Through their experiences in the Landed Learning School Year Program elementary-aged participants and their adult mentors experience learning through the seasons with the garden as co-teacher. They make all their own choices to steward their garden plot, often breaking through fears and self–doubt to find new strengths and interests. As participants engage together in the full cycle of planning, planting, tending, harvesting, cooking, and eating food they build a strong connection with the natural world, learn to enjoy the taste of healthy food, and develop an intergenerational and community-based, ethic of care for the Earth.
FARM VISIT 1: LAND, FOOD, AND COMMUNITY (LATE SEPTEMBER/EARLY OCTOBER)
- Meet and get to know your Farm Friend group and the garden
- Harvest, prepare, share, and clean up a harvest salad
- Use your senses to observe and identify the plants in your garden.
FARM VISIT 2: NATURE’S CYCLES (OCTOBER)
- Remove and compost dead plants.
- Observe patterns of nature as they relate to plant lifecycles and nutrient cycles
- Identify and save healthy, mature seeds.
FARM VISIT 3: ORGANICS, HEALTHY SOIL (LATE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER)
- Observe invertebrates and practice organic pest management by creating a wireworm trap.
- Identify over-wintering and non-over-wintering plants.
- Plant cover crops and add mulch to protect the soil over the rainy winter.
FARM VISIT 4: WINTER IN THE GARDEN (JANUARY)
- Harvest, process, and preserve crops for winter eating
- Identify local crops that can be eaten throughout the winter
- Observe changes in the winter garden and prepare the garden soil for spring planting
FARM VISIT 5: PLANNING TO PLANT (FEBRUARY)
- Use seed catalogs as reference material to select plant varieties for seasonal planting.
- Create a garden plan (map) for your garden that will with spring, summer, and autumn crops.
- Select seeds that will need to be planted at the next visit.
FARM VISIT 6: PROPAGATION AND GERMINATION (MARCH)
- Make biodegradable paper pots.
- Start seedlings in the greenhouse that will be transplanted in the garden.
- Practice proper seeding technique (re: spacing, depth, soil compaction, and water).
FARM VISIT 7: SUPPORTING SEEDLINGS (APRIL)
- Use organic practices to identify and remove weeds by hand
- Weave sticks to build a sturdy bean or pea trellis
- Transplant seedlings into the garden, providing space and nutrients for them to grow.
FARM VISIT 8: PLANT GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION (APRIL)
- Carefully thin plants to provide plants room to grow and access nutrients.
- Observation and assess garden health.
- Identify and manage garden competitors.
FARM VISIT 9: IRRIGATION-WATER CARRIES NUTRIENTS (LATE APRIL/EARLY MAY)
- Create a compost tea to add nutrients to the garden.
- Practice watering soil evenly and deeply.
- Explore our irrigation systems.
FARM VISIT 10: POLLINATION (MAY)
- Children observe and learn from a productive colony of honey bees, break through their fear of bees, and learn to value and respect native and non-native pollinators
- Observe and identify parts of flowers.
- Take a hive tour to view honeybees and their home up close.
FARM VISIT 11: HUMAN NUTRITION (LATE MAY/JUNE)
- Identify and harvest a variety of plant parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds).
- Harvest, wash, and prepare seasonal crops.
FARM VISIT 12: HARVEST CELEBRATION (JUNE)
- Harvest crops to share and bring home.
- Give and receive thanks and appreciation.
- Celebrate a year of learning and growing together.
Landed Learning offers children the opportunity to gain unique experiences to learn on a working farm.
- Children gain hands on experience with farm animals and understand how they contribute to the farm’s ecosystem
- Children meet real farmers and learn proper agricultural techniques
- Children observe and learn from a productive colony of honey bees, break through their fear of bees, and learn to value and respect native and non-native pollinators