Holliston Community Farm Family Day, Sunday, June 11

Holliston is a right-to-farm town, and what better way to introduce your family to farming than to come on down to the Holliston Community Farm Family Day that will take place on Sunday, June 11, 2017 at Holliston Community Farm, 34 Rogers Road, Holliston? The event, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., put on by the Friends of the Holliston Community Farm, will boast hayrides, live music, a tractor/agricultural equipment show, a petting zoo, alpacas, demonstrations of the saw mill and blacksmithing, a wool and fiber exhibit, and the opening of a community honeybee apiary at 11 a.m. Admission is just $5 per person, with children 3 and under admitted for free, and all of the proceeds go to the Holliston Community Farm.
“It’s a fundraiser for the farm, and it’s also an opportunity to bring the community up here to see where the project is at and what the plans are, and it’s also an opportunity for people to give ideas as to what they would like to see, get their input,” PJ Kilkelly, of the Friends of the Holliston Community Farm, said in mid-May. “They just finished the fencing for the community bee aviary. Residents can rent a space for a beehive, similar to a garden plot.”
The Norfolk County Beekeepers Association provided grant funding for the fencing around the bee apiary and the hives, says Kilkelly.
“Our main thing is the apiary right now,” says Kriss Westland, on the Community Farm Advisory Board appointed by the Holliston Board of Selectmen. Westland is excited about the new apiary.
“I actually took a class from a beekeeper and am member of the Norfolk County Beekeeper Association. I got the idea, because that beekeeper started a community apiary down in Pittsburgh, PA. It seemed like a good use of the land at the Community Farm. There’s area in the open space portion that seemed like a good place to put hives. We’ll have up to 20 hives.”
A person can rent the hives at $25 for the season, up to two per person.
“It’s a good idea for beekeepers,” says Westland. “As we’re getting into swarm season, some beekeepers might not have room on their property for another hive, and it’s expansion time.” Westland says this community apiary is the first that she’s heard of in the state of Massachusetts. First priority will be given to Holliston residents, and you need to know what you’re doing to rent a hive.
Other areas of the farm are also being worked on.
“Right now, the barn needs a lot of work,” says Kilkelly. “We got a grant from the Holliston Newcomers Club, and we used that money to take down some pine trees that we’re going to get milled. We’ll use that wood for improvements to the barn. It’s a lot of work, but it saves us money, and we’re using materials from the property so it’s a win win.” The wood is being milled by local resident Jim Tarelli.
“It’s not a huge barn, but we can hold classes in there now, 20 people capacity,” says Westland, who says there’s talk of potential pruning classes there and gardening club workshops.
The process of improving the soil also continues at the farm. Kilkelly says volunteers planted two over crops last year, one buckwheat in the early summer, which was plowed under and another, a winter cover crop of winter rye. The field was again plowed in the spring, and buckwheat will be planted again, followed by vetch grass, to improve the soil.
Kilkelly also notes that more community garden plots are still available for rent at the Holliston Community Farm location if anyone is interested. Plots are 10’x10’, and the charge is $50 for the blooming season.
“As a group, we try to make sure it’s going to be a usable property,” says Kriss Westland, of the Advisory Board. “Our task is, eventually, to put out an RFP for someone to come use the property, but we have to get a conservation restriction filed that dictates how the land is used. Our board was tasked to do the RFP and get people aware of the property.”
Some of the areas still in planning stages at the property include getting the land surveyed, so there’s a good sense of boundaries.
“We’re hoping to utilize Scout resources and get the trails labeled,” says Westland. “We want to kind of make it known, and educate people on farming.” She notes that there are relics of old farms that are no longer active in the area, and one idea is to put them along the trails as historical markers. There’s also discussion of planting wildflowers out near the powerlines, and of fixing up the house, as long as they can make it sound, to be used for workshops and possibly as a residence for whoever would take over the property for farming.
“(The Community Farm) has come a long way in the past year now that we’ve all gotten together and gotten things going,” says Westland. “It’s getting a lot of input, volunteers are putting a in a lot of their time and hard work, and I think we’ve got good momentum.”
Interested in learning more? Visit www.holliston communityfarm.org. If you are interested in making a donation to the Holliston Community Farm, you can send a check to 891 Highland Street, Holliston, MA, Payable to: Friends of the Holliston Community Farm Inc. or visit its GoFundMe Page! 
https://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-the-holliston-community