Eastern Shore, Maryland!

Wow! What a cool adventure we have been on travelling and discovering new places for Restoration projects in the U.S. There are so many places we want to go, and one of the first is the Eastern Shore of the great state of Maryland. This is beautiful country with warm and welcoming communities, diverse ecosystems, and great people to partner with on projects. One of the project partnerships we are excited about is with Campbells Lane Farm in Preston, Maryland. They are home to a number of rescue and former show horses. Anne and Jenn direct the programs there and have a wealth of experience in the world of horsemanship and horse care. Anne has worked for years in emotional wellness and Jenn’s background in child development makes them a great team for ARK Farms youth empowerment training.

A cohort of ARK Farms and local youth came together recently for our very first “Serve Day” in this area. It was so great to see all the teens and volunteers working together to improve life for the horses there. Listening to the teams communicate using their new “NoSCABS” language was really cool, and it made room for so many great ideas to come up and be realized. We are encouraged by the feedback and are working on plans to open Serve Days to the schools and service providers in the nearby areas. This is a great start on the Eastern Shore and we are eager to see how it grows from here. Keep watching for more good news!

The Plan is Moving Forward

As we move forward in taking ARK Farms mobile, we are moving through phases of transition.

We started by consulting with our teenagers, the Youth Advisory Board, and ARK Farms veterans to co-create vision for this on-the-go model. For months Sal and I have been travelling to and connecting with partners and locations interested in learning how to facilitate our programs.

Our Memphis team has been ensuring the continued care of our animals while we have worked with our long-time collaborator - Jennifer Dunlap and Animal Response Foundation to find adoptive or foster homes for our animals. Annie and Lily continue to recover and are doing extremely well at ARF while some of our team are regularly assisting with their care. 

Sprite and the donkeys were adopted this winter and are thriving in homes where they're able to share the love we have grown to know and enjoy. Molly is enjoying her new foster farm, and she has new donkey friends there too. Many of our winged flock have helped restart a farm in Jackson, TN, and they are settling in well. Fudge and some of the ducks moved across the street with Ms. Beverly, but we all know Fudge does his own thing and is likely in the Ark Farms pond when he feels like it. We plan to continue posting updates on all the animals with pics as I receive them.

With the animals safely moved to new locations, it is time for us to prepare to release our Memphis location, the very first ARK Farms home, to the next part of its story. This will allow our teams the freedom to travel and help us train groups in many locations to empower young people and help rebuild community in the ways we have learned through the last eight years at the farm.

While we are getting the land ready to become what comes next there, the team at EXP Realty is helping us find the next owners. 

We know the ARK Farms land is a powerful place in many of our lives.  As we team together and restore the space like we always do, getting the farm ready for its future story our hope is that someone with a similar mission would be able to purchase the land so that it can continue to be a special place for people and animals in the community. No matter what comes next in that space, it will always hold stories and memories in our hearts of courage and community being built TOGETHER!

This farm was built with MANY Hands, and it has always been an Us Together Thing – ARK Farms people know what this means. This new phase is no different - we want to hear from you, your thoughts, ideas, and stories. Everything we have learned is being formed into training to build confidence and courage in future programs. We are excited to move into this new phase, and we can hardly wait to see new ARK Farms programs popping up in communities across the country. Join us on our journey forward!

Honey is HERE!!

The final honey harvest is in! We have had such a great honey season, thanks to a dedicated team and all our brilliant hive sponsors and supporters.

Our bottles have changed. Due to a shortage we had to find new bottles, and the new ones are really cute. There is a 5 oz. and a 12 oz. which are $5 and $12 respectively. The honey we have now is the last for the season, so get your order in soon. You can order by emailing us (arkfarms@cometothefarm.org) or go to the honey order page to buy online. We are happy to deliver if you live in the Memphis area.

It’s a sweet job!!

Bees and Honey Please

Partnering with the Bartlett Bee Whisperer in Honey Bee Rescue

We are so grateful to get to partner with David Glover, the Bee Whisperer! It is such a good fit for us to work with rescue bees, as we are a rescue farm. When we sell the honey from the hives, the funds go right back into animal rescue. Our dedicated team of teen apprentices do all the work, learning how much they can contribute to their world along the way. Having David there to guide us a long the way has been incredibly helpful. One of our teens has become an apprentice to Mr. David, and will complete his Senior Project through his training with the bee colonies.

You can find ARK Farms honey at Southern Vintage or at the Bartlett Farmers Market. If you are out of town and would like to purchase honey, email us at arkfarms@cometothefarm.org to make your order!

“Bee” safe and keep watching for more cool farm news.