Monday, August 20, 2012

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.  






Monday, August 6, 2012

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.

Friday, August 3, 2012


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!