Prospect Hill Community Orchard is a stunning 75-acre orchard in Harvard that is part of an extensive corridor of already conserved land. It has been owned and operated by Community Harvest Project, a nonprofit with a mission to engage volunteers in the fight against hunger, since 2014. Now, in an effort to protect this important piece of the conservation corridor and to ensure the future of this charitable work, a team of partners are working to raise funds to endow the orchard by purchasing an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) on the property.
At a Glance
- Location: West Harvard
- Size: 75-acres
- Land Type: Agriculture (orchard)
- Goal: Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) on 70-acres
- Project Partners: Community Harvest Project (CHP), Harvard Conservation Trust (HCT), MA Dept. of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), Town of Harvard
Update
July 2022: The project partners have raised the money necessary to purchase the APR. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this project. The land will now be permanently protected with an agricultural preservation restriction, although due to the lengthy nature of such projects, the closing will not take place for several months.
SVT especially wants to thank the many foundations and individuals who donated to our fundraising effort, with a special nod to the pool of donors who together offered a $30,000 challenge match for our crowdfunding campaign and to the generous donor who stepped in at the last minute with a large contribution to ensure we reached our $105,000 goal by the June 30 deadline.