Education
Our experiential education program introduces children and adults to the world of nature and invites all to join in the activities that make the farm grow. Our education program is unique because we offer a experiential learning experience during every visit. We strive to help cultivate a connection between people and nature that will be a seed for a lifetime of learning and a confidence in growing food and landscapes.
Sunshine Days & Young Farmers Farm-based Education Programs
Sunshine Days is a farm-based education program geared for children ages 3.5 - 6 and their caregiver. These programs run in six sessions once or twice weekly in Spring, Summer and Fall. The sessions are balanced between exploration of plants, insects and wildlife on the farm. This includes planting seeds and seedlings, nurturing those plants and finally harvesting and preparing and sharing a salad. Other activities include art, painting, mosaics, storytelling and movement.
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Young Farmers is an education program for children ages 6 - 10. The activities are farm based as well as the arts, storytelling, tie-dying, painting, and puppetry. The planting activities follow the seasons. Topics may include composting, worm farms, bee-keeping, and herbs all explored with our on-hand experts.
Schools
Crossroads farm-based education programs offer tours, classes and activities for children, students, colleges and other adult groups. Meeting the needs of the farm in the different seasons provides experiences in nature that enhance school curricula as well as life learning by growing food, wildlife observation and the arts and crafts. The visits begin with a history of the farm and a tour, followed by hands-on activities tailored to the interests of the group.
We serve both public and private schools with our Sow to Grow Program (from seeding to harvesting) as well as age appropriate programs such as Sunshine Days for 4-6 year old children, Young Farmers (7-11 years), Girl and Boy Scout Troops with projects, badges and over-nights (see "Scouts"). We provide college groups with a variety of topics and farm experiences (see “Colleges”).
Colleges
Enjoy experiential learning opportunities to engage intellectually, creatively, emotionally, socially, and physically. The visit starts with an introduction to the farm history, a walk in the fields and is followed by all participate in a seasonal farm chore. By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. Topics include sustainability, organic farming, food justice, nutrition, food waste, composting, soil health, grassroots initiatives, stewardship, not–for-profit organizational structure, creative writing, and artistic expression. Interested in your own research? Let us know.
We personalize the visit to topics of interest to students and professors. Students consistently attest that their experiences at the Farm are gratifying and highly educative.
For more information on booking educational tours, classes, and workshops email us at delia@nassaulandtrust.org or call Delia - Education Coordinator at (516) 967-5058