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School & Youth Programs | Community Learning Series

The School Programs are unique opportunities for elementary, middle and high school students to visit the farm and learn principles and practices of sustainable agriculture and ecological resource management. Our intention is to have a lasting impact on public awareness and so our educational philosophy is to provide an intense educational experience for a smaller number of students rather than a superficial experience for a larger number.

We have hosted field trips from schools, colleges, churches and home schooling groups. A few home schoolers have included regular work sessions at Maysie's Farm in their self-designed curricula. Students from the "environmental houses" at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges show their support of our mission by volunteering on the farm.

During the summer we offer one-day workshops for school-aged children called "Down to Earth Gardening." The children experience the growing of food by preparing soil, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, caring for crops and harvesting the vegetables from which they make their lunch. The children go home with an understanding of the realtionship between healthy soil and healthy food and a heightened appreciation of the natural world.

Our programs help area schools provide students with experiences that meet the recently created agricultural component of the Pennsylvania Department of Education's science curriculum. The state requires standards of competence at fourth, seventh, tenth and twelfth grade levels on agricultural systems, food production and the ecological impact of agriculture. Because many teachers are unfamiliar with agriculture, we have scheduled a series of on-farm teacher training workshops this summer. Through hand-on activities that they can adapt to their school environments, teachers will be exposed to topics such as soil health, integrated pest management and the differences between organic and conventional farming.

The overall outcome of the School Programs is that students come to understand the reality of "where their food comes from" and the impact that their lifestyle decisions can have on the ecological health of the earth. Additionally, a valuable lesson learned is that hard work can be fun.

Children' s Cooking Camps at Maysie's Farm! Maysie's Farm is happy to present Children's Cooking Camps again this year! This is a special opportunity for children to come together to learn where their food comes from, expand their taste buds and make proper choices when learning to nourish themselves. During the weeklong hands-on program, each child will learn how food grows. They will be given the opportunity to seed, transplant, harvest and prepare healthy, seasonallyl inspired dishes. Kitchen safety, cooking techniques, and introduction to international cuisines are all part of the curriculum! Each week's curriculum is tailored to the ability of the different age groups. You will find the camp schedule below. Upon registration, parents will recieve a form to fill out regarding any allergies, food restrictions, or other needs. We are very willing to accomodate any requests for special diets! And, all picky eaters are welcome!! Please share the information with all parents! WEEK 1: July 11th- July 15th 9am- 1 pm 6-9 year olds CSA price $225 per child Non member price $250 WEEK 2: July 18-July 22nd 9am- 2 pm 10-12 year olds CSA price- $250 Non member price $275 WEEK 3: July 25th - July 29th 9 am- 2pm 13- 17 year olds CSA price: $250 Non member price $275

The Community Learning Series is a program of educational and entertaining presentations on local and global issues pertaining to conservation, agriculture, and healthy lifestyles. Experts on the topics lead the discussions and the programs are free to the public. Last Fall's series of lectures were held at West Chester University and addressed topics including community gardens, natural lawncare and school gardens. We also co-sponsored an appearance at West Chester University by Dr. Wangari Maathai, international environmental activist and Visiting Fellow for Conservation at Yale University.

We have begun our on-farm workshops with a family gardening program, "Growing Families, Growing Gardens," where we prepare parents and children to build a garden together at home. We plan to expand the series in the coming months to include workshops on other topics of practical interest to our CSA members and the public.