This blog is part of our series of Wolfe’s Neck Center Stories, focusing on the people and the programs that drive our work for farmer viability, thriving ecosystems, and vibrant communities.
This November, the team behind our Visitor Education & Experience program area at Wolfe’s Neck Center hosted a first-of-its-kind Summer Farm Camp Operators Gathering in partnership with the Farm-Based Education Network (FBEN). This conference, attended by 36 leaders in the space from 7 Northeast states, was focused on sharing solutions to the practical challenges of creating transformative, farm-based summer experiences for youth.
The FBEN is a free network, administered by Shelburne Farms, with the goal of strengthening and supporting farmers, educators, and others who are providing farm-based experiences. One of their most well-known learning opportunities is the ABCs of Farm-Based Education Program. Our collaboration with the FBEN has grown over the last 3 years, and includes co-facilitating workshops and farm-based professional development opportunities that connect educators and share resources. Just this fall, our team traveled to Connecticut to co-facilitate a two-day gathering of educators, using a deeply collaborative and conversational learning structure to dive into programs and curricula in the state.
The recent Summer Farm Camp Operators Gathering is the third time we’ve joined FBEN to co-facilitate a gathering at our campus in Freeport, but it’s also more specialized than anything we’ve done before. This offering grew out of discussion within the FBEN about filling a professional development and resource-sharing gap experienced by summer camp staff throughout the Network, including our Camp team at Wolfe’s Neck Center.
Farm-based education training that covers pedagogy, philosophy and curriculum rarely gets into the “nitty-gritty” of day-to-day sumer camp operations, says Wolfe’s Neck Center Farm Camp Manager Katie Wiliams. “The goal of this event was to create and participate in a space that’s been missing in my professional development.” With that focus, “everything will be helpful and applicable.”
Some of the topics covered in the daylong session included:
- Profit vs. nonprofit structure
- Animal safety and biosecurity
- Hiring, recruiting, and staff training
“Our camp has been integrated with farming operations at Wolfe’s Neck Center for more than 25 years,” says Williams. This predates the mid-2000s boom of farm camps. “Because that has been successful for so long, our peers are starting to look to us for solutions to problems they are facing now that we tackled 15 years ago.” Wolfe’s Neck Center staff are excited to work alongside the FBEN to co-create opportunities that allow for a rich exchange of knowledge between the many incredible farm-based camps out there, whether they are established or just starting.
Williams is excited that Wolfe’s Neck Center is becoming a destination for farm camp leaders as well as farm campers. “It feels wild and special that people trust us and our program so much that they want to come and learn from us and with us.” Wolfe’s Neck Center is grateful to the FBEN for their continued collaboration and willingness to take our idea and help make it a reality for camp professionals region-wide.
Visit our website to learn more about Farm Camp and our other educational programs.
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