The slide show for the end of the four weeks is now online! We posted it on kodak.com. The bad news is this site requires you to create an account (only takes a minute). The good news is you can buy any photos you like!

Here's the link: http://is.gd/dOYna

The Shermans Creek Conservation Association (SCCA) is an organization of citizens concerned about the health of a local waterway, Shermans Creek. The organization sprung up in 1998 in reaction to news that a gas-fired electric generation plant was to be built next to the creek.

We teamed up with some Dickinson College (Carlisle) students who were doing research with the SCCA.

That's Laura peeking out on the left, then Tygee, Sam K., Albert, James and Jerica.

Max, Albert in the microscope, and Jerica.

Back row, left to right, that's Tygee, Albert, Isaac, big kid Rachel, Sam K., his sister Laura, and some Dickinson students. Front row, left to right, that's James, Andrea, Chris, Dana, big kid Emily, Max, Jerica and more Dickinson students.

Longacre Leadership made it into the Perry County Times! This article is about one of our community service projects: fixing the sidewalk in front of a local arts organization, the Perry County Council of the Arts (PCCA). PCCA is run by Susan's husband, Roger.

We call our main animal barn "the barn", not to be confused with the pig barn, the pole barn, the horse barn, or the shed. Anyway, the barnyard has a fence and we call it the barnyard fence. The barnyard fence holds the animals living in the barn. It is connected to the pasture by a long runway. For a few years now we have been patching up the barnyard fence piece by piece. This summer, finally, we're tearing it down and building a new one.

Above, Sam K. and big kid David are prying the boards away from the posts.

That's Alex, Nicholas, Jeremy, Harry, Julia, Sam K. and big kid David Roth.

Matt, Alex and Nicholas.

Julia and Jeremy.

Julia.

Here, you can see the outline of the barnyard fence. We're finished taking off the boards. All that is left are the posts.

Pulling the posts, tough work.

Nicholas, Harry, Jeremy and Zoe piling boards and posts.

More piling boards and posts. That's big kid Jake on the John Deere with Harry, Alex and Sam K. In the foreground you'll see temporary electric fencing that we're using to keep the animals in while the wooden fence is down.

Julia, Matt and Harry are probably strategizing here.

Time to start digging new postholes. That's Matt, big kid Jake and Christina.

Again.

That's Isaac, big kid John and Sam K. in the background.

Matt is breaking up the dirt and then Julia is using the posthole digger to scoop it out of the hole. All of the holes have to be 36" deep on the low side. You just hope you don't hit any big rocks.

This is a summer-long project so we'll update you on our progress.

The mentor kids are a group of older, returning farmers who take on more responsibility during the summer. They co-lead crews (chores) with big kids and have individual projects to complete. They are called mentor kids (MKs) because they're paired with a big kid who serves as their mentor, someone who they can meet with for guidance and feedback. The MK program is led by two big kids, Jake and Rachel, and these ten people have Group together once a week.

Part of the MK program involves arriving at the farm a few days early for orientation and preparation. These photos are from the Saturday before the farmers arrived, when the MKs traditionally prepare dinner for the staff.

That's Sam Kapner on the right, then Amy, Kligs and Jordan. That's big kid Louise on the left.

Left to right, Jordan, Kligs and Amy.

Fiona, Dana and Nicholas (just barely).

Matt Long and Fiona.

Sam Kapner, Matt Long, Fiona, Dana, Nicholas, Jordan, Kligs and Amy.

Amy and Fiona.

This is big kid Sara:

Sara is from Arkansas. She is a Wilderness EMT. Recently she spent three months in Ecuador teaching English to pre-kindergarteners. Sara's dream is to own a daycare center on a sustainable ranch.

This is big kid Louise:

Louise is from Nottingham, England. This is her fifth summer at Longacre. She works year-round for Longacre Leadership. She met her husband, Jake, at Juniata College. Her focus here is her passion, natural horsemanship.

This is big kid Celina:

Celina is from Los Angeles. She was here for four summers as a farmer. This is her first summer as a big kid. She just graduated from Yale University and in the fall she will begin at USC Law. She wrote The Sad Farm, the summer's first play production, which she and Sean are directing.

Happy 17th Matt Long!

Everyone waited patiently for cupcakes, except for me (blue shirt, muscling farmers out of the way). Left to right, that's Liam, Elli (just barely), Andrea, me, Hannah, Kligs, Tamara, Zach and Johny. And Matt.

Matt dives in:

Matt with big kid Sean:

Jordan and Zoe dancing:

Somehow everyone was wearing pink this day. That's Stevie on the left, and Dana, Chaz and Chris:

Isaac and Dana:

Happy birthday Matt Long!

Hi there,

The entire community went to the 4th of July Carnival in the nearby town of New Bloomfield. It was a night filled with rides, sweet treats and fireworks. At this point in the summer we have already mowed 400 bales of hay, participated in a creek walk, completed 50 hours of community service, rehersed a play that will be performed this Wednesday, rode horses, destroyed the old barn yard fence, dug 20 holes for the new fence, created beautiful stained glass and ceramics and had a whole bunch of fun in the process.

This coming week we will host our annual Play Day Fun Day where we invite local families and their young children to attend a play we perform, ride our horses, have a tour of the farm, paint faces. and have a hay wagon ride. Longacre farmers host the entire day!  It is a great way to reach out to the greater community and share the many talents of our teenagers with others.

Best,

Louise