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Heritage Creek Farm & Education Center
Farm
Heritage Creek Farm is diversified vegetable and small fruits farm that offers a variety of agriculturally-based activities for children and families. We are a first generation farm that is family owned and operated. Being a good steward of land and water, teaching about food origin and producing food through regenerative agriculture practices are fundamental elements at Heritage Creek.
"Lettuce" be your farmer
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
By joining our CSA food subscription your family will receive weekly or bi-weekly farm-fresh, locally grown produce. The food grown on our farm is also sold to camp families and at an on-site farmers market and off-site mobile markets,
Farm Camp
The interest in our camps generally out numbers the available space particularly when campers attend more than one session. Our camps are managed by a lottery-style registration process. The lottery for 2025 summer camp will be open from January 6-19. Make sure you are on our email list to receive camp information as it becomes available. See Farm & Forest Camp and Little Seeds Camp for summer camp details.
Home School Enrichment Program - Thursdays
This popular program for homeschool students ages 6+ offers a spring block (mid-march to end of May) and a fall block (early September to early December). Twenty-two days of farm-based learning is offered during the school year. The farm facility is the outdoor classroom for the program and nature is the teacher as as our farm educators use the context of agriculture and environmental literacy to facilitate hands-on learning.
Visit the farm
There are reasons in every season to visit the farm.
Make reservations to visit the farm for:
- Field trips
- Private group tours
- Farm-themed birthday parties
- Evening Farm/Firepits
Click here for more information on field trips and group tours. Use the online form to request more details and to schedule a field trip or group tour.
Click here for more information on a farm-themed birthday party or evening farm/firepit. Use the online form to request more details and to reserve a date for a birthday party or evening farm/fire pit.
Celebrate the seasons on the farm
Family Events provide the opportunity for the young and young at heart to visit and learn about agriculture and the environment. Family Events at Heritage Creek provide the opportunities for families to experience a seasonal sampling of life on the farm!
During 2025, we will be offer FOUR Farm Seasonal Family Events:
- Spring Eggstravaganza/Plant Sale on May 10
- Pickled Palozza on August 23
- Pumpkin Showcase on October 25
- Sinterklass & Holiday Market on December 6
Farm-to-School
We offer a variety of programs to bring the farm into the classroom. We have agricultural-based curriculum for students of all ages. Contact us for more information. We are happy to design a farm-to-school activity in your classroom to meet your curricular goals.
Teen Summer Program
This unique program is designed for teens 13+ that are interested in spending time on the farm over the summer. Through hands-on activities and mentorship with our farm educators, teens learn about agriculture and plant and animal science, and develop a variety of life skills.
About our farm
Heritage Creek is an educational initiative that encourages a healthy lifestyle, teaches environmental stewardship, and models socially responsible ways to bring change.
Our farm is committed to Regenerative Agricultural practices. We produce nutritious food for the community and offer farm-based education programs.
Through teaching a broad approach to farming we hope people will see food production through a new set of eyes and understand the way food is grown has a direct correlation to food quality and nutritional value.
Our intention is to sow the seeds of a new generation of farmers and consumers that value the way food is grown; bringing further awareness to how farming practices impact the environment and the health of our society.
The fruits of our labors are evident in the bountiful harvest that creates a strong sense of community.
Our successes are measured in teachable moments that connect people to the earth and to the origin of their food.
"Lettuce" Learn Outside
"Lettuce" Learn Outside
Through a variety of outdoor programs offered on the farm, participants develop an understanding of plant and animal science. Farm visitors learn about agriculture and develop an appreciation for the work that goes into growing food.
Nature's Classroom
"Lettuce" Learn Outside
Nature's Classroom
Inspired by the wonders of nature and the joys of discovery, our learning stations are designed for children and families to explore the farm, fields, forest and creek.
Plug into Nature
"Lettuce" Learn Outside
Nature's Classroom
“Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education.”
― Luther Burbank
A message from Cindi hughes, owner
Organic farming dwells deep within my soul. My youthful memories are filled with walking barefoot in the warm soil, nurturing crops to ripeness, harvesting produce for our daily meals and preserving food for winter storage. I am a prodigy child of the organic movement that was locally inspired by Rodale Institute and Gene Logsdon. From seedling to adulthood, I have been nourished by wholesome food and have been steeped in the love of caretaking the land.
We live in a face paced age of technology where a lifestyle rooted in the simplicity of farm life is like finding a pearl in an oyster. Children are growing up without experiencing the wonders of nature. The art of growing our own food is becoming a lost tradition, in need of revitalization.
Our farm's mission is to plant the seeds of learning. Through teaching regenerative agricultural practices we can spark meaningful conversations, light the fire for environmental awareness and model how individual actions can make a difference in our world.
At Heritage Creek, we hope to cultivate a new generation that values a healthy lifestyle and understands the local and global responsibilities of taking care of the environment. Our mission is two-fold in nature - raising wholesome food and educating and encouraging people to grow their own food!
Heritage Creek Farm offers an authentic farm experience. Our farm is a popular destination for field trips. Our summer camp serves children in Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Berks, and Dauphin Counties and also welcomes children from other areas of the country that are visiting family during the summer.
Why the name Heritage Creek?
Here in Lancaster County, PA, we are blessed with a mild climate, plentiful rainfall, and rich soil. Southeastern PA is also rich in values, traditions, culture, and knowledge handed down by previous generations. Our owner, Cindi Hughes, comes from a long line of ancestors that valued the importance of growing and preserving their own food.
At Heritage Creek, we believe the art of agriculture has historic and cultural value worthy of preserving. We are rooted in the legacy and history of agriculture; gleaming the best from our roots and combining it with modern day knowledge to pursue a broad approach to food production.
The tiny creek that graces our 26+ acre hillside property, is a tributary of the Little Chiques Creek. We are a small part of a large system of creeks that flow into the Susquehanna River and eventually leads into the Chesapeake Bay. The creek and its surrounding riparian buffer, provide a wetland ecosystem to explore, and a memorable place for campers to cool off a bit during hot summer days.
Farm Camp activities
- Plant Science: Farming activities teach food origin and plant life cycles
- Regenerative agriculture principles and sustainable farming techniques
- Animal Science: Meet and greet farm animal, animal care, animal adaptation, and the digestive system of ruminant animals.
- Land stewardship
- Environmental literacy
- Science comes to life through hands-on activities that teach Botany, ecology and more
- Engineering and Simple Machines
- Practical life skills
- Textiles, plant and animal fibers, fiber arts, basic knots and practical arts
- Entrepreneurship - Learning farming as a business
- Creative and traditional art skills
- Kitchen arts, fermentation and preservation
- Farm-to-Table sampling
- Time to plug into nature and the simplicity of farm life
- Explorential learning
- Cooperative work and creative play
- Collaboration through farm chores, activities and games
- Will-building skills that help develop a healthywork ethic
Our Facility
Pavilion - Lower Farm
Little Seeds Classroom/Deck-Lower Farm
Forest Classroom - Lower Farm
The lower farm pavilion is located by the creek and is used for field trips and summer camp dining, and large group events/presentations.
Forest Classroom - Lower Farm
Little Seeds Classroom/Deck-Lower Farm
Forest Classroom - Lower Farm
The Forest Classroom provides an open air space on the lower farm. Our Art Barn is located in this outbuilding.
Little Seeds Classroom/Deck-Lower Farm
Little Seeds Classroom/Deck-Lower Farm
The Little Seeds Classroom/Deck is used for large group events. During summer camp it used for fiber arts, reading and board games.
Farmhouse - Lower Farm
The old farmhouse was built in the 1890's. It is currently a private residence on the lower farm.
Farmhouse - Upper Farm
The Market - Upper Farm
The new farmhouse was built in 2022 and is currently a private residence on the upper farm.
The Market - Upper Farm
The Market - Upper Farm
The "Market Building" is an open air outbuilding on the upper farm and used for a variety of agriculturally related purposes.
Production Barn - Upper Farm
Small Greenhouse - Upper Farm
Production Greenhouse - Upper Farm
The Production Barn is on the upper farm and is the CSA pick up location.
Production Greenhouse - Upper Farm
Small Greenhouse - Upper Farm
Production Greenhouse - Upper Farm
This 1800 square feet greenhouse has a plant propagation station and a botany lab offering visitors opportunities to explore plants in various stages of growth.
Small Greenhouse - Upper Farm
Small Greenhouse - Upper Farm
Small Greenhouse - Upper Farm
This greenhouse when not being used to start seedlings or curing vegetables, provides a warm conversation space for visitors during the colder months.
Come visit the farm
Want to visit the farm? To reserve or receive information about field trips submit the Inquiry Form. Homeschool families, we offer a homeschool enrichment program for your children ages 6+ to learn through hands-on activities on the farm. Family Farms will be offered on August 23, October 25 , and December 6. Seasonal Farm Camp will be offered on Monday, October 13. There's a reason in every season to visit the farm!