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.
Learning by doing – and tasting – is a key tenet of our educational programming at Wolfe’s Neck Center. Last Friday, we welcomed a group of Gorham High School students to our 600-acre campus where students and their teachers visited the organic dairy and used our professional kitchen to make cheese with milk from our herd of Jersey and Holstein cows. They also learned about regenerative agriculture practices that create healthier ecosystems, increase farm resiliency – and produce delicious food.
Through our Regenerative Agriculture and Maine Ecosystems field trip programs, Wolfe’s Neck Center provides elementary, middle, and high school students with hands-on experiential learning focused on agriculture, ecosystems, and the climate. Thanks to philanthropic support, we are able to offer this programming at low to no cost, helping to overcome the geographic and financial barriers that limit access to powerful experiences that can change how youth think about living and learning outside.
“Many students don’t have the chance to participate in outdoor education,” says Michael Messina, Visitor Programs Manager and lead educator for many of these field trips, part of our Visitor Education and Experience program area. “Because of Wolfe’s Neck Center, they get to.”
Improving access to farm-based experiential education about food and the environment is what brings staff like Messina to work every day. Past field trips have focused on climate change and agriculture, dairy production, forest and ocean ecosystems, soil health, livestock care, and more. Wolfe’s Neck Center’s Education Team works directly with teachers at participating schools to collaborate on the campus experience and provide materials to integrate the trip into school curricula, making for an ongoing learning experience.
An upcoming trip will introduce 50 kindergarteners to Maine’s forest and ocean ecosystems. “These experiences are a great way for young people to learn about agriculture and food and get their hands dirty in the process,” says Messina. “It helps make that connection between farms, the environment, and the food we eat.” And that connection, once made, may inspire tomorrow’s food leaders to create systems that are sustainable, resilient, and productive.
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