Word is out that Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center may be forced to close by January 2011. No operating budget as of the end of this year – due to budget cuts. No staff, no farmers, no programs. This is short-sighted.
Earlier in the summer County Executive Rob Astorino wanted to sell this wonderful farm but the county board voted unanimously that it was too much of an asset to have in its place another McMansion development. If you haven’t been there lately, please go – it’s gorgeous, open to the public, the only farm of its kind in all of Westchester . Take some friends and walk around the back to the fields and say hi to Wilson, or Stephanie or Kelly or Josh and Jonathan… I started volunteering there in June with students from my English 201 class and they’ve all made us feel so incredibly welcome. It’s such a relaxing peaceful place in which people can learn to reconnect with nature and grow healthy food. When you talk about sustainability, this is where it starts – with the food we eat. That’s why this farm is so vital.
If you feel this farm is not just worth keeping – but worth keeping open — write a comment to County Executive Astorino at the link below. And please forward this message. THANK YOU! — Tracy Basile
http://socialservices.westchestergov.com/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=4242
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.
When we see land as a community to which we belong,
we may begin to use it with love and respect.” Aldo Leopold
Click here for more wonderful photos of the farm!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hilltophanoverfarm/with/3837687080/
