2012 was another great year of partnering and growing with local farms to provide free educational opportunities to the public in our region.
The Kids on Farms program reached over 450 school children in Delta County this year through classroom and on-farm lessons. Educational activities ranged from soil building to service-based learning. Students enjoyed a breath of experiences from mulching carrots in fall to nuzzling spring kids (goats that is!).
Families on the Farm program engaged 12 families over the course of the growing season. Families gained valuable experience and knowledge during our 12 session program hosted at Thistle Whistle Farm. Parents took part in our custom on-farm nutrition and culinary program, while our interns kept the children smiling with farm, food and nature based games and lessons in the garden. Each family took home a bountiful bag of fresh organic produce every session.
Sauce Plot is in its third year at Thistle Whistle Farm and every year it seems to get a little better. We had a great group of dedicated kids this season. It is hard to describe all of what we accomplished over the season, but we certainly grew our quota of tomatoes and basil for the food bank and Kids Pasta Project. We had very few horn worms, tons of mosquitoes and some beautiful sweet corn. Another highlight was early season strawberries & late season ‘drip-drip-splash’. Tomato trellising is always sort of a pain and gets ahead of us. The pictures to follow while give you a better idea of the success of this fun program.
We made some investments in farm infrastructure – a new 70 x 30 shade structure and a new-to-us greenhouse, the dimensions I do not know- but there is plenty of space. So much it is sort overwhelming! Mark makes jokes about a fig tree and string quartette, but…
I think we will stick with peppers, greens and herbs!
I’d like to say thank you to all of volunteers, interns and farmers. The Kampe Foundation could not be what it is without your commitment and enthusiasm.
