Learning 4 Life Farm is under construction!
We've been raising funds for full construction of our barn, retail shop and workspace, pastures, garden and hoop houses needed to establish our job training program, completed in three phases over three years, with the goal to launch our job training program in 2023. Thanks to generous support from the community, we have our construction fully funded and we're completing the farm infrastructure this fall and winter and looking to bring in our alpacas in early 2023!
In 2021 we put our barn up and we've moved on to Phase 3 of our farm construction in 2022-23, adding plumbing, septic, electric and finishing the pastures, dry lot, gardens and workshop/gift shop for our job training farm.
Construction Phase 1 was completed in fall 2020 - installation of a driveway and 3-car parking lot, gravel barn pad, field drainage and bioretention rain garden - and was funded by donations from individual supporters in our local community and support from local contractor Jake's Property Services. Phase 1 provided the foundation for Phase 2 and Phase 3, constructing and finishing the barn, workshop/gift shop, pastures and gardens.
Phase 2 Construction, which took place in September and October 2021, involved constructing the ADA accessible 36x80 foot alpaca barn and retail shop/workshop building. Locally owned building company Grabers Oak Flooring provided barn materials and local construction company Wharton Exteriors installed the 36x80 foot pole barn and generously donated a portion of their labor in-kind.
Phase 3 Construction - 2022-2023
Now that the pole barn shell is up, our next steps are to install electricity, plumbing, septic system and exterior drainage. Local electrician Charlie Culbertson, owner of Charlie's Electric, is generously donating his labor in-kind; he installed our electrical panels in December 2021 and will install wiring, outlets and light fixtures in winter 2022-23. In December 2021, The Ohio Energy Cooperative installed an electrical conduit main line from an existing electrical transformer on the site of our partner school, TLS North East, extending to a transformer pad located adjacent to our barn.
Now that the pole barn shell is up, our next steps are to install electricity, plumbing, septic system and exterior drainage. Local electrician Charlie Culbertson, owner of Charlie's Electric, is generously donating his labor in-kind; he installed our electrical panels in December 2021 and will install wiring, outlets and light fixtures in winter 2022-23. In December 2021, The Ohio Energy Cooperative installed an electrical conduit main line from an existing electrical transformer on the site of our partner school, TLS North East, extending to a transformer pad located adjacent to our barn.
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Local contractors Mickey’s Roofing installed gutters and downspouts on the barn in early March 2022, generously donating materials.
In Spring 2022, local plumbing company G&M Plumbing & Heating, Inc., in partnership with local construction company MAC Construction, roughed-in pipes for our half-bath, utility sinks, barn water hydrants and alpaca waterers, and install a water line and conduit sleeve connecting the barn with the planned well location. Thank you so much to The Operation Round Up Foundation - Energy Cooperative for funding a portion of our plumbing installation. Local septic installer Jack's Septic installed our new 320-gallon-capacity septic system in spring 2022 - thank you to Jack's for generously donating a portion of labor.
In summer/fall 2021, with support from OSU Agricultural Extension - Licking County and local business Granville Milling Company, we tested our pasture and one-acre garden soil and applied agricultural lime to lower soil acidity. In spring 2022, local excavator R & L Excavating completed final grading of our pastures. Jake's Property Services applied fertilizer with recommended conventional agricultural fertilizers and seeded our pastures with a grass grazing mix - thank you to Jake's for donating a portion of labor.
In summer/fall 2021, with support from OSU Agricultural Extension - Licking County and local business Granville Milling Company, we tested our pasture and one-acre garden soil and applied agricultural lime to lower soil acidity. In spring 2022, local excavator R & L Excavating completed final grading of our pastures. Jake's Property Services applied fertilizer with recommended conventional agricultural fertilizers and seeded our pastures with a grass grazing mix - thank you to Jake's for donating a portion of labor.
In October 2022, local well installers Beinhower Bros. Drilling Co. drilled a 97 ft. sand and gravel stainless steel screened well adjacent to our barn and installed a main line to the barn plumbing, a pump system, and collected samples for water treatment. Once our barn interior is complete, they'll install a water treatment system including water softener, iron filter, and reverse osmosis/UV drinking water treatment, as well as hydrants to provide alpaca drinking water, irrigation and water for garden/barn use.
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In early November 2022, thanks to support from the Make It Fit Foundation, local concrete provider Cornell Concrete poured a concrete floor for the gift shop/workshop side of the building. They went the extra mile, leveling the ground and putting down gravel on the alpaca side of the barn and on our front porch.
Local excavator R&L Excavating is currently in the process of installing a drainage swale and tile around the barn and access driveways along the west (rear) side of the barn and up to the back of the property for tractor use/feed and supplies and compost pile access. A small fenced drylot will be installed adjacent to the barn, for the alpacas to use when pastures are wet and overnight for safety. A generous EQIP grant from NRCS-USDA is helping to fund the drylot and compost access drive installation, in addition to the well, fencing, and heated waterers for the alpacas.
Local contractors working in partnership with the Make It Fit Foundation and MAC Construction have offered to provide reduced rate and in-kind services for interior finishes in the workshop/gift shop - building a wall and installing interior doors, a bathroom and utility room, dropped ceiling, insulation, HVAC and drywall - to take place in November 2022- February 2023. MAC Construction and volunteers generously donated labor and took the time to work with our students on the autism spectrum to complete the barn interior framing in November 2022!
In January 2023 G&M Plumbing, Charlie's Electric and MAC Construction are completing plumbing and electric lines and will install final fixtures when the workshop drywall is complete. Local company 31-W Insulation will insulate the workshop side of the barn and Wenger Temperature Control will install a heating and cooling system for workshop climate control. Tasc Drywall is generously donating labor and materials to install drywall in February 2023. Melissa Blackburn, owner of Haven Collective of Columbus, will donate in-kind services alongside MAC Construction to complete the interior design and furnishings for the barn workshop and retail space in February and March 2023.
This January 2023, R&L Excavating and Beinhower Bros Well Drilling will install heated Nelson Waterers in our pastures for our alpacas, thanks to support from NRCS-USDA. In February 2023, local fencing company Cornerstone Fencing will install no-climb wire pasture fencing with wooden posts and metal gates around our three planned pastures for a total of approximately five acres of fenced pasture. Portable dog kennel fencing will be used to create partitions inside the barn for the alpacas.
Our barn features a 12-foot overhang along one 80-foot side to provide shelter for the alpacas and for gift shop guests entering the building. The barn will be divided into two sections, 36x40 feet each, with one side housing up to 10 alpacas in an open-floor-plan setting designed for their needs, and the other side housing a gift shop/workshop area. The alpaca section has three dutch doors whose top sections can be opened for airflow facing the overhang and a dry lot, two garage doors to allow for movement of the animals to pasture areas, and a portable fencing area inside to allow guests to view the animals in the barn. The alpaca section of the barn will have a gravel floor covered with mats for the health of the animals. The 36x40 foot gift shop/workshop section of the barn will have a concrete floor, windows, french entrance doors, and an employee door leading to the animal area. The gift shop/workshop will have a half bathroom, utility room, and 8x10 foot walk-in cooler to store produce and cut flowers.
T&N Lindsay's Landscaping will install our paver patio sidewalk at the front of the barn in spring 2023, to include the engraved bricks donated by supporters in our "Buy A Brick" Campaign. T&N Lindsay's is generously donating a portion of the labor and materials, with MAC Construction and Columbus Builders Supply chipping in to donate materials as well!
We plan to procure 6 alpacas in February/March 2023, and launch our job training program in 2023.
Stay tuned for updates, and donate now to help us move forward.
T&N Lindsay's Landscaping will install our paver patio sidewalk at the front of the barn in spring 2023, to include the engraved bricks donated by supporters in our "Buy A Brick" Campaign. T&N Lindsay's is generously donating a portion of the labor and materials, with MAC Construction and Columbus Builders Supply chipping in to donate materials as well!
We plan to procure 6 alpacas in February/March 2023, and launch our job training program in 2023.
Stay tuned for updates, and donate now to help us move forward.