Come collaborate!
A forest becomes so great through the momentum of many trees. Taking a lesson from that, we hope for many hands to get involved in uplifting this work. We encourage interested people to come to public events or reach out to join our organization membership or leadership.
Keystone Tree Crops calendar
Put us on your calendar!
You can see our events on your personal calendar by importing our calendar into your own using one of the following links:
.ICAL link:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/keystonetreecrops%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics
HTML link:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keystonetreecrops%40gmail.com&ctz=UTC
For example:
If you use Google Calendar, you can add a Keystone Tree Crops Co-op events calendar by 1) finding the “Other Calendars” menu in the left-side of your Google Calendars page, 2) clicking the drop-down button on the top-right of the “Other Calendars” menu, 3) then selecting “Add by URL” and entering one of the links above (try the .ICAL link first).
Special events
Tree Crops and the Hershey Legacy
Tree Crops and the Hershey Legacy
Saturday, September 26th, 2020
About John Hershey:
John Hershey started a tree crops nursery in Downingtown, Pennsylvania in 1921. In 1936 he was appointed director of the tree crops division with the Tennessee Valley Authority by President FDR. There he collected some of the most productive and superior specimens of fruit and nut trees, the results of breeding and selection by indigenous peoples and American farmers. Returning to Pennsylvania, he continued propagating the best varieties of tree crops from across the Appalachian regions. His work was featured in J. Russell Smith’s influential book “Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture” in which Hershey’s farm was considered one of the finest examples of perennial tree crop farming. John Hershey was a pioneer in the practices of alleycropping, silvopasture, nut culturing, and biodynamic agriculture. Following his death in 1967, by the ‘80s his 72-acre farm in Guthriesville and his nursery rows downtown had been carved up into parcels and turned into housing developments. Although most trees he planted were lost, by good fortune many were left alone by the developers, preserved now in yards, along roadsides, and in neighborhood greenways. These offer a glimpse of what tree crop based agriculture looks like nearly 100 years later.
Under the shade of the Hershey trees seems like a fine place for a new tree crops cooperative to meet. While we tour the trees, learn their history, and meet each other, we’ll also discuss the future of tree crops and the many ways in which we can work cooperatively to build right livelihood around the abundance they produce.
Please RSVP your attendance to keystonetreecrops@gmail.com. Thanks!
(If you are unable to attend the event on the 26th, send an email -- there will be other opportunities to visit the Hershey trees!)
Itinerary:
We will arrive at 11 am to the parking lot of the Downingtown Friends Meetinghouse at 800 E. Lancaster Ave. Downingtown, PA 19335 and by 12 noon we will begin the tour. We will take a break and then travel the few miles north and west to Guthriesville for the second portion of the tour, ending by 5-6pm. Rain or shine!
Brought to you by the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative
https://www.facebook.com/events/816755055772001/
Introducing the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative
Join us Sunday August 16th at 7:00pm EST for a public introduction to the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative based in Pennsylvania and the adjacent mid-Atlantic.
We will introduce ourselves, share our vision for the cooperative and how we can together create economic equitability and opportunity for those who work with bioregional tree crops, and open the floor to discussion and questions.
We extend a welcoming door invitation to get involved and grow this movement together!
Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9061630575?pwd=bGRDUjVFWHI3ZVpTYVVUdjBaaFFzQT09
Meeting ID: 906 163 0575
Passcode: nuts2020