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Category: Farm Education
Monadnock Youth Farm Education Initiative
Good news! The Monadnock Farm & Community Connection, a project of the Cheshire County Conservation District, received a small grant from Antioch University New England to connect more young people to local food and farming in the Monadnock Region. (See more information below.)
Our first step is to gather ideas from all of you – ideas that will help us think outside the box, while including all the initiatives and talents already at work in our region. Our goal is to create something that is both effective and inspiring, a resource that is used – not filed on a shelf or stored in a closet.
Please help us brainstorm. Take this survey before May 15, 2009: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2i8lwstfto7i9hw/start.
Feel free to forward this link to others.
Antioch Alumni Proposal 2009
The Monadnock Farm & Community Connection (MFCC) is a collaborative community effort to strengthen our regional food system. We work to create inventories and assessments, promote farm education and celebration, and strengthen our existing local food infrastructure.
The inspiration for this specific proposal idea comes from the MFCC “Grow Food Everywhere” Discussion led by Deb Habib, Executive Director of Seeds of Solidarity (and Antioch Alumnus!), at Antioch on March 4, 2009. Educators, farmers, and community members came together to learn and brainstorm ways to strengthen student connections to farming and local food. We explored specific strategies on how our schools can: cultivate food, learning, and community through the development of school gardening programs, build their curriculum around growing local food, and unite the community around local farming.
“Nationally and regionally, the time is ripe for education that connects schools to the rising local food movement and build strong partnerships, through strategies that nourish our communities, reduce food miles and even help to mitigate climate change,” Deb shared.
Our idea is to work together to create a farm education tool kit (specific to our region) that encompasses the needs and challenges identified at the “Grow Food Everywhere” Discussion. Some of the identified needs include: funding, integrated curricula, summer garden care, local resources, and community involvement. The MFCC Steering Committee will be responsible for publishing the tool kit, and the MFCC Inventory and Education Committees will work to collect and synergize the content. We will convene an advisory board of teachers and farm educators to help us develop and revise our concept.
Our project will be developed from May – November 2009.
Farm Education in the Monadnock Region
Help us brainstorm! Below is a short list of youth farm education programs or initiatives in our region.
Do you have others to add? Add them to the comments section below or email jen@hannahgrimes.com.
Cornucopia Project: The Cornucopia Project is a program committed to teaching young people about healthy nutrition. The project involves integrating work in a greenhouse and school garden into the school curriculum. Through hands-on experience with growing and harvesting food, participating students will see many elements of their standard curriculum (science, history, geography, social studies) brought to life. Beyond this, they will gain actual experience with the importance of thoughtful stewardship of the land and the value of locally grown food. Cornucopia Project students will grow, cook, and share their food at the lunch table. And they will get the taste of real “fast food” – picked fresh and eaten only steps away from where it was grown. This project serves the ConVal school district and runs two after-school and summer day programs, as well as school-time programs in two district elementary schools and one middle school. Plus their work at Crotched Mountain.
http://cornucopiaproject.org.
Early Sprouts Program: The Early Sprouts Garden Project engages preschool children in a 24-week nutrition and gardening program. Children work in raised organic garden beds, explore vegetables using all of their senses, and learn how to cook six types of vegetables. Families receive a “take-home prep kit” each week, with a recipe and all the needed ingredients to reinforce learning. One parent shares, “My son went from being excited about dinosaurs to being excited about squash … we have eight varieties in our home right now.” http://www.earlysprouts.org.
Green Keene Teens: Green Keene Teens is a fairly new environmental group started by 16-year-old Lucy Allosso of Keene. It now consists of twelve teens, with more planning to join. The club currently volunteers at Stonewall Farm, is planning events to raise awareness of “going green”, and is fundraising for their trip to Costa Rica – set to occur next February. They hope to visit Punta Mona, a sustainable community, where almost everything the inhabitants need is produced right on the island. If you are interested in learning more, check out http://www.greenkeeneteens.com.
Harris Center: Week-long farm summer camp for teens. To find out more, or to register for any of our programs call 603-525-3394 or email spikol@harriscenter.org Susie Spikol, Youth and Family Program Coordinator.
Orchard Hill School: Farmers & Foragers is part of a series of after school programs provided by the Orchard School. Topics include: animal care, wild plant foods, churning butter, building shelters, tanning hides, planting gardens, and preparing meals. 603-835-2495; http://theorchardschool.org.
Hooper Institute: Walpole students entering grades 9 through 12 next year can apply for summer work at local farms doing farm chores and caring for a variety of animals. For more information, call 603-756-4382. Leave your name, address, and phone number and an application will be mailed to you.
Stonewall Farm Camp: Join our camp family and enjoy summer days filled with fun, farming and friendship! Our camp program introduces campers to the diverse world of organic agriculture, and the unique role farms play in our daily lives. We blend a variety of farm experiences with nature study and traditional camp favorites to create a unique program for campers ages 4 – 13. Whether this is your first year as a camper or your fifth, Stonewall Farm Summer Camp is an experience not to be missed! http://www.stonewallfarm.org/camps.html.
Yarden of Eatin' 