Holiday Greetings

Wishing you a warm and festive holiday season with peace and joy in the new year!

Thank you for your generosity and friendship in 2012!

Visit our Craft Shop for Holiday Shopping

The Camphill Village Kimberton Hills Craft Shop is a unique and wonderful place to do your holiday shopping. The shop features a wide range of one-of-a-kind items including woven, knitted and felted handmade crafts. Many items are made from recycled materials and are handcrafted by adults with developmental disabilities.

The craft shop, located in the Kepler Building, is open Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After shopping, stop by the Camphill Café for lunch, located just a short walk from the shop. The café offers organic, homemade soups, sandwiches, entrees and desserts and is open Wednesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Gift certificates to the shop are also available and you may also shop online at our Etsy store:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/kimbertonhillscrafts.  To see samples of items for sale in the craft shop, visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CamphillVillageKimbertonHills.

Happy Holidays!

Camphill Kimberton celebrates 40 years of community

2012 marks Camphill Kimberton's 40th Anniversary.  Take a few minutes to look back at the last four decades and celebrate with us - wherever you are.

Whatever is foreseen in joy

Must be lived out from day to day.

Vision held open in the dark

By our ten thousand days of work.

Harvest will fill the barn; for that

The hand must ache, the face must sweat.

And yet no leaf or grain is filled

By work of ours; the field is tilled

And left to grace. That we may reap,

Great work is done while we're asleep.

When we work well, a Sabbath mood

Rests on our day, and finds it good.

-Wendell Berry, from A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997

Honoring the Vision - Your contribution to Camphill Kimberton

Dear friends,

In the words of Helen Zipperlen, written in a letter asking for financial support in the late 1970s:
“As always, past history gives a special character to future plans.”

In preparation for this anniversary year I’ve dug around in musty closets, read old, delicate newsletters, and admired the younger faces of villagers in photos stored in boxes. I’ve been moved to cry and also laughed out loud.

Now, every time Herta walks by my office, quiet, but always smiling, I marvel at the vision and strength she and her family shared to create this village. When I read Helen’s words written four decades ago, the clarity, even at the beginning, shines through and the vision she and Hubert shared is so very real.

I’ve learned the story of Camphill Village Kimberton Hills and have seen how the founders
recognized the need for balance from the first month on the estate. The questions of how to heal the
land while building upon it, how to have both freedom and order, and how to erase old labels with
new language kept their minds as busy as their hands.

Forty years later, it is still a struggle for balance.

How do we care for people here in our village while we strive to help the wider world?
How do we steward what we have been blessed with while exploring new ventures?
How do we ensure we thrive and grow – or even just exist – for another 40 years?

Their vision is our mission today.

Over the next few months we will be turning to you to help us continue our mission, to help us secure the future of the village, and all those who live in it.

Today we ask that you celebrate with us, and consider a donation to our Village Support Fund in honor of our 40th Anniversar y and the vision of these two founders, still here with us today. As we face the future together, we remain charged with continuing our daily tasks. We ask for your help and remain grateful for the financial, spiritual and moral support you continue to share with our village. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Bernadette M. Kovaleski
Director of Development


To make your tax-deductible contribution to Camphill Kimberton, please click here.  Your gift in any amount will be deeply appreciated and carefully used to enrich the lives of the people with special needs who make Camphill Village Kimberton Hills their home. Thank you!

The First Seven Years

In November 1972, the property of Kimberton Hills was donated to Camphill Village USA, Inc. “for expansion of its work.” Its previous owners, the late Mr. and Mrs. Alaric Myrin, working in the 1940s with the late Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, had begun to develop the land according to the indications of Rudolf Steiner – the curative attitude of biodynamic agriculture. This strong intention, so much in harmony with Camphill philosophy, pervades the fertile farmland and woods.

“The 350 acre estate lies on a gentle hill, bounded in part by the curve of a small river,” said Carlo Pietzner in a letter to all in the Camphill Community. “On the top of the rise stands the mansion house, a large stone building some 30 years old, and in good condition. There are some fine trees and forest plantations, but the greater part of the land is agricultural. There is a farm with, at present, a resident farmer looking after 70 head of prize Guernesy cattle; and about a dozen small houses in varying condition, most of them occupied meanwhile by tenants.” The other property across from French Creek was given to the Kimberton Farm School [now Kimberton Waldorf School].

The Kimberton Hills venture began with a team including Helen and Hubert Zipperlen, Rita Rosseland, and Elias Rive – all from Camphill Village in Copake - and Herta and Andrew Hoy and their four children from Camphill Special Schools at Beaver Run in Glenmoore, Pa. Both Helen and Herta still reside at Kimberton Hills today.

“On the 15th of November Andy, Hubert and Helen went over to Kimberton Hills for the official signing of the deeds of the property to Camphill Village USA, Inc. Also present were Karin Myrin [granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Myrin], representatives from The Glenmede Trust, Francis Richards - the attorney for the
Myrin family, and Abe Wilkenfeld - the attorney for Camphill Village. All this took place in the dining room [now the Myrin Library] and lasted but a few moments! Then all was ours! Then back to Beaver Run to collect Herta and her children and Elias, and a huge and rapid move took place,” a personal note recalls.

By July 1973, the community had grown to 28 people and the new village had “experienced on all levels of our life the growth-forces of summer.” Helen remembers it as a time of social and physical changes.

“The greenhouse has emptied itself into the landscape undergoing painting and repairs, and the first harvests are coming in from the gardens. Weeding, thinning, gathering, processing, storage and selling all call upon ready hands and upon skills, experience, decisions and long-range planning,” a personal letter shares. “The key in our work together is our work on the land,” another letter notes.

The hens laid eggs, a young boar came from Copake, 60 pounds of honey was processed, the huge hay crop was brought in, small grains were harvested. “However, the great needs and attractions of our new Village cannot claim our full attention for more than a few months. The developing, if somewhat chaotic, field of Developmental Disability (as one now says) is sorely in need of the experience we have been allowed to
gather in 30 years of Camphill. Already in May some of us, together with colleagues from Beaver Run, were taking part in conferences and workshops of various organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” the personal letter continues. Representatives also traveled to Georgia for a convention on the topic of “Normalization.”

After two years in Kimberton Hills, there were 50 people living in the village, 22 with developmental disabilities. Helen reflected on a celebration in which 16 visitors from nearby institutions [Pennhurst] joined the village for Thanksgiving Day: “The dignity and goodness with which they enjoyed their visit made us realize again that ‘home’ is formed first and foremost of people, friendship and interdependence, far more than by physical conditions and ‘programs,’ however excellent.”

By August of 1975, the circle had grown from two families to more than 60 people and the village had celebrated two births, three weddings and experienced one death. Houses, garages and stables had been renovated into homes for larger extended families. Karin Myrin donated her newly built Tower building and studio, 10 acres of land, a large garage and stable building and a driveway leading to the northern edge of the estate. The tower building will later become Rose Hall.

The herb garden and two large vegetable gardens were added. The vineyard had been built up to 100 vines and the orchard had been reshaped and replanted with 103 new trees. “Steady progress is being made with the conversion of our farm operation to biodynamic methods,” reports August 1975’s newsletter. It continues, “Our third birthday draws near, and I think you will agree, together with your help, we have
managed to reach the first milestones. We not only stand, walk and speak, but also cut our teeth, and are ready to bite into what the next three years may bring.”

During the next four years the growth continued - the village passed the milestone of 100 community members, presented a formalized agricultural training course, named Kepler House, built Pfeiffer House and the cheese house, laid the foundation stone for the community hall, and printed the first Kimberton Hills Agricultural Calendar.

In 1980, a newsletter reflected on Kimberton Hills’ first seven years comparing them to the growth of a child during his first seven years, at the end of which, the second set of teeth are set, taking the place of those he inherited. As Rudolf Steiner says in Education of the Child:

"… Now before the change of teeth in the seventh year, the human body has a task to perform upon itself which is essentially different from the tasks of all the other periods of life. In this period the physical organs must mold themselves into definite shapes. Their whole structural nature must receive certain tendencies and directions. In the later periods also, growth takes place; but throughout the whole succeeding life, growth is based on the forms which were developed in this first life-period."

-- Bernadette Kovaleski, wtih special thanks to Helen Zipperlen

The birth of a community

When did Kimberton Hills really begin? Was it when the Myrins wanted to teach biodynamics here in the 1930s and 40s? Was it when Dr. Karl Konig visited Alaric Myrin in the 1960s? Was it when Karin Myrin realized Camphill was the movement to which part of her family’s beautiful estate would best be given? Was it when the intrepid Camphill pioneers witnessed the deed being signed— when the first villager arrived?

The birth of this place was clearly in the to–be-written-destinies of many people. Some have had their lives detour through Kimberton Hills, most have recognized it as life changing, and many have remained, creating their lives directly in the heart of this work, this place, this community.

Community everywhere is at risk in the world. As individualism rises strongly, and distrust and polarities seem the order of the day, many wonder whether a place that so values connectedness and mutual help can survive.

At the same time, it is those connections that give us our sense of who we are, that orient us in the world with ballast and meaning. It is by knowing each other, and often by collaborating, that we can make the world a better place. Sometimes it takes the will of millions and sometimes it takes only a few or even one inspired individual who will act.

Many of us heard the call of Karl and Tilla Konig and/or Rudolf Steiner. The values Steiner brought to our lives inclined us toward Kimberton Hills: biodynamic agriculture that seeks to work with the ecology of health to bring good food from the earth, recognition of the rightness of our basic economic interdependence,
understanding that each person is a sovereign individuality with spiritual wholeness beyond so-called handicapping conditions, and of course, the strength that comes when we help each other, whether we are helping in the moment or being helped.

Some came to help and some came to be helped, and yet in life, the roles blur and reverse, the capacities of each of us are challenged and enhanced. That is the other value we hold—that each person (I, you, he and she) can continue on a lifelong journey of becoming. We can continue to direct the arc of our lives, opening new doorways that lead to a new future.

Kimberton Hills continues to work to serve these values in daily life. We “stand on the shoulders of the ones who have gone before” as the Chartres masters have said.  Whether it is the communitarian movements of the past, those who worked with Rudolf Steiner’s ideas to bring healing, or individuals and families whose hopes and needs encouraged the spirit of Kimberton Hills to rise from agricultural land in Chester County, we have many to remember and thank!

- Diedra Heitzman, Executive Director

Thanksgiving wishes from Camphill Kimberton

In the past 40 years, we have much to be thankful for, including the gift of authentic relationships.

We invite you to pause for a moment and allow us to thank you by watching the video linked below.

We have discovered that authentic relationships exist in many different formats: among people, organizations and even the land and animals. Through this approach to life and living we have become an innovative, pioneering community with much to share with others. Because of your continuing friendship, we can continue our mission for years to come.

As supporters of Camphill Kimberton, you give us so much. We thank you. Our wishes for a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Camphill Challenge bike ride raises over $59,000 to benefit people with special needs

Camphill communities in Chester County hosted the sixth annual Camphill Challenge cycling event on Sunday, October 14. Camphill Special School, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, and Camphill Soltane provide life sharing and educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Challenge attracted over 400 cyclists who took to the roads on a pristine autumn day. The bike ride began and ended at Kimberton Waldorf School and took riders through each of the area’s three Camphill communities. Thanks to generous sponsors, donors, volunteers, and cyclists over $59,000 was raised.

Proceeds of the Camphill Challenge benefit the three Camphill communities in Chester County. For more information about the Camphill Challenge or the Camphill communities visit camphillchallenge.org.

6th Annual Camphill Challenge a success!

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, Camphill Soltane and Camphill Special School and thank all our participants for taking the Camphill Challenge on Sunday, October 14! Once again it was a beautiful day to ride and take in the scenic sights of Chester County. Please click here to see this year's event photos. 

Event proceeds benefit the three Chester County Camphills and we all send out a big heartfelt thank you for your support. 

Event Highlights

• 400+ riders

• 30% increase over last year

• 500+ attendees

• 72 sponsors

• 100+ volunteers

It was 1940 in Scotland when Karl Koenig, M.D., founded the international Camphill movement.  Today Camphill includes over 100 independent communities in over 20 countries on four continents.  These communities value service, sharing, spiritual nourishment, and recognition of each person's gifts offering a model of renewal for the wider community.  Camphill communities include children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities and those with societal and personal vulnerabilities.

 

Camphill Soltane provides post-secondary education for young adults with disabilities and meaningful careers in a variety of fields for adults with disabilities.  Be sure to visit Soltane Breads and Spreads in Phoenixville, our first off-campus workshop!

 

Camphill Special School is the only Camphill community for children in North America.  This community nurtures the minds, bodies and spirits of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disability through education and therapy in extended family living.

 

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is a farming and crafting intentional community that lives and works with adults with developmental disabilities.

Save the Date for next year's ride: Sunday, October 13, 2013!

Camphill Challenge: Sunday, October 14

Camphill communities in Chester County will host the sixth annual Camphill Challenge cycling event on Sunday, October 14. Camphill Special School, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, and Camphill Soltane provide life sharing and educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In just a few years the Challenge has grown from twelve cyclists to close to 400. The bike ride begins and ends at Kimberton Waldorf School in Kimberton and offers fifty, twenty-five, and ten mile courses for all ages and ability levels as well as a family fun ride.

Cyclists will wind their ways through Chester County during peak autumn foliage with astounding views of horse farms, historic homes, and covered bridges. A picnic and music will round out the day.

Proceeds of the Camphill Challenge benefit the three Camphill communities in Chester County. For more information about the Camphill Challenge, to register for the ride, become a sponsor, or set-up a personal or team fundraising page visit camphillchallenge.org or contact bernadette@camphillkimberton.org.   

Join us for a year, or a lifetime...

Have you ever considered life in Camphill?

Camphill communities are made possible by the many volunteers who serve in various capacities to support each other and build a strong and ethical community.

People with diverse backgrounds, skills and personal goals join our community for a year of service or for a lifetime, volunteering their time and energy; they live, work, learn and grow with us.

There are many opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the life of the village.  To learn more about how you can become a part of Camphill Kimberton, visit  http://www.camphillkimberton.org/volunteer/index.php.

Join us this weekend for a free, hands-on Sustainable Forestry Workshop

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills was honored to receive a Department of Environmental Protection Grant for an Educational Outreach Program in Sustainable Forestry Management. As the depletion of American native woodlands is ever increasing, along with the destruction of riparian buffers that protect the rivers and streams, it is more important than ever to educate others about why and how to preserve woodlands. This sustainable forestry program is a unique and important demonstration model within the region and can educate hundreds of students of all ages for years to come.

The public is invited to attend a FREE, two-day Fall Workshop
Saturday and Sunday either
SEPT 22 & 23, 9am – 4pm
SEPT 29 &30, 9am – 4pm

Participants will have the opportunity to experientially learn about watersheds and how best to sustainably manage forests to restore riparian buffers for watershed protection. Students will learn to identify and remove invasives, plant seedlings, test soil and help clear trails. The workshop will be led by the Kimberton Hills’ Estate Director, Alice Dworkin, and with specialized expertise provided by Mike Dunn, ISA certified arborist and owner of Preservation Tree.

Topics taught may include: point and non-point source pollution; soil, tree and plant identification; biodiversity vs. monoculture; native eco-systems and human impact on destroying them as well as restoring them; different microsystems that include soil, animal and plant variation; riparian buffer and its effect on the watershed; habitat loss vs. preserving “interior forest”; and forests as natural resources.

Spaces are limited, sign-up now. We will continue to take registrations until spots are filled.

Workshop participants have additional opportunities, also free of charge:
1) Compete, as a group or individually, in anInterpretive Sign Competition in the winter. The winning signs will be placed along the trails in the Kimberton Hills forest for educational purposes.
2) Be Ambassadors in the Spring of 2013, leading primary and secondary students along the trails and teaching about what you have learned.

We encourage “teams” to sign up. To sign up and for more information, contact Lyla Kaplan, lyla@camphillkimberton.org, 610-935-0300 xt 12.

About French Creek Watershed:
French Creek is a 22.6-mile-long tributary of the Schuylkill River. The French Creek valley was an important early industrial region, most notably for iron, such as the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site that sits on French Creek. The Phoenix Iron Works in Phoenixville, a working foundry up until the 1980s, sits on the confluence of French Creek and the Schuylkill. Northern and Eastern Chester County residents are almost entirely dependent on groundwater for their water use. French Creek was designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River in 1982. In 1997 it was upgraded from High Quality to Exceptional Value and in 1998 was placed on the Conservation River Registry (Green Valleys Association).


Water quality of a watershed is improved by “riparian forest buffers,” or stands of trees and native shrubs and bushes ranging from 50-100 feet along streams and rivers (PA Clean Water Campaign). The regeneration of native trees, shrubs and bushes provides a healthy riparian buffer (PA DCNR), and can protect the water quality of French Creek.


About Kimberton Hills woodlands along French Creek:
There are 100 acres of forest that comprise Kimberton Hills which are in need of care and stewardship to continue to thrive and protect the air and water. These forests are referred to as “interior forests” and are considered an important resource in Eastern PA due to forest depletion. Kimberton Hills has 53.4 acres that directly border French Creek, which is a large portion of the entire creek. In addition, over 20 acres border tributary streams. These forests have become compromised, first in 1890 due to construction of the “Sowbelly Railroad” and later by deer. Now they are replete with invasive species which jeopardize the buffers because of their impact on reducing native plant biodiversity. Currently, the deer in combination with invasives threaten forest regrowth of native plants. The invasives are still currently limited mostly to the border areas and some recently cleared openings, but once the native plants are completely overcome, restoration will be extremely difficult and will no longer provide a forest buffer to protect the watershed.

More about Kimberton Hills:
Camphill Village Kimberton Hils, founded in 1972, is part of the international Camphill Movement that pioneered community life as a healthy alternative to institutionalization or isolated existences for youth and adults with developmental disabilities. On the donated 432 acres, 250 are agriculturally eased and 80% are dedicated to open space. The mission at Kimberton Hills is to encourage individuals, especially those with special needs, to discover and fulfill their developmental and creative potential within an agricultural and handcrafting community. In valuing persons of all abilities, Kimberton Hills seeks to foster a living and working environment that is sustainable, productive and beautiful. Residents and volunteers uniquely contribute to the community through meaningful vocations such as gardening, dairy farming, and working in the café, bakery and craft workshops. As the community cares for one another, it also nurtures and improves the land by practicing biodynamic and organic agriculture and raising environmental awareness. We have received numerous awards over the years, mostly recently the Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection Gene Wilson and the PA Horticultural Society’s Community Greening Award.


Kimberton Hills is located at 1601 Pughtown Road in Kimberton, PA -- west of Philadelphia, 5 miles from Phoenixville and 10 miles north of the PA 76 turnpike exit. GPS will not get you to the village, but Kimberton Whole Foods in Kimberton will. We will help registrants connect to each other for the option to carpool.

Now showing at Camphill Kimberton: "Science Informed by Art"

Now showing at Camphill Kimberton: Science Informed by Art, the work of two Ursinus College students, Jacqueline Kimmel and Liz Palovick.

The opening is Monday, September 10 at 7 p.m. in the Wellspring Gallery in the foyer of Kepler House. The exhibit runs until October 7.

Please see the artists' statements below.

Science Informed by Art

Jacqueline Kimmel

Jmkimmel13@gmail.com

This exhibit reflects the works of a recent intensive summer research program. What started as a project about the role of the artist in nineteenth century Britain has evolved into a deeper understanding of what I believe is my own role as an artist and scientist. The catalyst for this inquiry was a trip to the Galápagos Islands, which focused on the life and work of Charles Darwin. While on the islands themselves, working simultaneously as artist and scientist, I was mesmerized by the landscapes that seemed impossible to capture on paper. The seemingly untouched wilderness was both beautiful and dangerous, which stimulated contrasting emotions and has led to an interest in the sublime.  Through corresponding research, I have indulged this curiosity and explored how artists of the 1800’s were able to interpret and render these landscapes. My work expands beyond the purely representational, allowing me to explore new approaches to both material and content.

Liz Palovick:

lizpalovick@gmail.com

My work serves as a platform for exploration and my background in biology heavily informs this inquiry. By definition, biology is the study of life and the structure, function, and growth of living organisms. This explanation alone is the starting point for unlimited discovery. From this foundation, I aim to investigate interconnections in the world around me: systems of energy in nature, chemical interactions, biological exchanges, and parts that amass to a whole. I aim to suggest that there is no single entity in the world that operates outside of these constructs and I utilize recognizable imagery in an effort to map these entangled systems in a manner that will be accessible to a multitude of viewers. Although heavily influenced by the sciences, my work contains a fantastical aspect born from the juncture of knowledge and whimsy.

Peggy Hartzell art opening, Sept. 9 in the Camphill Cafe

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills announces In My Backyard and Beyond, art by Peggy Hartzell, on display in the Camphill Café from now until October. 

A gallery opening will be held Saturday, September 9, 2012 from 4-7 p.m. in the Camphill Café.  Light dinner, beverages and desserts will be available for purchase and the artist will be present.

“This collection of images have been created, constructed or captured around my yard and beyond through many season and light gathering processes,” says Hartzell.  “Frogs, flowers, light, shadows, leaves, sun prints, cloth, paper, pinhole, plastic, digital cameras, inks, paints and beeswax have come together over time to create my personal cabinet of wonders.”

There is also an interactive component to the show.  Visitors are asked to bring prints or photos of their backyards and/or laundry lines to add to the clothesline installation.  

Invitation to participate in a DEP funded Sustainable Forestry Management Program

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills was honored to receive a Department of Environmental Protection Grant for an Educational Outreach Program in Sustainable Forestry Management.  As the depletion of American native woodlands is ever increasing, along with the destruction of riparian buffers that protect the rivers and streams, it is more important than ever to educate others about why and how to preserve woodlands. This sustainable forestry program is a unique and important demonstration model within the region and can educate hundreds of students of all ages for years to come.

College students are invited to attend a FREE, two-day Fall Workshop

Saturday and Sunday either

SEPT 15 & 16, 9am – 4pm

SEPT 22 & 23, 9am – 4pm

SEPT 29 &30, 9am – 4pm

College students will have the opportunity to experientially learn about watersheds and how best to sustainably manage forests to restore riparian buffers for watershed protection. Students will learn to identify and remove invasives, plant seedlings, test soil and help clear trails. The workshop will be led by the Kimberton Hills’ Estate Director, Alice Dworkin, and with specialized expertise provided by Mike Dunn, ISA certified arborist and owner of Preservation Tree. 

Topics taught may include: point and non-point source pollution; soil, tree and plant identification; biodiversity vs. monoculture; native eco-systems and human impact on destroying them as well as restoring them; different microsystems that include soil, animal and plant variation; riparian buffer and its effect on the watershed; habitat loss vs. preserving “interior forest”; and forests as natural resources. 

Spaces are limited, sign-up now. We will continue to take registrations until spots are filled.  Students must be able to attend two consecutive days. 

Workshop participants have additional opportunities, also free of charge:

1)   Compete, as a group or individually, in an Interpretive Sign Competition in the winter. The winning signs will be placed along the trails in the Kimberton Hills forest for educational purposes. 

2)   Be Student Ambassadors in the Spring of 2013, leading primary and secondary students along the trails and teaching about what you have learned. 

We encourage college “teams” to sign up.  To Sign Up and for More Information, contact Lyla Kaplan, lyla@camphillkimberton.org, 610-935-0300 xt 12.

About French Creek Watershed:

French Creek is a 22.6-mile-long tributary of the Schuylkill River. The French Creek valley was an important early industrial region, most notably for iron, such as the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site that sits on French Creek. The Phoenix Iron Works in Phoenixville, a working foundry up until the 1980s, sits on the confluence of French Creek and the Schuylkill.  Northern and Eastern Chester County residents are almost entirely dependent on groundwater for their water use.  French Creek was designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River in 1982. In 1997 it was upgraded from High Quality to Exceptional Value and in 1998 was placed on the Conservation River Registry (Green Valleys Association). 

Water quality of a watershed is improved by “riparian forest buffers,” or stands of trees and native shrubs and bushes ranging from 50-100 feet along streams and rivers (PA Clean Water Campaign).  The regeneration of native trees, shrubs and bushes provides a healthy riparian buffer (PA DCNR), and can protect the water quality of French Creek. 

About Kimberton Hills woodlands along French Creek:

There are 100 acres of forest that comprise Kimberton Hills which are in need of care and stewardship to continue to thrive and protect the air and water. These forests are referred to as “interior forests” and are considered an important resource in Eastern PA due to forest depletion.  Kimberton Hills has 53.4 acres that directly border French Creek, which is a large portion of the entire creek.  In addition, over 20 acres border tributary streams.  These forests have become compromised, first in 1890 due to construction of the “Sowbelly Railroad” and later by deer. Now they are replete with invasive species which jeopardize the buffers because of their impact on reducing native plant biodiversity.  Currently, the deer in combination with invasives threaten forest regrowth of native plants. The invasives are still currently limited mostly to the border areas and some recently cleared openings, but once the native plants are completely overcome, restoration will be extremely difficult and will no longer provide a forest buffer to protect the watershed.

More about Kimberton Hills:

Camphill Village Kimberton Hils, founded in 1972, is part of the international Camphill Movement that pioneered community life as a healthy alternative to institutionalization or isolated existences for youth and adults with developmental disabilities. On the donated 432 acres, 250 are agriculturally eased and 80% are dedicated to open space.  The mission at Kimberton Hills is to encourage individuals, especially those with special needs, to discover and fulfill their developmental and creative potential within an agricultural and handcrafting community.  In valuing persons of all abilities, Kimberton Hills seeks to foster a living and working environment that is sustainable, productive and beautiful.  Residents and volunteers uniquely contribute to the community through meaningful vocations such as gardening, dairy farming, and working in the café, bakery and craft workshops.  As the community cares for one another, it also nurtures and improves the land by practicing biodynamic and organic agriculture and raising environmental awareness.  We have received numerous awards over the years, mostly recently the Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection Gene Wilson and the PA Horticultural Society’s Community Greening Award.

Kimberton Hills is located at 1601 Pughtown Road in Kimberton, PA -- west of Philadelphia, 5 miles from Phoenixville and 10 miles north of the PA 76 turnpike exit. GPS will not get you to the village, but Kimberton Whole Foods in Kimberton will. We will help registrants connect to each other for the option to carpool.

Being Eco-Friendly

Camphill Kimberton will be participating in the August 4th Phoenixville Green Earth Festival from 9am - 2pm.

We have won numerous awards for our many years of sustainability efforts across our village, most recently the Chester County Citizen's for Climate Protection (4CP) Gene Wilson Award and the PA Horticultural Society's Community Greening Award. 

People at Camphill Kimberton have learned many ways at home to tread more lightly on the earth.  Here is a comprehensive list of things they do and some things you can try at home. If you have any other suggestions, please send them to Lyla@CamphillKimberton.org.

Things We Kimberton Hillians Do to Be Eco-Friendly

as of July 3, 2012

I. Reduce

1.    Turn off surge strip when not in use

2.    Unplug unused equipment from surge strip when in use for something else

3.    Retain used hot water (sinks;bath) in winter for heat/humidity value and retain cold water likewise in the summer as a coolant

4.    Sweep rather than vacuum whenever possible

5.    Use washable area rugs (can shake out) rather than carpeting

6.    Use smallest workable amount of tap water

7.    Use least amount of heated water possible, i.e., plug sink for dishwashing

8.    Hang laundry rather than use dryer

9.    If it’s yellow, let it mellow! (in the toilet)

10.  Turn off shower water when soaping up.  Don’t linger.

11.  Shade windows in summer heat, opening windows when it is cooler outside and closing them when it is becoming warmer outside than in

12.  Biking when possible rather than driving

13.  Use reel lawn mower when feasible

14.  Regularly inflate tires to proper pressure

15.  Combine errands

16.  Cook on woodstove in winter

17.  Use renewable wood as heat source in winter

18.  Wipe off butter/fat/food from utensils/plates before washing – saves soap/detergent

19.  Only full loads for washing machine and dishwasher(if/when used)

20.  Wash laundry in cold water

21.  Set thermostat at 60-65 for winter days and 55-60 for winter nights

22.  Use CFL’s for almost all lighting

23.  Buy cars that get good gas mileage

24.  Least possible use of disposable products (cloth napkins; handkerchiefs; rags)

25.  New appliance purchases are “Energy Star”

26.  Use bathroom vent fan as little as possible

27.  Turn off lights when not needed

28.  Close heating vents of unoccupied rooms

29.  Keep wood stove damper closed when not in use, in the winter

30.  Promptly call in leaky faucets to maintenance

31.  Take short showers and no baths if possible

32.  Make sure storm windows are used properly in winter

33.  Keep south-facing windows clean in winter (and dirty in summer! ;-))

34.  Keep foods covered in refrigerator (moisture loss makes compressor work harder)

35.  Make sure gas flames are blue and not yellow.  Get them adjusted if they are yellow

36.  Keep stovetop heat reflectors clean for more efficient heating

37.  Use efficient, covered electric kettle to boil water for drinks and cooking

38.  Use cookware larger than diameter of flame

    39. Make cookware is centered over flame

    40. Use toaster oven (when big enough) instead of stove oven

     41. Use pressure cooker as often as practicable

     42.In winter, let hot leftovers cool in the house before refrigerating

43. In summer, let hot leftovers cool outside before refrigerating

44. Don’t use cars for in-village life/business

45. Communicating by e-mail rather than paper when sensible

46. Use clothing as many times as you can stand before washing

47. Reduce junk mail via Catalog Choice or calling the opt-out number on the catalog

48. Heat up water in the sun before finishing boiling for cooking

49. Use fans instead of dehumidifiers

50. Practice hypermiling while driving

a.    minimize braking as much as possible by looking as far ahead as possible and coasting as needed to make as many green lights as possible

b.    drive as close to optimum efficiency speed for the vehicle as possible

c.    take inside curves on highway whenever possible

d.    be gentle on the accelerator – avoid quick surges and maintain steady pace

e.    coast in neutral on the downhills as much as possible

51. Cooking in a hay box (cooler)  

52. Make our own yoghurt and granola

53. Bring own utensils/plates to potlucks

54. Carpool

55. Swim in creek rather than showering

56. Go to bed when it gets dark

57. Minimize electronic entertainment use

58. Home canning/preserving

59. Use TJ, KWF and Lionville donations

60. Use vinegar and baking soda as a detergent

61. Plant bushes/trees to shade house for the summers

62. Buy extremely local (in the village) when possible

63. Hand-grate when possible rather than using food processor

64. Make sure everyone has a working bike

66. Minimal soap and water with microfiber sponge for dishes

67. Buy Costa Rican (closer) coffee rather than Sumatran (farther away)

68. Always buy in bulk

69. Eat raw and fermented foods

70. Bicycle-powered coffee grinder and food processor

71. Tell stories instead of watching TV  

72. Use a wash basin rather than filling a sink for dish wash

73. Plant trees

II. Reuse

1.    Re-use plastic wrap by washing in the dish wash water.

2.    Re-use plastic (and paper and, of course, cloth) grocery bags

3.    Give unused items to Goodwill

4.    Re-use used envelopes for internal mail (and some external mail)

5.    Buy or get donated used furniture and other household items

6.    Use reusable plastic containers for leftovers

7.    Re-use string from the weaver

8.    Make placemats out of cloth scraps

9.    Make use of “hand-me-down” clothing

10.  Re-use leftover hot tea as cold tea

11.  Try to fix/mend clothing, appliances, etc. before replacing

12.  Use bakery oven to cook/bake

13.  Use ball jars as “water bottles”

14.  Clean aluminum foil for re-use

15.  Give excess plastic bags to CSA and paper bags to weavery

16.  Make our own soap from animal fat

17.  Use egg cartons for light fixtures (see Kerria for explanation)

18.  Use bacon fat for cooking

19.  Make broth from leftover bones

20.  Make tires out of old sneakers and hus out of old tires

III. Recycle

1.    Compost all possible organic waste

2.    Recycle used printer and copier ink cartridges at Staples

3.    Use Recycling Services, Inc. for all possible recyclables – 1-7plastics, cardboard,

glass, Styrofoam, metal, toilet paper rolls, batteries, old clothes, appliances, 

electronics, flower pots, etc., etc.!

4.    Recycle paper at Abitibi collector in farm yard

IV. Other

1.    Use bar soap to wash dishes instead of detergent with surfactants

2.    Clean only with natural products – baking soda, borax, vinegar, etc.

3.    Vigorously lobby legislators for sustainable policies/programs

4.    Tend nice gardens around house to welcome happy elementals

5.    Use hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach

6.    Consume only teas grown in KH

7.    Use all the CSA veggies

8.    Make our own board games, and from locally harvested trees

9.    Make our own cheese

10.  Use only biodegradable body products

11.  Make our own hand wash/moisturizer

12.  Use leaves instead of toilet paper

13.  Respect all animal life

Things we Intend to do:

1.    Use rain barrels for garden and toilets

2.    Drain a quart of water from hot water heater every 3 months or so (removes settled

silt which decreases heater efficiency)

3.    Install tight-fitting, insulated window shades

4.    Defrost freezers more regularly

5.    Test and, if necessary, change/repair refrigerator and freezer seals/gaskets

6.    Get a solar cooker

7.    Get a solar food drier

8.    Use outhouse by estate shed more often

9.    Use car only for essentials

10.  Make our own paper

11.  Make our own candles from old ones

12.  No lights during the day

13.  Drink filtered creek water (there are better, easier ways – MTB)

14.  Use LED light bulbs

15.  Find eco-friendly substitute for natural gas

16.  Drive hybrids

17.  Plant 300 trees in 2013

18.  Replace gas stove with pilot lights with one that has electronic ignition

Add your own and new ones and share them with everyone!