Summer 2026 Newsletter

Autumn is upon us, Subscriber First Name! As the seasons change, so does the work on the land. Read on to see what we’ve been up to, what’s growing, and what’s ahead!

MEET THE FULL TEAM!

JESSE GAFNER- Farm Crew Lead

Jesse graduated from Slippery Rock University with a degree in Geography and a concentration in Environmental Studies & Sustainability. He has a background in invasive species removal, plant identification, and crew supervision in our region’s wildest places! Outside of work, Jesse enjoys hunting, aquascaping, and spending time outdoors, which deepens his connection to the landscapes he manages.

AMBER MARSHALL- Agroforestry Apprentice

Amber graduated from Mercyhurst University in 2022 with a degree in Environmental Science. As a previous food banker and VISTA, she has a great passion for community work and sustainable food systems. When she’s not on the farm or in the forest, you can find her lifting heavy at the gym or birdwatching!

ELENA LUCAS- Agroforestry Apprentice

Elena graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2026 with a degree in Parks and Resource Management. As a previous Trails and Habitat Management Intern at the Robert A. Macoskey Center, she has a deep passion for environmental justice and sustainability. With her love for the outdoors, Elena is an avid nature photographer and enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and landscaping with native species.

ALANNA BARTO- Agroforestry Apprentice

Alanna has spent much of her free time exploring her passion for the environment. She is an avid gardener, focusing on growing foods that she can harvest and use to feed her family throughout the year and into the next growing season. She also cares deeply about the natural wildlife around her, growing a native wildflower garden at her home and helping transform a family member's yard into a protected wildlife habitat. When she isn't working, you can find her reading, painting, coaching color guard, hiking, or spending time in the gym!

JASMINE THOMPSON- Director

Jasmine founded Woolbank in March 2025 to make conservation accessible through the development of a 16-acre demonstration farm that hosts agroforestry apprenticeships, storytelling initiatives, and conservation project partnerships. Outside of the farm, Jasmine is a classical pianist working through Chopin’s nocturnes and etudes. She also enjoys cooking lentils and cuddling her two cats!

FIELD PROJECT UPDATES

Stream-side Riparian Zone Management

One of our ongoing projects is the phased restoration of the tributary running through our property. This small stream is FULL of life and has the potential to bring even more biodiversity to our forest farm. Over these past few months, we have been working to remove invasive multiflora rose and honeysuckle from the riparian zones and replace them with natives that can stabilize the stream bank. Thus far, we have planted several American Black Elderberry and American Persimmon along the upper parts of the inner riparian zone. Both of these woody species not only provide beautifully sweet fruits for humans and animals alike, but they also do a wonderful job at controlling erosion, filtering out pollutants, and tolerating both flood and drought conditions.

This fall, we will begin sowing native seeds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs capable of restoring and protecting this vital ecosystem. Some of the species will include Sweetflag, Tussock Sedge, Soft Rush, Pickerelweed, Arrow Arum, Swamp Milkweed, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, Button Bush, Winterberry, and Red Osier Dogwood. Each of these plants bring along a host of ecological benefits and are adapted to the wet soils that inner riparian zones bring. Not only will they enhance the bidiversity and stability of the stream, they will also enhance the beauty!

Middle and Outer Riparian Zone Management

Equally as important as the inner riparian zone, the middle and outer zones have gotten a huge makeover as well. Before we began managing this area, invasive honeysuckle and multiflora rose completely covered the understory. After months of removal and continuous monitoring, we could finally start planting trees and shrubs suited to this environment. Along with additional Elderberry and Persimmon, we planted Chestnut, Shellbark Hickory and Northern Pecan!

As we move into autumn, we are selecting a variety of native perennial grasses and forbs to create a biodiverse herbaceous layer. Some of the species will include River Oats, Narrowleaf Blue Eyed Grass, Mistflower, New England Aster, Swamp Milkweed, Virginia Mountain Mint, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, Blue False Indigo, and Giant Ironweed.

Crop Tree Release

As we move deeper into our forest, we find endless possibilities for conserving and enhancing its biodiversity.

Currently, we are clearing invasive multiflora rose and honeysuckle as well as overabundant competing trees including, Red Maple, Elm, Black Cherry, Hawthorn, and Black Locust on the southwest facing hillside for crop tree release (CTR). This fall, we will be inoculating many of the logs obtained from this process with various species of edible mushrooms such as Italian Oyster and Chicken of the Woods! Black Locust is rot-resistant making it incompatible with mushroom inoculation, so we will be using these logs for raised garden bed construction as well as wood chips to mulch trails.

This hillside is special, as we have an old, healthy Shagbark Hickory with some young in it’s understory, as well as a large White Oak, and several Witch Hazel and Serviceberry naturally growing here. Our goal for this crop tree release is to give these keystone species a better chance at a long, healthy life so they can continue to provide the myriad of ecosystem services a healthy forest depends on. This project will allow these species to open up their canopies, take up space, and produce more nuts or berries for all the animals who enjoy them, including us!

CROPS IN THE FIELD

TOP: OKRA, PINK OYSTERS, SWEET BABY WATERMELON

BOTTOM: GENOVESE BASIL, CANTALOUPES/PUMPKINS, TOMATOES

FIELD CRITTERS!

Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota)

Twin Spotted Sphinx (Smerinthus jamaicensis)

Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum)

Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

PESTO RECIPE

Homemade pesto, yum! From Amber’s kitchen, to yours! My homemade (nut-free!) pesto:

Hey y’all! Amber here, I would love to share my nut-free pesto recipe with you. We have grown SO much garlic and basil at Woolbank. You can never have enough garlic (or basil) in my opinion. From sauces and pasta, to meats, to soups and stews, garlic truly can go in anything!
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- A few sprigs of basil, I like to use 2. This depends on how hearty you’d like your pesto to be.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil - can add or subtract, this depends on how spreadable you’d like your pesto to be.
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese - add/subtract more or less as preferred.
- A squeeze of lemon!

I like to make this recipe small, as in my home, it is just myself and my better half. We like to use this pesto on top of grilled chicken. We will then put fresh sliced tomatoes (coming soon at Woolbank!) and a shredded Italian blend of cheese. Pop that in the oven and you’ve got a delicious and easy meal. And of course, leftovers!

Haiku’s & Free Verse Poems from our team:

Seeds rise from the earth

Along streams, new roots take hold

Old trees breathe again

-Jesse Gafner

Fungi moves through soil

Strands of white connect the trees

Underneath our feet

A universe resides

-Elena Lucas

April showers came and went,

August is here and healing is near,

I am grateful for each day to grow alongside our fields and our forest.

The sun warms my skin and reminds me that I am alive.

On purpose, for a purpose.

-Amber Marshall

Working in the field

To help Mother Nature heal.

Coworkers are near, that have now turned friends.

Hard days are filled with laughter,

Exhausted after.

Hard work is worth it, being in the great outdoors.

This is the best job!

-Alanna Barto

Connect with us on social media!

Instagram

Volunteer Opportunities

We are planning a volunteer day in October! Please fill out our interest form below for further details!

Volunteer Interest Form

Thank you for your support in word and deed as Woolbank takes root. We’re excited to preserve the stories, land, and connections that matter most to the people who steward them.