Land Conservancy to Host Summer Picnic
Everyone is welcome to attend the 21st Annual Summer Picnic hosted by the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC). Join us on Sunday, September 7, 4–7pm at Boyer’s Nurseries and Orchards. The Land Conservancy will provide delicious Kennie’s fried chicken, Ellen’s old-fashioned baked beans, water, tea, lemonade, chairs and tables. Guests will bring their own plates, cups, napkins, and silverware (in order to reduce waste) and a dish to share. The variety of side dishes, casseroles, salads, and desserts is always interesting even though it would be impossible to taste every single one!
Boyer’s has been a family-owned and operated business since 1900. This preserved farm is located in the hills of western Adams County, where rainfall and spring water drain into streams that eventually help form Marsh Creek, which provides drinking water to those living in the Gettysburg area. Emma Lower, a fifth-generation co-manager stated, “we know there are a lot of natural springs and vernal pools in the woodland behind the farm and it’s an important water resource, so limiting development in this area was really important to us.”
Recently additional acreage was preserved which connects to the 900 acres that LCAC preserved over a decade ago. “This completes the permanent preservation of Boyer’s ‘Home Farm,’ and reaches the notable achievement of protecting over 1,000 acres with a single owner,” according to Sarah Kipp, LCAC’s land conservation director. The Land Conservancy purchased both easements on Boyer’s orchard land and forest with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, the Adams County Green Space Grant Program, and LCAC’s own funds raised through the Adams County Community Foundation’s annual Giving Spree.
The Land Conservancy hosts this picnic each year so that our members and all who are interested in preserving land in Adams County can meet, chat and socialize in a relaxed setting. Whether you love the beauty of the orchards, the vistas of the farms and mountains, or are concerned about preserving woodlands and grasslands to protect our creeks, streams, and wildlife, LCAC is involved in all of that. RSVP online at PreserveAdams.org/Summer-Picnic.
Deb Siefken is a member of the Land Conservancy of Adams County board of directors and chair of the Membership Committee. The Land Conservancy is a fully accredited, member-supported, non-profit land trust with the mission to preserve the rural lands and character of Adams County. For more information visit PreserveAdams.org. The Land Conservancy is participating in the Adams County Community Foundation’s 2025 Giving Spree. Join us in person on Thursday, November 6 at the Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel to learn more about the good work being done by 100 amazing nonprofits supporting Adams County.
