Campus Connections & Land Appreciation Walk

On October 22, 2024, our parent community joined Farm Manager Ned Lincoln and Upper School History Instructor Candace Pryor Brown to explore the beauty and history of Gill St. Bernard's sprawling 208-acre campus. With its idyllic fall backdrop on full display, the walk celebrated the land's roots, ecosystems, and its evolving story.

Here are some fascinating highlights:

Land Stewardship: Our campus resides on the ancestral land of the Lenni-Lenape people, known as "Lenapehoking," who were the first stewards of the land.

Farm & Streams:
• 128 of our 208 acres make up Home Winds Farm, a working farm and living classroom.
• Peapack Brook and Gladstone Brook meet at the Scout Cabin and Brett Mershon Garden.
• "Peapack" means "place of water roots" in the Lenape language, and our location is close to the Raritan headwaters, a river possibly named "river behind the island" by the Lenape.

Plant Life:
• Our land features native trees like oaks, maples, and sycamores.
• We also manage invasive species, such as autumn olives (edible berries with silver speckles!) and Japanese Barberry.

Farm Animals: Home Winds Farm is home to a variety of animals, including:
• 13 breeding cattle, 16 sales channel cattle, and 6 calves (more on the way!)
• 15 lambs,12 ewes , and1 ram
• 165 hens and 4 roosters
• And of course…two donkeys

Fun Fact: The area now home to our garden and tree nurseries was once a horse racetrack!

Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the last warm days of the season and to learn more about our campus and the environment we call home.