Sometimes, being last in line is exactly where you want to be. That’s where Dave and Ryan met after begrudgingly attending a freshman orientation trip for incoming Allegheny college students in the fall of 2001. While walking the trails near Woodcock Creek Lake, the two environmental science majors struck up a friendship. After graduating, the two would team up to travel a vast part of the country as the folk trio “Gypsy Dave and the Stumpjumpers.” While the life of a traveling artist was always an adventure, the musicians slowed down their touring and focused on their respective families and professional careers.
Ryan, a life-long resident of Crawford County, worked for several government and private environmental organizations, focusing on conservation planning, grant writing, construction oversight, and program management. Dave, a native of western New York state, permanently relocated after graduating from Allegheny College to Crawford County where he began developing his entrepreneurial skills with his business Recovery Solutions. He also continued to nurture his passion for work in the conservation field as the Program Director at the French Creek Valley Conservancy. In 2017, Dave came to Ryan with a crazy idea: “What do you think about a commercial composting operation?” Much to Dave’s surprise, Ryan was excited about the challenge. Drawing from his experience of conducting a biomass digestor feasibility study and Dave’s work as the Allegheny College’s food hub coordinator, the two started to develop their business plan. After two years of searching for a suitable site and working through the permitting process, Conservation Compost opened just west of Saegertown near Interstate 79.
