JH Overnight, E1 and E2 Visits, Friends School

Junior High Visit Last Monday and Tuesday
Last week our entire Junior High came out for two days on the land. The stewardship groups each made great strides in their chosen areas. The animal care group helped shear the sheep and cleaned up the yard; the garden group mulched garlic and got things ready for the plant sale; the facilities group worked on the tree house, the hoophouse and the landscaping; the birds and bees group set up the hives for the summer and closed up all the nest boxes; the maple syrup/supernature group collected sap and finished the last of the syrup and then took down all the taps; and the trails and orchard group pruned and weeded in the orchard and put up new signs on the trails. We explored the land, ate heartily, and played until we were all quite tired. The sauna and campfire and stories were a perfect evening activity after all that physical activity.

 E1 Students Out on Wednesday
For each of the last three weeks Mr. Fitch has brought a different group of E1 students out to experience the Spring at the Land School. Each time they have done big important work, from getting the garden ready for the season to collecting sap for making syrup. Thanks to the students and to Mr. Fitch.

 E2 Visit
We visited each of the E2 classrooms last week on Wednesday. Each classroom connects with the Land School in unique ways and so our visits renewed those connections. In Class F we talked about potato planting, in Class G we talked about the orchard (we need to replace some trees), the prairie (burn this year) and the three sisters garden (new varieties to try and why), and in Class H we brought in some of the popcorn they grew last year (it pops!) and gave an update on the garlic that they planted last fall (it is all up). In addition we brought seeds and broccoli family plants to seed and pot up for the plant sale and we set up work station in the commons. What a day! They did a lot work. Thank you so much, E2!

 Friends School visits
Last Friday we were happy to host the 4th and 5th graders of the Friends School. We divided into stewardship activities and had a lovely morning getting to know them while getting much needed projects done on the farm. They were in the midst of a week full of field trips related to the food system.