volunteer appreciation party

that's about it for 2009!

we had a volunteer appreciation party at louie's pizza in paonia on october 29th. we had about 20 folks for pizza, beer and conversation. a few guests showed up in costume, there was a missed love-connection, and a general feeling of appreciation for the amazing community we live in (well, speaking for myself).

looking forward to spring 2010!!

seed saving with the 1st graders

On october 28th mark and i visited with the hotchkiss 1st grade classes for a seed saving activity.

i wish that brought the camera!

after reading a book about farming and food to the kids, they jumped right into it. mark explained the importance and details (on a 1st grade level) of seed saving. we brought in the very sticky, and somewhat green tail-end of the tomato harvest for the seed. the kids were delighted to get their hands dirty squishing the the fruit into a half gallon jar that will stay in their classroom for about two weeks until we come back for straining and drying.

garnet mesa field trip!

On october 21st we hosted 100 kindergartners at 2 local farms to learn about food and farming! it was a beautiful day; the weather was perfect, the students were wonderful, and our community educators were brilliant! I couldn't have asked for a better day.

well, except for that school bus getting lost.

we worked with a new farm that offered different educational opportunities for the kids. this farm grows grain for milling, feed and sprouting (among many, many other things).

it was wonderful to see the children watch the transformation of the whole grain milled into fluffy flour that makes the bread that we eat everyday.

another one of life's mysteries revealed.

education stations included: grain milling, apple cider press, carrot harvesting, farm animal visit, compost investigation, goat milking, chicken coop visit, apple tasting and apple art.

i'd like to thank:

zephyros farm and garden

lamborn farm

don, daphne, siwar, karina, adam, mark, elaine, illene, adam, cris, josh, andrew, asha, danielle, webb, greg, addie, and barb.

mountain harvest festival 2009

last weekend was the north fork valley mountain harvest festival. check out: mountainharvestfestival.com

an incredible celebration showcasing the bounty of our region during the most wonderful time of the year! the kampe foundation and the hotchkiss high school national honor society hosted the kids' area for its second year. on saturday and sunday from noon to 5 pm we offered crafts and activities to our community youth-- for free! it was a fun weekend, and the weather was perfect.

i want to thank all of the national honor society students for the dedication and enthusiasm that made last weekend such a success.

tomatoes for all!

last week mark and i visited the 2nd graders at the K-8 in hotchkiss. we brought just a small sample of the tomatoes that they planted last spring as 1st graders. over the course of a year the students were able to take part in the cycle of the season and planting. in the fall of 2008, the students visited thistle whistle farm and collected tomato seed (a very fun & messy process). they squished dozens of tomatoes over a gallon jar to collect all the seeds and juices they could. they took the jar back with them to their classroom and let it stand (and rot!) for about 10 days. mark & i came back to visit the class to show them how to strain, clean and dry the seed. in april of 2009 we came back to the classroom with soil, pots and couple of watering cans. the students arrived with their seed that they saved all winter long. they planted and seed and raised them for about 6 weeks in their school greenhouse. in may 2009, the class came to the farm with their seedlings ready to plant in the farm's food bank plot. mark and several volunteers from our community tended the plants for the growing season. finally, last week we shared the harvest with the students back at school in their 2nd grade classroom. they were enthusiastic about seeing, touching and tasting the amazing variety of heirloom tomatoes that they took part in raising, full circle, last thursday.

summer science camp

Thistle Whistle Farm and The Kampe Foundation have been hosting the NFCMS summer science camp on tuesday afternoons. the farm is a great place for applied science experiments, exploring and making new friends (animal, vegetable and mineral-types)! this was our first class in the new classroom. last week we had a basic introduction to the farm, started and decorated our science journals, and made some time to study atoms & molecules! the students had the opportunity to milk goats, then experiment with the molecular structure of the goat milk using food color and a few other ingredients. The students are getting great exposure to the diversity of the plant world. Mark grows so many interesting plants on his farm! 

classroom complete!

just a short post of some pictures of our completed yurt classroom! everyone has responded so positively to this beautiful classroom space. we are very grateful to be working with the wonderful folks at Thistle Whistle Farm!

our farm classroom

we may finish up our on-farm classroom this week. we've been working on this one for months, thru the busiest time of the year in farming. mark, adam, kevin, megan, adam and ana have been chipping away at it and i think i see a completion point. i imagine we'll be continuously improving the site with educational additions (a bee hive will be one of the first!). i have a lot of hopes for this little 20' yurt-classroom!! our first class will be coming this tuesday-- here we go!

spring biodome finale

our last spring class with the montessori 2nd/3rd graders was a lot of fun. after tending to the raised bed gardens for weeks, we got to reap our rewards. we had salads!! we broke into teams- we had harvesters, washers, sorters and identifiers! the students enjoyed salads that included an all lettuce mix, arugula, radishes, sugar snap peas and some nasturtium. the kids loved it.  thank you mark & kevin for all of your help this season!

ecology day!

on may 1 the kampe foundation joined with US forest service and the colorado department of  wildlife to host the hotchkiss K8 3rd graders in an ecology day fair. we looked at food webs through the eyes of a consumer (humans!). students participated in a food wed sorting game, we went through many human food options that we find on the shelf at the grocery store (beans, crackers, chicken, mushrooms). we sorted all these foods into trophic levels. we got their wheels turning!

what good is compost?

we finalized two of our 6 week growing experiments in the biodome last week. the nfcms 2nd/3rd graders got a hands on lesson on the value of compost. earlier this spring the students amended half of a  4x10 raised bed, ran a ribbon down the center, and planted identical crops in each side. time, sunshine and water were some of the ingredients that helped reveal what turned out to be a important lesson in the value of compost. there were obvious differences, and the students measured, counted and took in more subjective information on the differences between the two beds. during the final check-in on the compost bags it was evident that our native soils compost much slower than store bought potting soil. the students had a great time trying to identify the items (apple cores, tissue, bread, leaves, nails, among other things) they put into the bags earlier this spring.  the students are very observant!

yurt classroom project

earlier this spring the kampe foundation and thistle whistle farm started a classroom project. for the past 3 years we have been doing field trips to farms all over the valley. we always have fun and learn something new on these trips! one lesson we learned early on is that it's nice to have shelter. a place where students can gather; out of the wind, rain or blistering heat to focus on that days lessons. not in the unsuspecting but generous farmer's greenhouse, garage or living room- but real dedicated classroom space. we are making some good headway, with the deck complete, and yurt delivered and in pile waiting to be assembled. we are waiting on the arrival of a new compression ring- then it's a matter of a scheduled day, some instruction, and grit. i hope to have it up... soon. before summer science camp begins! thank you mark, adam, kevin, megan, the other adam and graham (for entertainment). i look forward to the days ahead - sheltered from  the elements (if we choose). here is picture of our deck in progress.

paonia junior high

this week we worked with the paonia junior high 8th graders. it's been nearly a year since we first started meeting with administration & community members. our goal is to enhance their  science and nutrition curriculum with farm/garden-based educational experiences. yesterday the 8th graders and 5 dedicated adults came together to build two raised beds on campus. we hope to get the site seeded, and a commitment to maintain the bed through the summer (that's where  the rubber meets the road with these projects).  i am pleased that we got the beds in, this could be the beginning of a wonderful relationship! thank you kampe foundation for rounding up the materials and wcfac for your help.

spring break

last week was a busy one. 

we hosted the montessori 1st graders at zephyros farm and garden on thursday morning. activities included, crafts with farm grown dried flowers, worm discovery station, lamb petting and onion planting. the giant worm bin was a hit! they must have several hundred pounds of worms and castings....

amazing!

later that day we hosted the 5th & 6th graders at the hotchkiss high school biodome. we discussed basic biodome design and layout, introduced the students to our worm bin, and the future plans for the dome. 

on friday we visited the hotchkiss K8 1st grade classes for our tomato project. the students went out to thistle whistle farm last fall to collect a sample (a very large sample) of a variety of heirloom tomato seeds. we planted those very seeds last week. mark waltermire, one of the finest farmers in our valley has been instrumental in this successful project. later in may the students will go out to his farm to transplant the tomato starts, the fruit produced by these plants will be donated to area food banks. thank you to kevin and danielle for your help that afternoon.

i met with the women that run the youth garden project in moab last tuesday. it is an inspiring program that i hope to replicate somehow, sometime, somewhere...

more on that later.

april 8th

For the past 3 weeks we've been working in the biodome at hotchkiss high school with the north fork community montessori 2nd and 3rd graders. we have been busy! so far we have built a worm bin, seeded one of the raised beds, and started a compost experiment. the worms (1000s of red wrigglers) were donated by the fine folks at zephyros farm and garden in paonia. a big thank you to don & daphne. the compost bags are decomposing nicely, and the seed germinating...

what shall we do tomorrow?