Welcome to the Farm Blog

Below you'll find frequent postings and photos of the latest goings-on in the barn, gardens, and greenhouse at North Country School and Camp Treetops.

"Home-grown" materials about NCS/Treetops practices include:
      NCS place-based curriculum samples (in PDF, 1.3 MB)

      Farm and garden articles in Organic Roots:
           New! Spring/Summer 2010
           Winter 2010

      Photo Albums:
           New! Spring on the Farm
           New! Senior and Junior Drill Team Performances
           Horse Grooming Contest
           Barn Chores, Sheep Shearing & Kindergarten Tour
           Barn & Animals
           Gardens & Greenhouse
           Potato Harvest, Fall 2009
           Wool carding, Fall 2009    

In addition, check out our Resources page for websites, books, and articles about related farm and garden programming and other information.

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FARM BLOG by Kat Tholen

July in the Garden
July 21, 2010

It’s hard to believe it’s already mid-July and that we’re well on our way toward the inevitable end of summer.  When you spend so many months looking forward to the time when you can harvest and eat fresh vegetables, you want it to last as long as possible. Our growing season is so short here it requires meticulous planning just to grow things that might seem simple to many. Starting in late March, Mike and the farm staff are out at all hours of the day and night trying to keep our greenhouse warm enough for the seedlings to survive. And even when it’s time to plant out in June, you never know when the weather might turn on you. We have been known to encounter frost during any month of the year, and visitors in the summer may still see campers wearing winter hats and fleeces on their way to barn chores. There are evenings in summer when the temperature drops into the 30s, and we have to pull out the row covers to blanket the most cold-sensitive crops. 

And so when the garden really gets hopping this time of year, it feels truly magical to behold something as basic as a zucchini or tomato peeking out from under a mass of green leaves. It’s hard to restrain yourself from doing a little ecstatic dance at the sheer beauty of the annual flower garden, with every color of the rainbow represented there. Sure, it’s frustrating at times to battle the elements on what feels like a monumental scale, and it does make me wonder if gardening here is a crazy endeavor. But when we finally hit mid-July, and I see campers munching on fresh sugar snap peas, I realize once again that all of the extra effort is worth it. We are not crazy, just more hardcore than most.  

  

The Little Red Hen
July 8, 2010

Our farm not only thrives on the concept of community involvement, but without it, there would be no farm. A task like planting or harvesting 5,000 pounds of potatoes would barely be possible with only one or two people. Yet pull together a hundred or more students, campers, and staff, and this work can be accomplished quite easily in a few hours time. Even daily barn and garden chores rely on the help of dozens of children; without them, the work can drag on for hours. 

We do our best at NCS/Treetops to instill in children the idea that you must participate in the process in order to enjoy the end product— just as in the folktale of the Little Red Hen. In the story, the animals learn that they’ve got to do the threshing, milling, and baking in order eventually to eat the delicious bread. Here that may translate to weeding the garden, mucking a stall, or clearing trails on campus in order to eat fresh vegetables, ride the horse, or ski on the ski hill. In contrast to the experience of other children out there, our campers and students are regularly involved in meaningful work that brings wonderful rewards of good food and enjoyable recreation.

They generally rise to the occasion, because they know that splitting and stacking wood in July means delicious maple syrup on the table next summer at camp.  A carrot patch weeded one week means crisp, fresh carrots on the table the next week in the dining room. And regardless of the outcome, the work can actually be fun when you're all in it together.  

Each week during the summer, the Junior and Senior Camp communities pull together for a morning of work. On Monday, Senior campers and counselors swung axes and ran the wood splitter to fill the woodshed for maple sugaring next spring. And today Junior Campers dragged brush through the pine forest to continue cleaning up from the winter’s devastating windstorms. As Mike said in his announcement this morning to the Junior Campers, the math is simple: 100 people in Junior Camp can do in 1 hour what would take 1 person 100 hours to do. That's an awesome reality. 

New Farm Interns
June 21, 2010

As we await the arrival of Treetops campers this coming Sunday, our gardens are growing, the animals have headed out to spend the summer on pasture, and we have welcomed three fabulous new interns to the farm staff: Monica Foley, Ellie Brown, and Michael Perry.  

Monica will be with us for a year and has most recently been living in North Carolina, where she worked as a farm apprentice at Genesis Farm. A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a BS in Environmental Science, Monica has prior experience with farm-based education through the SEEDS program in Durham, North Carolina, educating 1^st-5^th graders about nature, gardening, and nutrition. Monica also worked at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens as an arboretum intern, studied abroad in Kenya, and biked across the country as part of the “Ride for World Health.” 

A student at St. Lawrence University, Ellie Brown is here with us for the summer. She is eager to learn all she can about gardening and raising livestock and is particularly excited about sharing the experience with children on the farm. Ellie grew up right down the road in Keene, NY, and has a good sense of what the Adirondacks have to offer in the way of bugs, unpredictable weather, and tough growing conditions. She spent two weeks this winter apprenticing with Donna Foley to take in what she could about spinning, dyeing, and weaving wool. At St. Lawrence, Ellie is involved in an organization called Lettuce Turnip the Beet that focuses on issues of sustainable food practices. 

Michael Perry is also here for the summer, and just completed his third year at SUNY Potsdam, where he is majoring in Environmental Studies. Hoping to run a diversified farm after he finishes school, Mike spent his past two summers working on farms to learn as much as he can about agriculture. Mike is excited about the educational component of the NCS/Treetops farm, because he intends to incorporate community education and outreach into his own operation someday. He's had experience working with young people of varying ages, with groups such as the North Country Adolescent Outreach and the Wilderness Education program at SUNY Potsdam.

Think Like a Horse
May 17, 2010

Riding season is finally in full swing, and after many snowy months of time-off for horses and students alike, everyone is eager to be back in action. Our horses get a lot of attention throughout the winter during barn chores, but they truly miss the regular exercise and training of the riding season. Similar to humans, horses can get bored with too much free time and then turn their extra energy into negative behavior. They benefit from a consistent schedule and constant reminders about proper horse behavior.

So now that it’s finally spring (without snow, that is), we have a Junior and Senior Drill Team that practice regularly, as well a large group of students who ride as often as they can. During Drill Team practice recently, I spent some time explaining our riding program to a visitor. It was reassuring to me to be able to watch six students riding confidently around the ring as I talked, essentially demonstrating what I was describing as the goals of our riding program.

We do our best to teach our students and campers to respect these large animals and to communicate with them effectively. Whether in the stall or in the ring, it is essential for each child to form a partnership with the horse she is working with and to understand the language of horses. Through hands-on demonstration and instruction, we teach children about a horse’s instincts and how to think from a horse’s point of view.  For example, it is important for children to know that horses are herd animals, and if faced with danger, their instinct is to flee, not fight. Things like bikes and tractors can be scary, and a horse may choose to turn and run when it meets an obstacle like this on campus.

Like all horse herds, our twelve animals have an established pecking order within the herd. Our horses therefore need to know that humans are at the top of the pecking order, not part of the herd, and that they must respect us and respond to us differently than they do to the other horses. And at the same time, our job as humans is to explain to our horses what we would like to happen in a clear and respectful way—by asking first, then telling if necessary. 

Once a child understands these important aspects of horse life, then he or she can work effectively with our horses in their stalls, on the ground, and while riding. If a child leaves school or camp simply having mastered steering a horse in a circle at a walk, using effective aids to achieve this, then we have succeeded. Some of our students and campers will progress to cantering, jumping, and extensive trail riding, both here and elsewhere, which is indeed commendable. But when I hear a child explaining to a visitor, “When we want to trot, we always ask our horses first with our voice, and if they don't respond, then we can give a gentle squeeze with our legs and say it again," I know that on one level we have succeeded. 

One of my favorite horse books for planning riding lessons has always been Centered Riding by Sally Swift.  It is filled with imagery to help kids learn to use their bodies and communicate with horses so that they begin thinking like a true "horseperson" instead of a "horse" and "person."

How Green is Green?
April 20, 2010

Jess Wegrzyn and I just returned from the Green Schools Alliance "Visioning the Future" Conference and Resource Fair in New York City. Teachers, students, administrators, urban farmers, and green companies from the local region attended the event. The day included informational workshops and keynote speakers such as actor Matthew Modine, urban farmer and teacher Steve Ritz, and Jaimie Cloud of the Cloud Institute.

I left the city deep in thought and eager to get back to what I believe is one of the most wonderful places in the world to work and live. North Country School and Camp Treetops have always valued the idea of sustainability education, long before the term sustainability came on the scene in 1987. We have been growing food, composting, and teaching children to become stewards of the earth since the 1920s, much as we have been implementing place-based education without even thinking about it. And with all of the new construction and institutional greening efforts taking place on campus, we are clearly at a pivotal time. 

As Jaimie Cloud pointed out at the conference, when it comes to teaching about sustainability, "it is not the lack of education that is a problem, it’s education itself." Jaimie reminded us that traditional education and passive learners are not what's needed to prepare today’s children for what the future will bring; we need to teach students how to be active learners, to be creative, to solve problems and be adaptable. While most schools are not necessarily designing curriculum through the lens of sustainable thinking, this is one thing that most of us at North Country School and Camp Treetops do instinctively because of our shared beliefs and environmental concerns. That said, we can always push to be even “greener” by scrutinizing everything we do here, from our farming practices to our facilities, curriculum, and programming. We have the opportunity to make gigantic leaps in terms of being at the forefront of educating for sustainability, and we need to move on it.  

On the flipside, it was absolutely mind-blowing to learn more about what city residents are doing with little or no land at all. In places like the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district in all of America, people like Steve Ritz are changing the face of urban farming by engaging local youth in the growing process. On about four acres of land, Steve works with kids of all ages to produce thousands of pounds of organic vegetables that are then sold to soup kitchens. Steve’s program keeps kids in school and out of trouble by giving them incentive to work and make money, exciting them about healthy eating, and providing an opportunity to benefit others—a process for kids that Steve calls going from "crack to cucumbers." This is an amazing example of someone doing everything he can to make a positive impact in the local community. Again, the idea is to do the best you can with what you’ve got.

By the way, the red shoot in the photo above is a peony just pushing out from under the straw mulch in Helen Haskell's peony garden by Farmhouse. Peonies can live for up to a hundred years. 

FYI- We will be hosting a community screening on May 21 of the brand new documentary film, What’s On Your Plate?, as well as a panel of local chefs and farmers. Stay tuned for much more to come….

Some things you need to check out:

Steve Ritz's Urban Farming in the Bronx: 8-minute video clip

Smart By Nature: Schooling For Sustainability: book by Michael K. Stone

DIRT! The Movie

Spring Farm News
April 2, 2010

We have a new face on the farm this spring. Her name is Mowie Freeman, and she is a semester intern. Mowie has most recently been living and working at the Pendle Hill Community in Pennsylvania. Mowie is eager to learn more about farming, and came here to pursue her interest in agriculture and community living before heading to Hampshire College in the fall. She picked the perfect season for it; in her first few days on the job, Mowie has planted seedlings, collected sap and boiled maple syrup, picked up our six new piglets, and was here for the first lambs that were born.

Emily, Laura, Mowie, and Mike have been hard at work getting our accommodations up to par for all of the new additions to our barnyard. Mike had long predicted that our first ewe would give birth on Tuesday, and sure enough by that evening one had given birth to adorable, toffee-colored triplets. We still have nine pregnant ewes, which could easily mean 20 more lambs within the next few weeks. Chicks will be here on Monday, with turkeys arriving shortly after. Our piglets are awaiting snowmelt before moving outside onto pasture for the rest of the spring and summer. 

The greenhouse is up and running, with flower seedlings, peppers, eggplant, and onions sprouting. As soon as the garden emerges from under the remaining snow, we will be preparing perennial beds for all of the new raspberry canes, asparagus stalks, and rhubarb plants. With temperatures predicted to be 80˚F by the weekend, sugaring may very well be nearing an end. Meanwhile the horses are shedding their wooly coats, and we are eagerly looking forward to the time when we can ride them again. After a long winter, spring is an exciting time here on the farm. We’ll keep you posted on our progress!

 
Farm-Based Intersession Courses
March 8, 2010

This past week was Intersession here at school, which is a time when students take a break from their regular academic classes to participate in full or half-day courses offered by faculty members and guests. It's a chance for students to try something brand new or to pursue a specific interest and a time for adults to share some of their talents and passions or to take on various intensive projects. This year we offered four farm-related Intersession courses—definitely a record!

The students in Mike and Tiffany’s “Sweet Spring Fever” Intersession course spent the week preparing for sugaring season. This meant cleaning up the sugar house, tapping maple trees, and hanging over 450 buckets in our sugarbush.  The group finished tapping on Wednesday, which was perfect timing because suddenly sugaring weather is here. As the students took turns drilling holes and hammering spiles into the maple trees, the sap immediately began to drip. This was incredibly rewarding for the kids, and it was hard for them to refrain from drinking it straight from the tree.  Other highlights of the week were a tour of the South Meadow Farm sugaring operation across the road and hanging the beautiful new hand-made maple leaf sign on our sugarhouse. 

Emily and Katie led a full-day course called “The Happy Homesteader.” The girls in their group learned how to make paper and books, sew pillows and stuffed animals, churn butter, make mozzarella cheese, bread, and even soap. They also took a field trip to local Rivermead Farm in Keene Valley for a tour from farmer Rob Hastings  Meanwhile Laura and Martha’s “Rugrats” group was hard at work carding colorful wool so that each student could felt his or her own rug. The students first came up with designs, then helped each other felt large, circular rugs using an old wading pool as a felting surface. At the end of the week, each had a gorgeous final product to take home and display.  

Bryan and Mike Smith worked with another group of students to design and construct two mobile chicken houses for the meat birds that we will have on pasture this summer. For those not familiar with our farm, we need these structures because during the summer we move all of our animals, including our chickens, out of the barnyard and rotate them among various pastures for grazing. Students in this group learned all kinds of carpentry skills while helping to complete a useful farm project. 

Farm-Based ESL Classes
February 22, 2010

I wanted to let everyone know about the amazing farm-based projects that two of Hannah's ESL (English as a Second Language) classes are working on right now. The 7^th grade ESL class is on a mission to find out where our produce comes from. Their journey began in our root cellar a few weeks ago, with an attempt to take inventory of all the fruits and vegetables stored in the boxes there. Students wrote down the name of each item and then guessed where it was originally grown.  

This initial activity led to an engaging discussion about such things as whether we can grow bananas in the Adirondacks, if we could possibly store our own garden carrots until February, and how DID the oranges get here?  The students are working to find answers to these and other questions about many of the kinds of vegetables we grow in our gardens. They are presenting the results of their research in beautifully illustrated posters that convey information about each species' place of origin, ideal growing conditions, nutritional value, ways of preparing, and typical use here at NCS and Treetops.

This farm-based project provides students with a basic understanding of everything from plant growth to geography to horticultural vocabulary. We also hope they will develop a sense of the importance of buying local produce and making sustainable food choices. Eventually the class plans to make a large, colorful map showing where some of our food comes from and how many miles it has traveled. The students aim to pinpoint their home countries of Korea, Mexico, and Russia on the map, and show what grows there.  Hannah also hopes to document the class' work using a flip camera and to make a short movie about the entire project to share with the community.

Two great books that the class is using are the Young Reader’s Edition of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, and What the World Eats, by Faith D’Alusio. There’s also a new documentary called What’s on Your Plate?, about two young girls’ quest to find out where their food comes from, that seems worth checking out.  

Meanwhile, the 8^th grade ESL class is taking on a different type of farm-based learning project. Students started out with a visit to the barnyard, imagining themselves as visitors trying to gather information about the animals who live there. We quickly determined that our barnyard could use some well-designed, interpretive signs about each type of animal for visitors to read. The students are now sifting through relevant farm records with the help of our farm intern, Emily, pouring over farm books, and coming up with poster layouts that include photos, drawings, and information about our animals. 

The second phase of the project includes acting as tour guides for groups of local elementary age children that will visit the farm this spring. At that time, our students will explain their interpretive signs to visitors and engage them in fun, hands-on farm activities. These two ESL classes will be our garden and barnyard experts this spring—an ambitious undertaking, to say the least, for non-native English speakers. Look forward to getting a glimpse of a short, student-made documentary film about our food, as well as some great new animal posters in the barnyard!

From Sheep to Sweater
January 27, 2010

Did you ever wonder how your wool hat or sweater came to be?  Children these days might know that sheep are involved somewhere along the line, but that’s about the extent of it. Our goal at the NCS/Treetops Farm is to involve children in raising sheep and to take the mystery out of their presence here. Our sheep are raised primarily for their wool, and students and campers take part in every step of the process—from feeding and caring for the animals to shearing in the spring and eventually crafting beautiful woolen items.

As with producing their own food, children are empowered by learning the necessary skills to make their own clothing. Only in recent generations  have people begun to rely on luxuries of technology and transportation for many of the commodities needed to survive. It wasn’t so long ago that children would learn how to knit or crochet from a parent or grandparent, but skills like these are no longer seen as important for children in the modern world. Buying a finely knit wool hat at the store is way less labor intensive than making that hat yourself. But creating your own is quite an accomplishment—especially when that included washing and carding the wool, then spinning, dyeing, and knitting it. 

This winter we have introduced a new aspect to our wool program—a series of faculty workshops that meet two nights a week. With sixteen people taking part, we first skirted, washed, and carded our own raw wool using hand and drum carders. Next we dyed the wool using natural and synthetic dyes, and plan to use it for wet felting and needle felting projects. With help from Donna Foley, who teaches fiber arts in Senior Camp, we also are learning to spin wool roving into yarn (for knitting and crocheting) on a variety of spinning wheels.

Also this winter, our art teacher, Martha, and farm intern, Laura, are teaching an arts elective class in handwork wool to 8^th and 9^th graders. The students have tried their hand at wet felting and needle felting, as well as carding and dyeing raw wool. This spring we plan to send out some of our wool to be made into roving and skeins of yarn, but we will also keep plenty of raw wool on hand for felting, dyeing, and other creative uses. You can look forward to NCS/Treetops skeins of yarn for sale in the Campus Store in the near future!

Don Rand and His Zinnias
January 14, 2010

For farmers, this is the time of year when we have a moment to catch our breath before the marathon of sugaring, starting seeds, and birthing begins in just another month or so. It’s a wonderful stretch, because we have the opportunity to sit back and imagine, to dream about all the things we hope to accomplish this spring and summer, after the blanket of snow lifts. As most avid farmers do in January, we have begun jotting down garden plans, lists of equipment to fix or replace, and notes to ourselves about new vegetable varieties we’d like to try.

Mike and I have been leafing through seed catalogs these past few weeks, making weighty decisions such as whether to order the Sugar Sprint snap peas or the Sugar Anns. With such a short growing season, and a community of young vegetable eaters to think of, believe it or not this really is a pressing issue. 

We are lucky enough to have lunch in the dining room with Don Rand almost every day. Don has taught music lessons at NCS for 50 years, and is a lovable and familiar presence here.  Don looks forward to cutting his own bouquets from the annual flower garden every summer, so it is understandable that he is invested in our seed choices this year.  Mike and I talk to him regularly about what varieties we plan to grow in the 400-foot–long annual flower garden.  Don is of course very concerned about whether we’ll have enough color and variety of decent cut flowers "for him."  “You have to have zinnias. A garden isn’t a garden without zinnias!” he reminds us often. We have assured Don that we will grow plenty of cosmos, bachelor’s buttons, snapdragons, sunflowers, AND zinnias this summer.

Mike and I are very excited about the gardens this year. We hope to grow a productive and aesthetically appealing mix of vegetables, flowers, and herbs.  We are working on designs for some new permanent areas—such as a Teaching Garden, Herb Garden, and Children’s Garden—and will be expanding our perennial fruit crops as well. 

Come visit this summer to enjoy the gardens, pick a bouquet, or lend a hand with some garden chores. In the meantime, enjoy the quiet season, and keep dreaming of all the things to do when the blanket of snow is gone. (If you’re wondering, we are ordering the Sunbow Mix of zinnias from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. If you haven’t already, check out  High Mowing Organic Seeds. The company is run by a former classmate of mine, Tom Stearns, and has a great philosophy.

The Honeywagon's Third Life
January 14, 2010

North Country School and Camp Treetops have a unique culture, a certain way that we do things here, and of course a set lingo that we use. Sometimes it takes newcomers months to figure out what things like “BYM,” “out-time,” or “late-late” really mean. These terms stick with folks, and I can guarantee that if you mention the word “Honeywagon” to any NCS/Treetops alumni or former staff member, they will know immediately what you are talking about.  

The Honeywagon is an icon here. Essentially, it's a bucket suspended from a track system on the ceiling of the horse barn that slides along from stall to stall, collecting manure to be dumped on the pile outside. Our Honeywagon dates back to 1907 and was designed by the Louden Company for use in cow barns.    

Back in 2001 when I was the farm manager here, the Honeywagon’s wheels were shot, and it could no longer roll on the rail system. It took four kids to push and pull it along. When my parents came for Christmas that year, my dad took a look and was shocked at what bad shape it was in. My father is a mechanical engineer for a company that manufactures ball bearings, so I was in luck. He immediately began researching and discovered that the Louden conveyor systems had not been manufactured since the 1960s, and there were no suppliers for replacement parts.  

My father spent the next half-year finding wheels that were similar to the originals and working to adapt them to fit our rail system here. He was so intrigued by the Honeywagon and interested in seeing it continue to be used that he donated the cost of the replacement wheels, plus a lot of time and energy to the cause. As soon as the new bearings were installed, the Honeywagon was able to glide smoothly along the tracks again, just as it did 80 years ago.  

Ever since, my father has loved checking up on the Honeywagon whenever he visits, and at Thanksgiving this year he noticed another problem. The release lever to dump the Honeywagon was not functioning properly because a solid steel hinge bracket had broken. Again, my dad immediately took pictures and began sketching a replacement. He went home to New Hampshire and for the past three weeks before his retirement on Dec. 23, poured his energy into fashioning a new bracket for the Honeywagon, using a hunk of steel and a hacksaw.

On Christmas morning, my dad presented Mike with a small, wrapped package. Inside was the brand new replacement bracket. Mike and my father went out to the barn the next day and replaced the part, and the Honeywagon is good as new once again. The Honeywagon’s days easily could have ended in 2001 or again in 2009, but it is my hope that many more NCS and Camp Treetops children will use it for decades to come. Thanks, Dad!   

The Old Barn
December 15, 2009

I had promised myself that the previous entry would be the last before vacation, but the recent storm seems noteworthy enough to write about. Last Wednesday we had a storm come through with hurricane force winds, snow, and sleet. The weather report called for 50 mph winds in the area, but up on the mountain here we witnessed much stronger gales. 

When we turned the horses out in the morning, it was windy. But by 11 am, the winds had picked up so much that we knew it was time to bring them back in. With eyes frozen and covered in ice, the horses were pacing in the pasture trying to find shelter. It was a challenging task to convince scared horses to come inside, and as we were struggling to lead them in, it crossed my mind that maybe we were making a bad decision. Isn’t it usually safer to let horses run around free during a wild storm? Was that a line from a song, or was that really the case? Would the old barn withstand those fierce winds and indeed be the best shelter for our horses?

Believe it or not, that old barn withstood one of the strongest storms to have hit this place in recent history. When the last horse was safely inside, the barn doors began flipping up and bowing wildly, but Mike and Laura acted quickly to save them. They bolted all three sliders in place and screwed a long board to the main door so it would not shatter. Sure, at times the roof rippled up, threatening to come off, and feet of snow filled the entryway, but there was no serious damage to speak of.  And the next day, like so many other occasions in this community, students and adults pitched in to help. They volunteered to sweep off hundreds of bales of hay, shovel out the barns, and put things back in place. The animals are all fine, and the old barn is still standing, proud and tall amid these Adirondack peaks.   

The Place To Be
December 10, 2009

Around December, the darkest and coldest time of the year, most mammals are beginning to hole up and hibernate. Humans have similar instincts, yet most of us still have things to do and places to be. Students are still expected at to be at chores by 7:15 AM, which is tough when your bed is warm, and it’s a half-mile up a dark road to get to the barn. And so Mike and I have been broadcasting loud holiday music during the morning stall mucking and have put up some holiday lights in the barn during the dark afternoon chores. I’m sure that regardless, students would probably still be in good spirits, but it’s been making the work even more fun.   

I am always impressed by the students and campers here when it comes to barn chores. Whether it’s —10 degrees with a nose-biting wind or dumping rain in the middle of summer, the children rarely complain about barn chores. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They slog through snow and mud, staving off their own hunger to care for the animals before they eat their own breakfast. And for the most part, they do their work eagerly, with a smile on their faces. Some repeatedly sign up for barn chores because they enjoy it so much. 

Our students and campers partake in farm work that most children in America have not been involved in for decades. At the turn of the century, there were 5.7 million farms in the U.S., whereas in 2009 there are just over 2 million. Fewer than 1 percent of Americans claim farming as their occupation. It is no secret that most children are distanced from their food sources and may never even visit a farm to see where their food comes from, let alone work on one. 

That’s what I love about this place. At NCS/Camp Treetops, our children are fully involved in farm life. Much like children here did almost 80 years ago, they still scoop grain into tin cans for the horses, muck out the cow’s stall, and collect eggs from the hen house. Most alumni remember barn chores fondly—some even cite it as the best thing about their Camp or School experience. It makes sense—who doesn’t love a place that is full of life, one where you can wrap your arms around a horse’s neck after a hard day and sweep the floors to your heart’s content.

I just read a great article called “Beyond a Garden in Every School”, by Philip Nix, on the Center for Ecoliteracy’s webpage that is a great reminder of the importance of connecting schools with gardens and farms.  Happy Holidays from our farm to you! 

The Sustainable Choice For Class Pet
December 5, 2009

In many ways North Country School is unique from other schools— the institution has its own farm, our students participate in numerous outdoor activities, and they have limited “screen time.”  Our teachers see the benefits of place-based education and authentic curriculum.  As a community, we make educated choices about how we impact our environment, and strive to be good stewards of the earth.

That said, I want to tell you about Level I’s class pets.  At other schools you might hear about a class adopting and caring for a guinea pig, goldfish, or even a turtle.  But here at North Country School, our 4^th and 5^th graders are really excited about their big, brightly painted box of….

Worms.  Seriously.

The Level I students filled me in today on why they chose to pursue vermiculture, which simply means keeping a worm bin.  Think about a pet that is easy to take care of, never makes noise or needs to be let out, and recycles waste into something usable.  The worms eat leftover food scraps from the kitchen (similar to what a vegetarian would eat), and then we turn this compost into nutrient-rich soil.  What better or more sustainable class pet could there be?

Using Mary Appelhof's book, Worms Eat My Garbage, as a guide, the class and their teacher, Katie Culpepper, are figuring out exactly what the worms need to survive.  Students keep track in their “Worm Journals” of how much they feed and water the worms, where they place the food in the worm bin, and what the worms  prefer to eat.  If you’re wondering, carrots and apples are a favorite, but mashed potatoes have not been a hit with the worms. 

As far as science content goes, students are making predictions, forming hypotheses, and recording observations and data about the worms.  When I asked what the students might eventually do with all the great soil the worms are making for them, they talked about starting a Level I garden or planting a tree.  A fifth grader named Kate told me, “I love touching the worms, they feel much nicer than a snake,” and Ciana reported that “it’s fun to feed the worms and to see all the worm babies.” This project is an example of successful farm-based science that students truly enjoy.   Let’s hear it for the Level I worms! 

Homegrown Thanksgiving Lettuce
November 30, 2009

It’s been an incredibly mild fall here in the Adirondacks, which is a bit of a mixed blessing.  For those who have been waiting for snow or questioning imminent climate change, the past few weeks have been nerve-wracking.  But for gardeners trying to push the envelope in terms of extending the harvest season, it has been anything but depressing.  Up until the other day we were still gleaning kale, bok choi, cabbage, and brussel sprouts from the garden, which is usually unheard of in these parts this late in fall.

Mike began scheming a while back about the possibility of growing fresh lettuce for the Thanksgiving meal.  Typically we have our first big snow in October, and the garden is put to bed by then, so I did initially think he might be crazy.  In addition, for those that don’t know the NCS Thanksgiving tradition, this means providing enough greens for 238 guests, which would be no small feat even in the heat of summer!  And so for weeks we’ve been tucking greens underneath row covers on frosty nights, and hoping for enough sun and warmth to keep our lettuce alive until November 24th.
 
How did it all turn out?  Well, we gathered two full harvest bins of delicious, fresh spinach, chard, and baby greens. Jill, Paulette, Lori, and Laura prepared gorgeous salads for every table, and Hock noted in his speech that the NCS/Treetops farm provided potatoes, squash, turkey, AND lettuce for the meal this year.  Maybe it was simply the novelty of eating homegrown lettuce in late November, but I’m sure I overheard more than one person mention that it was one of the tastiest salads they’d ever had.
 
    

Why All the Haflingers?
November 23, 2009

If you’ve visited the NCS/Treetops Farm recently, you’ve noticed that we’re a little heavy on the Haflingers here. Six out of twelve of our herd are Haflingers, so one half of our “horses” are actually short, fat ponies. Yes, that’s right, they are all under 14.2 hands, and every single one is really a pony. Don’t get me wrong, they’re very useful ponies, and there’s a reason we have so many.  

Haflingers are native to Austria and were originally bred for farm and forest work. They are known to be exceptionally strong and hardy, have sound feet and legs, and can handle rugged terrain and extreme mountain temperatures. They require very little food to survive and can work long, hard hours. Not only are they tough little ponies, Haflingers are incredibly docile and perfect for beginning riders. They also live to a ripe old age, and some have been known to be still working at age 40.  Sounds like the perfect pony for life in the Adirondacks, right?   

I may be a bit biased, but Haflingers are also very good looking with their chesnut coloring, white facial markings, and flaxen mane and tail. For those who know draft horses, they resemble miniature Belgians, and work equally as hard. Our students and campers love the Haflingers.  On any given day here, you may hear mention of “Bo” or “Senora”—and how sweet and wonderful they are. We ride our Haflingers under saddle, bareback, on the trail, and in the ring. They make great draft horses as well, and next time you visit, you may even see one harnessed up and pulling a sleigh.  

Two New Additions to the Flock
November 20, 2009

We have two new additions to our sheep flock—their names are Ginger and Sissy, and they are Tunis ewes. We are also hosting a ram named Brownie, who will return to his home in a month or so, when his job is complete.

The reason we chose Tunis is that they are large and hearty, and are both a wool and meat breed.  Modern Tunis sheep originated by combining Middle-Eastern sheep imported from Tunisia, on the Northern coast of Africa, with sheep locally available in America around 1799.  This makes them among the oldest breeds of livestock developed in America!

When the lambs are born this April, we plan to keep quite a few of them so our flock grows larger.  The goal is to have at least 20 sheep, to provide both School and Camp with more wool for the arts programs.  At shearing time, some of the wool will be sent off to be spun and dyed, but a good deal will be kept here for felting, carding, spinning, and dyeing with students and campers.

 

The FBEA Conference
November 16, 2009

 

I recently attended a three-day conference hosted by the Farm Based Education Association in Tarrytown, New York. About 150 teachers, farmers, and administrators attended the conference, and everyone there was in some way connected to an educational farm program. It was eye-opening for me to realize that farming with kids is now a very cool thing to do, and that so many people are trying to hook up schools with local farms. We are so fortunate that we have always had a farm at our school, and have essentially been practicing farm-based education sincethe 1930s. I think our next challenge is to take this a step further and come up with more concrete farm curriculum that is well documented. I was incredibly proud to be representing NCS/Treetops at the conference and had numerous people compliment me on the gorgeous display that Mike made. 

The workshops were fabulous, but the highlight for me was the keynote address by David Sobel. David recently visited NCS and spent time learning about our farm program and the ways our faculty use the farm as a teaching resource. During David’s keynote (click here for video excerpts) he mentioned North Country School as an excellent model of farm-based education, and noted that our teachers are designing authentic, sophisticated farm curriculum. Just this fall, for instance, NCS teachers are doing everything from wormbin lessons to bean plant labs and cabbage pH studies to cost-benefit analyses of raising our own vs. purchasing pork and of using paper vs. cloth napkins. Our teachers know the benefits of place-based education and are constantly coming up with new ideas for using our local resources to enhance their lessons.

Greetings from the farm!  Mike and I are hoping to use this space to keep folks up to date on the happenings of the NCS/Treetops Farm. This year we are happy to have two wonderful interns with us: Emily Holzer (left) and Laura Bill. Emily recently graduated from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, and Laura joins us after working at various environmental education centers, including Frost Valley YMCA and the Berkshire Outdoor Center. We must admit that without Laura and Emily’s help, the farm wouldn’t be running quite as smoothly or look as beautiful as it does now.

On November 9th and 10th, Laura and Emily presented at the Youth Climate Change Summit at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. This was a conference for high school and college students from local schools to learn how to design programs for their institutions with the goal of lowering their carbon footprint. Laura and Emily’s presentation highlighted the NCS/Treetops Farm program, and included tips about the easiest foods to grow, and alternative ideas for composting. It was a great way for our interns to share their knowledge about farming and sustainability with a younger audience.

 Here's what Emily had to say about the conference: "We did not want to overwhelm our audiences by telling them everything that we do, but instead gave them manageable pieces and encouragement to just get started.  The conference was good for us to attend, too! I felt like I gained lots of ideas for promoting change at North Country School from hearing about changes other schools have already made to conserve resources.  Also, having just come from Warren Wilson College, I felt I had relevant information to share with the college students that met together as a group Tuesday afternoon.  Overall, the summit was fun, informative, and encouraging."