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Edit Your ProfileCody Creswell2022-04-20T21:42:46-04:00

Willowsford Conservancy
Willowsford Farm

Willowsford Conservancy

@willowsfordconservancy

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Willowsford Farm

@willowsfordfarm

Feb 3

Meet the Farmer at the Boat House, February 8, 5:30–7 pm🥕
Mark your calendar for our second 2023 Meet the Farmer at the Willowsford Boat House! This productive and informative event is a great way to learn about our Willowsford CSA Share and our ever-growing Farm-ily!

Jan 20

We 💛our cheese at Willowsford Farm! Check out one of our great partners, Locksley Farmstead Cheese Co.! #cheeseloversday🧀

Jan 6

Day 12 in our 12 Days of Thanks - On #National Bird Day, we're celebrating the success of our 2022 blue bird monitoring season! Our volunteers carefully noted the last birds that took up residence in our boxes. We had another productive year of fledglings in Willowsford, and here are the details:
🪶Total Birds Fledged: 78
🪶Number of Bluebirds Fledged: 32
🪶Hatching success rate: 72%
Our wonderful volunteers are now winterizing the boxes to provide a sheltered space for birds staying here during these cold months.
Are you interested in monitoring birds with us this year? Sign up through our website for more information on monitoring our bluebird, wood duck, and owl boxes. 🐦🦆

Jan 5

Day 11 of our 12 Days of Thanks - Our Community Egg Collection volunteers made a difference.

During this past year, we asked for your help with our community egg collection, and you showed up by the dozens. From warm weather to brisk mornings, we appreciate our volunteers who made our days a little more eggcellent. 🐔🫶

Jan 4

Join us for dinner Tonight & Thursday night with @killertpizza ! 😀🍕

Enjoy the first and only mobile wood-fired pizzeria in the greater Washington, D.C. area. with KT Pizza at the Boathouse TONIGHT (1/4) from 4-6 pm and the Farm Stand (1/5) from 4-6 pm.

Jan 4

Day 10 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Improving Our Willowsford Tree Canopy!

Thank you to our Grant Village team for planting trees this year! Together, we planted 50 native trees to offset the trees removed by Loudoun County Public Schools for a waterline easement. The County provided us with enough funding to replant the surrounding areas to compensate for the canopy loss. To date, our @willowsfordconservancy team planted over 600 trees in 2022. 🌳🙌

Jan 3

🚨Starting Tomorrow - Trail Closure is scheduled for January 4-7, 2023! 🚨

The Greens and Grant trails and The Grove Pinewoods Loop Trail will be CLOSED Wednesday-Saturday, January 4-7, for the Deer Management Program muzzleloader and shotgun hunt. Residents must observe all trail closure signs. Trails will reopen on Sunday, January 8.

More information on the deer management program, including safety information, hunting guidelines, schedules, and maps, can be found on the Willowsford Conservancy website.

Jan 2

Day 9 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Strategically brush-hogging meadows for our Willowsford wildlife.

Our @willowsfordconservancy team worked hard this past year on brush-hogging meadows for our community by strategically only mowing some areas of meadows. The plan was to provide wildlife with food and shelter over Winter until we mow again in March. Much of our wildlife depends on these spaces for food and shelter compared to the brush-hogged meadow that provides no shelter or food for wildlife. 🐦

Jan 1

Day 8 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Providing convenience for dinner.

One of our biggest successes in 2022 came from some of our amazing food truck partners! We partnered with a few different trucks, offering pizza, tacos, and Caribbean cuisine during our Summer and Winter seasons. @tacotownva was our Farm Stand star; they joined us almost every week, serving fresh street food in the Grange from May to October. @killertpizza has kept us warm with Winter, slinging hot pies from their truck at the Boathouse in the Greens. The Seafood at the Shack even created a brunch menu for their Saturday morning slots at the Farm Stand. We've been thrilled to provide our community with delicious, convenient lunch and dinner options within the Willowsford community itself and look forward to more meals in 2023! 🌮🍕👏

Jan 1

Day 7 in our 12 Days of Thanks - We are educating the next generation.
One of our goals at Willowsford Farm is education, including the youngest generation! We offer a variety of youth engagement programs, but Farm Camp is the "cream of the crop." With our highest attendance in 2022, the junior farmers got to experience some of our day-to-day activities. Learning how we start seeds in the greenhouse and harvest produce in the field is a fun process, and they get to take home some veggies to try. Campers spent a day collecting and washing the chicken eggs. We are thrilled to be an intersection for the next generation and their relationship with the land, and we hope to help plant the seed for a love of it all. 🌿

Dec 30

Day 6 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Conservancy space happens even in your backyard! This year, we focused on promoting tree canopy and native species in residence backyards - especially native wildflower meadows for pollinators and other small wildlife to use.

Residents helped by planting small trees and shrubs in wetland areas behind their homes to help establish native vegetation to promote the health of forested wetlands and water quality—these wetland areas help reduce flooding too! Additionally, neighbors removed invasive plants & vines behind their property, allowing for native trees and plants can move back into the area behind their home.

Willowsford residences inspired all these projects as they came to the @willowsfordconservancy with great ideas and suggestions. We worked together, so their progress saw the most remarkable success this year!

Dec 29

Day 5 in our 12 Days of Thanks - You love our Boathouse Farm Stand Pop-up! We've received a lot of feedback about different events the Farm Team hosted this year, and one of the most popular was our recurring Boathouse Farm Stand Pop-up!

We know that crossing Route 50 to get to the Grange Farm Stand can be a trek, especially during rush hour, so we decided it was better to bring the Farm Stand to the Greens. We set up shop, called in a food truck, and offered our Farm Stand experience from the Boathouse.

What we'd call a resounding success: we often had sold out of several options by the time we closed up shop, and we got some excellent face-to-face time with more Willowsford residents! We can't wait to spend more time at the Boathouse in 2023!

Dec 29

Day 4 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Which side of the forest would you pick? Which do you think is a healthier forest?

Our @willowsfordconservancy Team works hard to ensure our forest stays healthy. What appeals to us and draws us in is a forest such as the one on the right. It has large mature trees with a clear, open understory that allows us to see well into the woods. However, the woods on the left are much healthier. The breaks in the canopy have allowed for oak regeneration which is often rare in our forests. There are several layers to the understory as trees and shrubs fill the space, and logs or dead trees provide critical habitat spaces for wildlife. The woods on the left offer a greater diversity of plant life, wildlife habitat & food.

So what happened with the forest on the right? What is practically a forested desert? Deer foraging on the tender twigs has browsed small trees and shrubs. A lack of disturbance in the forest has created a solid canopy that prevents light from reaching the forest floor, limiting the growth of shade-intolerant oaks and other vital species. We improve these spaces by managing the overpopulation of deer and felling diseased, dying, or poor-quality trees to create gaps in the forest for light to enter.

Sometimes messy spaces are the most productive and abundant spaces!

Dec 28

Day 3 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Your support of our Farm Stand made a difference! Day 3 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Your support of our Farm Stand made a difference! The Farm Team is celebrating a major success this year by reopening the Willowsford Farm Stand in the Grange Village! After being closed due to Covid19 restrictions and fluctuations in staffing, the Farm Stand had its grand reopening celebration in May of 2022.

The Farm Stand opened with the 2022 Summer CSA season and had a successful sales run from May to October. Offering a variety of Willowsford farm-fresh produce, eggs, pantry products, and more, the Farm was able to offer the local and convenient shopping experience at the top of the Willowsford Community wish list. The Farm Stand will reopen in the Spring of 2023, and we can't wait for you to stop by and say hi!

Dec 27

Day 2 in our 12 Days of Thanks - Willowsford Conservancy's Annual Bonfire and Camp Event! The @willowsfordconservancy hosted a successful Annual Bonfire and Camp Event this fall! We saw our highest attendance yet, with over 260 attendees and a 50% Camp Over rate. A thank you to our volunteers and Willowsford Team for helping with this annual event! 👏

Dec 26

Day 1 in our 12 Days of Thanks - The Willowsford Farm produced a surplus of food this year, including all sorts of greens, peppers, tomatoes, roots, herbs, and a never-ending bounty of eggs! Most of our crops went into CSA shares, custom orders, and Farm Stand displays, but what about the extra?

Throughout the year, we've noted that any unclaimed shares and overabundance would be donated to Loudoun Hunger Relief, a local group dedicated to reducing food insecurity in Loudoun County. We're happy to report that we donated an average of 150 pounds per week of farm fresh produce and eggs that went directly to supporting our local community. More information about @loudounhunger and the good that they do can be found on their website.

Dec 11

Willowsford Residents!!! Join us today at Winter Wonderland from 11-4ish to taste some of our delicious produce and browse our Farm Stand pop up! **This is a Willowsford HOA event and not open to the public**

Dec 10

Willowsford Residents!!!! Come stop by our Farm Stand pop up from 11-6 at Winter Wonderland! **This is a Willowsford HOA event and not open to the public**

Dec 8

The Tree is waiting to be trimmed at the Willowsford Boathouse! Join us today from 4pm-6pm for this fun festive event!

Nov 23

A sneak peak at our Winter coop before the chickens got ahold of it! With lots of room for activities, this coop will help keep our flock warm and protected from predators over the next few chilly months. 🥶🐥

#farm #farmlife #chickens #animalhusbandry #winter

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