Ashfield Farm: A Place of Restoration for All

The farm has been fairly calm and peaceful since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Unfortunately due to the virus we are unable to host programs or events for the public at this time.

​Despite the current circumstances, the hustle of farm life and home renovations have kept most of the Ashfield team busy!

They have been hard at work seeing to routine animal care, completing household projects, and working on big structural improvements to the house and barns.

Restoration: the Farm Objective 

Restoration, cultivation have been two of the over-arching words that have sown into the vision for Ashfield Farm over the past two years.

Since restoration is a major theme it is quite fitting that these projects are happening around the farm! These new improvements are extremely exciting, however, the main objective of Ashfield goes much deeper than the construction and beautification of the property.

The heart of Ashfield Farm is for people to be restored to their full potential. It is for anyone who sets foot here to be irreversibly transformed - in the absolute best possible way! 

A Collection of Restorative Updates

We wanted to keep everyone in the loop with the happenings around the farm! Here are some specific projects on the go.

The New Creative Studio & Sound Booth 

Jason and Amy Hughes have been hard at work fixing up the Creative Studio ( formerly known as the Grand Room.) Painting, reorganizing, building and beautifying! The Creative Studio will be used for worship nights, podcast and music recordings, the Grow leadership program, church meetings and more!
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Amy and Jason Hughes used their expertise and talents to design and build the sound booth, which is located in the right hand corner as you enter the studio. The booth will be  for accessing and storing essential audio/visual equipment for the creative studio. 
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Above: The new Creative Studio Sound Booth designed & Created by Jason Hughes

Above: Jason Hughes working on adding a new rustic mantle piece for the fireplace.

Above: Amy and Jason Hughes and their little one working on painting and fixing up the studio!

The Creative Studio is a work in progress, so much time and energy has been poured into it over the last few months! Stay tuned for the official roll-out of the studio when it is all finalized!

The "Skunk Room" Name Explained

There was a small area comically known as the 'Skunk Room" in the barn. The room got it's name when we discovered skunks were making visits to the space since that is where the barn cat's food was stored. Consequently the not-so-welcomed guests left the room with their undeniable odour even long after they vacated the vicinity. Thankfully, after several attempts at scrubbing the floors and walls with disinfectant, the scent was removed. ( Though on very hot humid days there was still a trace of skunky-ness.) The room was mainly being used as a storage area for bins full of programming supplies. 

The Skunk Room Demolition

It was decided that the Skunk Room would be demolished in order to open up the floor space for more diverse programming opportunities. The new storage room will eventually be built above the wood furnace room in the reconstructed loft area.

Andrew Hulley has been hard at work on this massive project. He started by transferring all of the storage materials and supplies that were above the Skunk Room to above the old tack room. Next up was demolishing the old skunk room walls and supports, then moving and reorganizing all of the barn boards and planks of wood. 

Andrew has also been reconstructing other areas of the barn. He removed the hose storage cabinet that had been taking up valuable space in the horse barn. He also created a new horse supply cabinet for keeping things like supplements and first aid materials.  Andrew has also started to work on what will be the new location for the Tack Room.

There is still more work being done however a load of time and effort has been invested in these projects - which has been no small feat! Andrew Hulley must possess serious superhuman abilities! 

Above: Progressive photos of the deconstruction of the skunk room.

Above: The new and improved horse supply cabinet that Andrew built in the horse barn

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The Adventure Loft & Storage Room Extension

In early 2019 Jono Pingitore built the stairs and railings for Ashfield's Adventure loft. He also secured and reconstructed the flooring to make it safe and secure.

​At the beginning of 2020 Jono started extending the loft area to include a storage space above the furnace room.

​We use the Adventure Loft to run an assortment of camps, programs, birthday parties, public events and other celebrations.

​Hats off to Jono, we would not have been able to do any of it without him! 

Some pictures of the Adventure Loft being used for various celebrations and gatherings

Seed Planting & Gardening

Hooray! Gardening season has made it's triumphant return! The Hughes and Hulleys have been maintaining and cleaning up the gardens around the Ashfield farm house!

In preparation for garden season, the Hulley family has been building wooden planter boxes for the new vegetable garden which will be relocated to behind the campfire area, once the old fencing is removed. They have also been working on digging a  trench to drain the water out of the field more efficiently.

A variety of vegetable seeds have been planted by the team ready for when the garden is fully set up. 

Above two pictures: Andrew and Caleb Hulley finishing up the garden boxes in the garage.

Above: The new location for the vegetable garden

Above: Anya Hulley digging a trench to remove the water

Stay tuned for more blogs that will include information on the Grow Leadership Program,  The Creative Studio, continued reconstruction of the barn and loft spaces, garden updates and other developments at the farm!
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Blog written by: Joanna Kreuzer