How a mother of three switched from her career in finance to founding a popular compost pickup service.

By: Gwenn Nolan, Founder of Mother Compost

I grew up in Willistown, rambling through what is now Kirkwood Preserve. Life has a way of bringing us full circle. Though I no longer live in Willistown, my work now focuses on protecting our planet—likely inspired by a childhood spent immersed in nature.

Years ago, while working in financial services nearby, I found myself at a crossroads with an idea so absurd it made me laugh: “I should start a composting company.” With two toddlers rejecting meals left and right, I was sickened by our food waste. My attempt at backyard composting failed (see: full-time job, two toddlers, baby on the way), but it sparked a thought: If composting were easier, more people would do it. We’d reduce waste, recycle food, and maybe even change the world.

A quick test run confirmed it—people wanted this. So, I took the road less traveled, waking at
2:30 a.m. to collect food scraps in my Ford Ranger, getting them to the farm before showering, wrangling kids, and heading to work. A year later, I hired my first employee. Five years on, Mother Compost has grown from a solo project to a small but mighty team of eight, serving over 1,500 households and 35 businesses.

The road has been winding and at times uncertain, but as Frost wrote, taking the one less traveled has made all the difference. At Mother Compost, we believe small choices create big impacts—and that anyone, at any time, can be the change they wish to see in the world.

Are you interested in composting with Mother Compost? Use the link below to see if you’re residence is within the pickup/delivery service area and start your composting journey.

By: Eliza Gowen, Community Farm Outreach Coordinator

Those of you who’ve attended certain WCT events this Fall may have noticed (or tasted!) the fresh apple cider from Ohana Farm. Ohana Farm began in 2015 when Amanda and Conrad Radcliffe bought the farm with visions of a place to support their son with autism and saw it as a solution for him as he approached adulthood. They felt that life on a farm would help him thrive. The Radcliffe family appreciated the old apple trees on the property and wanted to parlay those trees into something good. They decided to grow their orchard and use it as a place for neurodiverse children to build confidence and to use their skills in all aspects of small-batch Apple Cider and Apple Butter production.

For now, Ohana Farm has been selling their cider to the Eagles Novacare complex where they provide it for some of the suites at home games as well as to friends and family. Each year they continue to grow and next year they hope to expand their sales hopefully from a vintage trailer that Amanda has her eye on. 

Amanda is grateful to so many who have helped make this all possible. “None of this would be possible without a whole lot of help, input, and advice from folks in our community.  Most of all the Eagles Autism Foundation with their amazing support, and regular orders!  Shreiner Tree Service helps keep our orchard healthy, STK property management helps weed whack regularly under 60 apple trees, Jonathan Alderson Landscape Design and Cotswold Gardens helped us move 30 trees last year and enclose them in a deer fence to protect our harvest, the late great George Spellman, John Milner who helped us execute our dream for our farm, Conrad (my hubby) who spends his life on our mower and in our tractor, and countless support from friends and family who help with the harvest and volunteer with our school groups.”The Radcliffes have generously donated over 25 gallons of cider this fall to WCT and we are grateful for their generosity and kindness. We look forward to partnering with them for future events. To learn more about Ohana Farm you can visit their website using the button below and add your name to their email list to receive updates about this wonderful farm as they continue to grow.

By Andrew Wraith, Agroecology Project Coordinator

As an Environmental Studies student, you might have guessed that I’m a lover and keen observer of the natural world. I love looking closely and seeing what’s hiding in plain sight. It could be a beautiful little critter, a weird goopy-green fungus, or a tiny perennial flower that predates the tree canopy and gives clues to the history of a forest.

The natural world is full of lessons for those who take the time to pay attention and reflect on the eternal questions: What happened here, why, and what is this telling me? For example, the cool little critter might share an inspiring lesson on resourcefulness, and that green jelly fungus might teach us how to go with the flow. Every lesson is a treasure and an invitation to a deeper relationship with nature.

Rushton Farm is no different. We are working in a close relationship with nature. Here’s one of my favorite revelations from the past two seasons: the connection between farming and working with kids.

Experienced gardeners may be aware that it’s best not to take a seedling straight from the greenhouse grow mat and stick it out in the field to weather the elements. We don’t tell our kids once they can walk, “Now that you’re on your own two feet, it’s time you moved out and started supporting yourself”. The process we take our plants through at Rushton, from seeding to the field, closely mirrors children’s journey toward adulthood in our society.

It begins when we drop the seeds into the “seed flat” (an array of small wells in which we can plant up to 200 seeds at once). From there the seed flats go to rest on top of a heat mat, cozy and warm, and their journey begins. This is the “nursery” stage, a term used in both childcare and plant husbandry. As the seedlings emerge, they remain on the heat mat until they are ready to graduate to kindergarten, i.e., being taken off of the heat mats. In the greenhouse, they stay for a while learning elementary lessons, but mostly they’re busy growing up healthy. A full greenhouse is an exciting and high maintenance place to be. The needy seedlings require watering multiple times a day. Many plants require transplanting as they outgrow their old wear and prepare themselves for middle school. Those awkward tomato plants can be gangly, smelly, and pubescent at this stage.

Eventually, the day comes when they graduate to the high tunnel (the small greenhouse). Here they continue to be protected from the elements such as wind and rain, however, they are less insulated from the season’s changing temperatures, and learn to cope.

Right about the time when they start feeling like confident masters of their environment, they’re off to high school! High school for plants is outside of the greenhouse, where they finally feel the freedom of fresh air and direct sunlight, however, the transition can be tough as they learn to deal with the sometimes harsh weather and deer exposure. The plants can start to feel very antsy to get out of their seed flats, or transplanting pots and into the ground, where they can finally stretch out their roots. They can start looking a bit downtrodden, but before too long they’re on the move again and off to college!

It’s an exciting time when plants are going into the ground. To set them up well requires hard work! We take time to settle them in place and help them by setting up their dorm (placing metal hoops over the rows and insulating the plants with covers). The greenhouse can feel like a strange place as the season progresses, empty, yet full of memories. You hope that your seedlings are thriving, weathering the challenges, protected from groundhogs and deer, while being ready to help in times of need.

When the time comes to remove row covers it can feel like the plants are stepping out of a time machine – my how they grow up so fast! The farmers give them a few final weedings, and before you know it, they’re the ones supporting us and helping us grow.

At Rushton Farm, this successive process is referred to as “hardening off”. As with raising children, we expose the plants to greater pressures and freedoms resulting in strong plants. The majority of my professional experience has been working with kids and to my surprise I’ve found that many skills apply to both professions!

ANDREW WRAITH | Andrew has worked as an outdoor adventure camp counselor for over a decade, which sparked his passion for helping kids fall in love with the outdoors and the infinite adventure of natural experience. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics, Andrew headed west to pursue work as a hiking guide in the Santa Monica Mountains in addition to playing music in Los Angeles. He ultimately returned east and found his way back to working with kids in the outdoors at Germantown Friends School where he has served in many roles including Adventure Camp Director, After School Program team member, Environmental Action Club Leader, and Lower School Assistant teacher. He is a current graduate student in Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and is very excited to be joining the team at WCT.

A new 90-acre nature preserve at Kirkwood Farm

While the price to acquire the land was high, all agreed resoundingly that failure to protect Kirkwood Farm would have come at even higher costs to wildlife and water quality and would have altered permanently the rural and historic qualities of a community imperiled by sprawling development and suburbanization.

And so it was that Willistown Conservation Trust put forth plans and galvanized support to acquire 90 acres of Kirkwood Farm, create a new nature preserve, and open the land for the public to experience and enjoy for the first time in centuries.

Owned and operated by Willistown Conservation Trust, the new nature preserve, Kestrel Hill – named after the Kestrels often seen soaring over the bucolic countryside – will be secluded, idyllic, and peaceful, featuring rolling hills, sweeping vistas, mature woodlands, and two streams that form tributaries of Ridley Creek.

Willistown Conservation Trust plans to convert existing farmlands to native habitat, expand riparian buffer areas in wetlands and along stream banks, open hiking trails for equestrians and pedestrians, and provide public access and parking. Once complete, Kestrel Hill will be a sanctuary for wildlife and for all who come to visit and experience the wonders of our natural world.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kestrel Hill at a future date to be announced. Until then, keep an eye out for updates and visit our website to take a ‘sneak peek’ and learn more.

Fresh out of college, my first venture into the ‘real world’ has likely looked different than that of plenty of my classmates. While the typical 9-5 may conjure images of videochats, spreadsheets, and other office drudgery, I spent my summer in the dirt. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rushton Farm has become the place of summer’s sweetest memories, made alongside enchanting scenery and even more fascinating people. I had studied much about food systems to complete my degree, but without on-farm experience, I arrived clueless about the everyday workings of a farm. Only four months later, I cannot say I am anywhere near an expert on that subject, but I am at least sure of one fact: food is magic. The work of producing food, moving my body for hours in all sorts of outdoor conditions, pushed me to reconnect with my humanness in a profound but altogether simple way. It just felt right. Even the smallest occurrences provoked childlike awe, such as my first time picking green beans off the vine and thinking, “woah, this is really a green bean!” This farm, to me, is the most ‘real’ of all the places I could be.

The magic of farming derives not only from the tangible production but the sharing of it all. At Rushton Farm, I made friends of all ages, each drawn to the farm from a distinct background ranging from foraging to film. The wonderful company often made it feel more like summer camp than work. And when the heat of the afternoon made us sluggish, I was at least assured we were suffering together. Beyond the field, I shared the farm with family and friends by regularly doling out fresh veggies or bouquets of flowers. Giving a portion of the work I adored, whether to our members or my loved ones, was perhaps the most human part of it all.

Amid all the wonders of this work, I often thought about how fortunate I am to have had the experience I did. Because Rushton Farm is a beloved CSA with a strong community farm program, my coworkers and I are paid a decent wage that does not fluctuate with yield or profit margins. While our members get to enjoy the freshest organic produce, I considered how countless Americans lack access to such local, nourishing food. My proximity to agriculture exposed just how separated we are from the realities underlying our food systems.

As I depart from Rushton Farm, I am assured that I am on the right path—a life motivated by the magic of food and the people who make it possible. Whatever I do next in my study of food systems, I hope to continue to share all the love and learning I found in these six acres.

Maria DiGiovanni | Maria graduated from Cornell University with a BS in International Agriculture and Rural Development in May 2023. She is devoted to research and advocacy at the intersections of food systems and labor. At Cornell, her senior thesis in partnership with the Cornell Farmworker Program aimed to increase the perspectives of the New York State undocumented workforce in policy discourse regarding proposed federal legislation, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. This fall, Maria is traveling to Italy as a Fulbright Scholar to investigate how young Calabrian farmers maintain sustainable agricultural livelihoods, aiming to imagine policies and pathways that revalorize rural spaces and draw future generations to farming. She looks forward to continuing her studies of rural development in a graduate program.