There are two farm dumps on our 28 acres, one far back in the woods from the very early years settlers lived here and one more recent, closer to the house we currently live in. It was common practice for farms and homesteads to have a ‘dump’ on the property (and in many places, still is common practice) where all the no-longer-useful things would be put out of sight. The lasting impact on the land from being ridden with chemicals, glass and rusty metal was not something on anyones mind.

Since purchasing the family land in October 2019, we have begun the long process of digging out broken glass, rusty metal, dishes, old tires and unidentifiable trash from our farm dumps to reclaim the forest and re-build healthy ecosystems.

Today we removed four chicken feed bags (they make great sturdy bags for sharp trash!) full of old tire parts, broken dishes, metal, barbed wire and broken bottles- and our work has only just begun.

Sometimes- amongst the shards and rusted bits- we do find treasures. A little window into what life was like at Olsen Farm before we lived here. Anything that can be salvaged or repurposed is saved to be displayed on the farm.

One of three shovel heads found in the farm dump, this one will be sanded and painted for a yard display. 

An assortment of barrel rings, ready to be hung on the chicken coop wall! 

The treasure of the day- an old horseshoe- giving us a little luck and inspiration to keep on digging. 

It is our responsibility to do better for the land than the generations before us, not because they were ‘bad’ and we are ‘good’- but because it is what the earth needs.

We will be doing many more farm dump digs this year- if you would like to volunteer your time and join us please be in touch!