the operators of four farms with the Clean-Water Farm Award during its annual conference in Lancaster. The honor is awarded annually to farmers who manage their daily farm operations in an environmentally conscious manner that helps to read more
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July
Allegheny Land Trust Protects 12-Acre Farm
Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) and landowner Susan Orenstein worked together to protect 12 acres in Indiana Township using a conservation easement on Catch the Wind Farm. Placing an easement on the farm has ensured that the land will forever be conserved, and will never be developed. “This farm, a portion of a much larger farm that existed here for more than a century, is a read more
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June
Pennsylvania Hits Farmland-Preservation Milestone
Pennsylvania is a national leader in farmland preservation, and today, Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced that the state has hit a major milestone, preserving 550,000 acres of farmland in the commonwealth over the last three decades. “By investing our energy and resources in protecting Pennsylvania’s farmland, we are not simply investing in commodities; we’re read more
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May
Land Conservancy of Adams County Preserves 36 Acres
The Land Conservancy of Adams County and a Franklin Township fruit grower recently preserved nearly 36 acres of woodland bordering Arendtsville. Ed and Linda McDannell, owners of McDannell’s Fruit Farm and Market on High Street in Arendtsville, preserved 35.97 acres of woodland in Franklin Township and Arendtsville Borough. The woodland includes a portion of the Conewago read more
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May
Tinicum Conservancy Helps Preserve 57-Acre Farm
With the assistance of the Tinicum Conservancy, Carl Kwartnik and Maureen Santina recently conserved their 57-acre farm in Durham Township through the Bucks County Agricultural Open Space program and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program. The property sits on the upper southern slope of the Cooks Creek watershed, which is a Pennsylvania read more
