Education

Now booking Spring 2022 field trips! Please fill out our online form to get started.

Fostering a deep connection

 
 

We believe that children are strengthened through a deep connection with the natural world.

At Retreat Farm, Education is place-based, experiential, and rooted in a love for learning through play. From forest to field, children and families deepen their connection to the land by watering plants, sowing seeds, harvesting fruits and vegetables, feeding animals, and exploring the forest.

While our programs are focused on hands-on learning, meeting the need children have for unstructured time with their peers is at the heart of every lesson.

 

We encourage community and curiosity through play and exploration… Strengthening children’s connection to each other, food systems, and the natural world.

Field Trips for Spring 2022

In all our field trips, we foster lasting connections between children and the land through tactile, sensory experiences. These connections are exciting, motivating, and fun for everyone!  This farm experience takes place outdoors, in all weather.  Participants will visit the animals on pasture, explore the gardens, and play in the forest playground.  


This year, we are offering Field Trips on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from April 25 - June 17. Field trips start at 10am and usually last until 11:30am. Your groups are welcome to stay and eat lunch at our picnic tables after the visit. Bathrooms are available for your group to use. The base price is $5/participant. Teachers and adult chaperones are free.

In order to keep our community safe, we request that masks be worn for the duration of your visit to the Farm. We will continue to update our policies as new guidance becomes available.

Workshops

We offer a range of fun and educational workshops that can be added to your visit.

We can also create a custom experience for your class to meet your specific learning goals. In the past, this has included learning from the Abenaki perspective, curriculum on food systems and food justice, and a wide range of service-learning experiences. Please reach out if you would like to discuss this possibility with us.

  • All Ages

    $2 add-on/participant

    What does a plant need to grow? How do seeds travel? Engage in hands-on learning about the interdependent ecosystems on the Farm.

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  • All Ages
    $2 add-on/participant

    Learn first-hand about the Farm’s fiber-producing animals and use wool from our own sheep to make a felted toy or decoration to bring home.

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  • Pre K-2

    $1 add-on/participant)

    Create, collect, and observe together, while enjoying the natural world. Participants will build “Fairy Houses” in the Hope Garden/Forest Playground with a variety of objects in different shapes, sizes, colors and texture.

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  • PreK-6

    $2 add-on/participant

    Without the earth - without nature - without the arts, what would we be? Expand your mind creatively, while also enjoying the “fruits” of our Forest Playground’s immersive space. Let us create a unique opportunity for you to try something new.Learn More

 

 Accessibility and Inclusion

We strive to make all programming on our working farm as accessible, safe, and inclusive as possible. We welcome participation from children who are multilingual, queer and questioning, as well as children with social, emotional, physical, cognitive, or behavioral challenges, along with their 1:1 assistant or personal care assistants. In many cases, we are able to make modifications or adjustments to our programs and are open to feedback or ideas. If you have questions or concerns about how we can best support your child or school, please contact: education@retreatfarm.org

 
 

**​Attention**

​Retreat Farm is a working farm. Care should be taken when exploring the grounds. Hazards such as open waterways, roadways with farm equipment,​ electric fences,​ poison ivy and stinging​/biting insects are present on the property. Adults are responsible for the minors in their care. Precaution should be taken to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun as well as to biting and stinging insects. Participants should bring water with them. Participants should familiarize themselves with potential hazards and act accordingly.

All staff are CPR/First Aid certified and carry First Aid kits.