A Note from RegenAll’s Advisor on Agricultural Resilience, Aidan Fife
Do you like food? Do you want resilient ways to grow it? Are you itching to get outside and involved in cool projects this spring?
In my new role as Advisor on Agricultural Resilience at RegenAll, I’m here to make a plug for getting involved with food forests, community tree planting, and participating in the landscape.
Curious about what that means? This Venn Diagram from the Community Food Forest Handbook has some answers.
Here in Lancaster, we live on some of the most productive farmland in the country. We have a robust food scene, but that doesn’t often translate to direct participation in the landscape.
Recently, a Lancaster County farmer made headlines for turning down a lucrative offer to sell his land for a data center and instead placing it into agricultural conservation with Lancaster Farmland Trust. The story struck a national nerve. In conversations with our friends at Lancaster Farmland Trust, we’ve heard that they have so much volunteer interest that they are searching to find ways to plug people in.
From left to right: Christian Hinojosa (RegenAll’s new Lancaster Program Manager), Aidan Fife, Claire Emrick, and Stephanie Denton (Lancaster Farmland Trust)
From many Lancastrians and young people beyond the county, I have heard an eager interest in getting involved with land. People want to get their hands dirty, want to know where their food comes from, and want to share the literal fruits of their labor.
If that’s you, check out the following opportunities in Lancaster this March!
Explore Urban Food Forests with the College Park Climate Action Neighborhood!
When: March 15, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Santee Chapel, Moravian University (555 West James St. Lancaster, PA 17603)
Details: Hear from leaders and community members, including Lancaster’s Urban Forester and growing experts, about the potential for urban food forests. Learn from a panel discussion featuring Aidan Fife, Advisor on Agricultural Resilience at RegenAll; Clair Kaufmann of Fruitful Backyards; Elyse Jurgen, Founder & Lead Designer at Waxwing EcoWorks Co.; and Michael Meyer, Urban Forester at City of Lancaster.
Green Drinks: Food Forests and Farmland Preservation
When: March 19, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Where: West Art (816 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster, PA 17603)
Details: Come chat at West Art over drinks! RegenAll’s monthly Green Drinks meetup will focus on food forest and farmland preservation this March. We will have a contingent from the Lancaster Farmland Trust and people excited about food forests, eager to discuss possibilities locally. Drop in anytime.
Grafting Workshop with Backyard Fruit Growers
When: March 21, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Where: Mount Wilson Church of the Brethren (1261 Mt Wilson Rd, Lebanon, PA 17042)
Details: Join the Backyard Fruit Growers group for a lesson on grafting. This group has been convening to share information and tools for amateur fruit growers since 1990.
Farm Tour and Community Tree Planting at Chiques Creek Farm
When: March 29, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Drop in anytime!)
Where: Chiques Creek Farm (2995 Shenck Rd., Manheim, PA 17545)
Details: Bring boots and get ready to put down some trees and mulch. I’ll be doing a public farm tour and tree planting demonstration on March 29th in the morning, starting at 10 AM, and then you can drop in throughout the afternoon. Come hang out, lunch will be provided.
p.s… If you missed last month’s Green Drinks and are excited about the collaborative Land Almanac magazine coming to Lancaster, you can check it out here! Entries will be due on Earth Day this year.
Thanks for being part of Lancaster’s regenerative scene!
Aidan Fife returned to his hometown of Lancaster with a passion for agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, and education. After international experience with the Peace Corps and work at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in DC, he has shifted his focus locally, finding ways where Lancastrians can creatively collaborate to build better soils, community, and climate resilience. When Aidan isn’t inside dreaming of a vibrant regenerative future, you can find him out standing in his field, growing fruit and nut trees on local farms.
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