Farm Education Learning Journey in Vermont

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Taylor in Education, Events, Local Food // 0 Comments

Register for a Southern Vermont Farm Education Learning Journey

The Southern Vermont Farm Education Learning Journey is one part road trip, one part study tour, one part roving feast. We are visiting six sites in Southern Vermont March 30 – 31 that offer unique farm-based education programs. From baby animal day, to baking and sewing on a fiber farm, to maple sugaring and lambing, to summer camps and school field trips – we’ll explore it all.

Host sites for the Southern Vermont Farm Education Learning Journey include Billings Farm, Retreat Farm, Wing and a Prayer Farm, Smokey House Center, Merck Forest and Farmland, and Hildene. Join us for one stop or several. View itinerary. Bring your questions, warm clothing and snacks for the road.

Limited space, registration link! Contact Vera with questions.

Friday, March 30, 2018 Farm Education Learning Journey
Billings Farm Baby Animal Day | 9:30 AM – 11:15 AM
69 Old River Road (Rte 12N & Old River Road), Woodstock, VT 05091
Meet at 9:30 at Billings Farm, then attend their Baby Animal Day. This is “self-guided” – our group will not have a Billings staff person with us. Billings Farm & Museum is regarded as one of the finest outdoor history museums in the country. Combining a fully-operating Jersey dairy farm with educational exhibits and interactive programs and events, Billings Farm & Museum is committed to providing education and enjoyment to visitors of all ages. Baby Animal Day introduces visitors to the farm’s newest additions during family-centered programs with lambs, chicks, piglets, and calves; heirloom seed activity; 1890 Farm House, farm life exhibits and dairy bar will be open.
Drive 1:15 minutes to Retreat Farm
Retreat Farm | 12:30 lunch, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM tour
45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Retreat Farm, Ltd. is restoring and repurposing one of Vermont’s leading historic farmsteads as a center for education, recreation, farming, processing, markets and events — where people connect to the land and each other. A fixture of the Brattleboro landscape for 180 years, Retreat Farm encompasses 500 acres of conserved forest, farmlands, trails, waterways, and an historic Farmstead. The Farm sits adjacent to downtown Brattleboro, and serves as a central gateway to Vermont and New England. Our tour will be led by Lu Nuese, Program Director.
Drive 1:00 hour to Wing and a Prayer
Wing and a Prayer Farm | 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM tour
983 Myers Rd, Shaftsbury, VT 05262
Wing and a Prayer Farm is a happy place to live and grow. On their 20 acre Fiber Farm in Southern Vermont, they raise and care for a variety of poultry, Registered Shetland, Cormo, Cotswold, Wensleydale & Merino sheep, Registered Angora Goats, Alpacas, an American Guinea Hog named Princess Peppermint, mini donkeys, horses and a Shetland pony, and honeybees. Their farm, in the Green Mountain State, is a beautiful pastoral homestead where the children have grown up barefoot and the pups can run around without a leash. Farmer Tammy White will lead our tour and share the variety of on-farm workshops she offers from baking and shearing to natural dying and fiber arts, to Dresses and Donkeys where guests learn to sew a dress!
Drive 49 minutes to Smokey House Center
Smokey House Center | 6:30 arrival, 7:00 Dinner. Tour will be Saturday morning, 3/31 8:30 – 9:45
426 Danby Mountain Road, Danby, VT. Use these Directions!
Smokey House Center cultivates nutritious food, healthy land, a vital local economy, and resilient young people. For the past forty years, Smokey House Center has served as stewards of 5,000 acres of working land in Danby, Vermont. Their careful land management, partnership with farmers, and ongoing conservation efforts support a vibrant, productive landscape, supplying local food and resources. They work with local schools and youth organizations to help students gain academic, social, and real world work skills on our farms and in our classrooms. Smokey House Center serves as a bridge between Vermont’s past and future and is a force for social and economic vitality in Rutland County. Overnight Accommodations are available at Smokey House but you must pre-register. Accommodations are single beds in large shared rooms in a rustic farmhouse. Linens are provided, but please bring warm blankets or sleeping bags.
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Saturday, March 31, 2018 Farm Education Learning Journey
Smokey House Center | Tour 8:30 – 9:45
Those staying overnight should plan to prepare your own breakfast with ingredients provided prior to the tour. The tour will be from 8:30 – 9:45, led by Executive Director. 10:00 am departure.
Drive 20 Minutes to Merck
Merck Forest and Farmland | 10:30 – 11:30
3270 Route 315 · Rupert VT 05768
Merck Forest and Farmland Center (MFFC) is a nonprofit educational organization with a mission to teach and to demonstrate the benefits of innovative, sustainable management of forest and farmland. MFFC is composed of 3,162 acres and includes a 3,100 acre managed forest, a certified-organic sugaring operation and a 62-acre farm. They offer on-site demonstrations, apprenticeships, workshops, and school programs as well as recreational and volunteer opportunities. Our tour will be led by Chris Ferris-Hubbard, Education Director.
Drive 25 minutes to Hildene
Hildene | 12 – 2:00
1005 Hildene Rd, Manchester, VT 05254
Numerous school and camp programs are located on the grounds of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, a 412 acre estate with a stately 24-room Georgian Revival mansion built by Robert Lincoln, the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln. This Manchester, Vermont organization focuses on Land Conservation, Historic Preservation, Sustainability, Civil Civic Discourse. Our tour will focus on their new partnership with Burr and Burton Academy and will be led by Brooke Decker, Dene Farm Manager.