Educational Programs
Photo by Will Cleland
Photo by Will Cleland
The talented staff at Four Springs Farm is happy to assist you in developing a custom program that meets the needs of your family or group while camping here on the farm. Here are two sample programs to get your planning started.
Sample Program #1: Custom Farm-tastic Week
Four days and three nights
Vacation with a group of families on a working organic vegetable farm with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Crops will be growing in the garden, the greenhouse may have young seedlings growing, and poultry will be out on pasture. Learn about the fields, farm, and woods environment, help around the farm, discover the mysteries of your “special spot” on the farm, and enjoy getting to know other folks. Four Springs’ farmers, guest naturalists, and neighboring farmers fill the days with fun educational programs and the evenings with relaxing activities.
Program Notes
- Day One
- Arrival, orientation, finding individual “special spots” around the farm
- Dinner at individual campsites
- Evening Activity ideas
- Things That Fly
- Bugs and Butterflies
- Day Two
- Farm chores, followed by breadkfast at individual sites
- Activity Hour ideas
- Exploration of the Gardens and the Creatures that Live There
- Geology and Rocks
- Break for snack, followed by a short work project
- Visit to “special spots”
- Lunch at individual campsites
- Afternoon Activity choices
- Stream exploration and woods walk
- Bethel Granite Quarry visit
- Bread baking
- Individual projects
- Meal preparation and dinner together at the picnic pavilion, with invited guests from the neighborhood and time to share perspectives
- Early to bed
- Day Three
- Dawn Walk ideas
- Watching the Water Flow
- Who Else is Up at this Hour?
- Farm chores, followed by breakfast at individual sites
- Activity Hour, hands-on in the garden suggestions
- Seed to Seed Discovery
- Soil to Salad Discovery
- Break for snack before helping with CSA distribution
- Visit to “special spots”
- Lunch and free time to explore around Vermont
- Evening Campfire
- Dawn Walk ideas
- Day Four
- Farm chores, followed by breakfast together at the picnic pavilion
- Short activity period and mid-morning visit to “special spots”
- Pack up gear
- Farewell Circle and departure around mid-day
Sample Program #2: Three Seasons Program
Two days and nights, three times during the season
This type of special three-visit program could be designed to bring families to the farm in three seasons — spring, summer, and fall — for exciting programs designed to entertain, educate, and energize kids and parents alike. The program schedule might be similar to the sample outlined in the Farm-tastic Week. Participants arrive in the afternoon on the first day and stay through the middle of the third day. Time is spent playing in the fields and the forest, observing the changing of the seasons in the garden, and at the “special spot” each participant chooses their first day on the farm and returns to each visit. Four Springs’ farmers and guest naturalists fill the days with fun educational programs and the evenings with relaxing activities.
Program Notes
- Spring
- Orientation and selection of individual “special spots”
- Art on the Farm featuring an early morning nature walk
- Science Activity ideas
- Seed to Seed, an exploration of plant life cycles
- Geology and Rocks, a brief study of soils, land features and rocks
- Afternoon Outing ideas
- Fat Rooster Farm Visit to meet several kinds of baby animals
- Food Focus: Rhubarb or Salads
- Summer
- Fireflies and hosting of an evening guest naturalist
- Campfire Program with music and song
- Science Activity ideas
- The Water Cycle, from springs to the sea and earth to sky and back
- Insects and Animals, an opportunity for conscious awareness of other living creatures on the farm
- Afternoon Outing ideas
- A swimming trip
- Visit to a local organic dairy farm and cheese making operation
- Food Focus: Baking or Milk and Eggs
- Fall
- Star Gazing and observation of the season’s changes around us
- Farewell Harvest Banquet and the hosting of a second guest naturalist
- Science Activity ideas
- It’s About Eating: the harvest, storing and eating of vegetables
- Birds, from songbirds to raptors
- Afternoon Outing ideas
- Free choice trips around Vermont
- Visit Redrock Christmas Tree Farm
- Food Focus: Salsa or Soup
Staff
Kate Reimanis
Program Director for Four Springs Farm, Campground and Learning Center
Four Springs Farm is fortunate to have Kate Reimanis in the position of Program Director for its Campground and Learning Center.
Kate is the mother of two young children, who along with her husband Erik, recently purchased a farm in South Strafford, Vermont, after actively working with young people of all ages in outdoor settings.
Kate has a Masters degree from Antioch College in Science and Environmental Education, and received her K-8 Teaching Certification in the state of New Hampshire.
She attended Syracuse University where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. After college she worked for two years with challenged New Jersey youth, leading camping and wilderness trips for Project USE (Urban Suburban Environments). Kate gained valuable experience working on three organic farms before spending seven years at The Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts, in several capacities — as program director, dairy manager, and head of the garden and maple operation. The Farm School brings middle school youth from Boston and other urban areas to the farm for intensive five-day experiences. There, Kate gained extensive experience as a leader and organizer while surrounded by a highly skilled group of educators.
Kate brings an energetic and open approach to farm activities, that incorporates simple aspects of nature into the larger picture of food production and the environment. Her ability to excite young people’s interest in the natural world around them is enhanced by her spontaneity — which makes full use of each learning opportunity in a way that ideally suits the individuals or group.
As Program Director at Four Springs Farm, Kate works with farmers and naturalists, in conjunction with guests who request group programs, in order to creatively use the farm as an active learning experience. She also coordinates all of the other events and activities Four Springs Farm offers to the public.
General Information
Be prepared for cool nights and wet places. Biting bugs are very few, but the sun can be strong, so sunscreen and hats are recommended.
Pack camping gear, tents, work clothes, rain gear, hats, boots and toiletries.
Also bring cameras, binoculars, compasses, field guides, musical instruments, kites, journals, books, and sketch pads.
Supervision of Children • Our programs are designed for adults and children grouped together. Adults need to accompany children of all ages to all activities, including farm chores. We do not provide childcare.
Meals • The farm does not provide meals. They can be handled in several ways: individually at campsites, together making use of our picnic pavilion (which includes a counter, sink, tables and large fire pit), purchased off the farm, at nearby restaurants or a combination of these. Good food for snacks should be planned. Organic vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, whole chickens, and some baked goods are available for purchase from the farm. Firewood is provided. Two good restaurants are both three miles away, and the South Royalton Market is five miles from the farm.
Pets • Since this is a working farm pets are not permitted.
Cost of Programs • Program costs are calculated per person (children and adults) with tentsite camping at $6 per person per night (one cabin which sleeps five is available by special request at a different cost) and farm activities costing up to $25 per person per day. Program costs are calculated on a family basis with tentsite camping at $25 per night (one cabin which sleeps five is available by special request at a different cost) and an additional charge for program activities. Vermont’s 6% sales tax will be added.
Program Planning • A minimum of two months prior to your visit is recommended to organize customize programs. Reserve early to ensure campground availability.
Questions • Contact Jinny Hardy Cleland at (802) 763-7296 or by e-mail at clelands@valley.net.
We are happy to work with you to set up a fun-filled program that perfectly suits your group’s needs, and will provide you with just the right amount of scheduled activities, free time, work, and play. We want you to go home at least a little wiser and with plenty of great memories to cherish!
“When children find their first carrot under the ground or collect a warm egg from under a chicken, they move one step closer to understanding where their food comes from.”
Jinny Hardy Cleland, host
