Children’s Education
Nearly every day of the year, Stone Barns farmers have a few extra hands to help with farm chores. The hands are sometimes tiny, sometimes teen-aged, but they’re almost always dirty – and that’s a good thing. That’s because kids today are less connected with nature and the sources of our food than ever before. By creating authentic experiences that include opportunities for kids to get their hands dirty through farm chores, Stone Barns is forging these connections for thousands of students.
School-aged children are a critical audience for Stone Barns because engaging them directly with tasty and nutritious food is the first step in establishing a pattern of improved eating as adults. For real, long-term change in our food system, we must help to create the next generation of thoughtful food consumers. One of the best ways we can do this is by re-introducing children to where their food comes from: the farm.
Education programs at Stone Barns are comprised of an array of offerings – school field trips, farm camp, after-school groups and scout programs – that target different audiences of children from elementary school to high school age. All programs require students to participate in aspects of the farm, from animal care to vegetable gardening. All Stone Barns school programs are tied to New York State learning standards.
Through hands-on farm experiences— such as planting and harvesting vegetables, collecting eggs from pasture-raised hens, and taking scraps to the compost pile—students have opportunities to learn about healthy foods and build connections to the foods they eat. In our real-life classrooms, farmers are the teachers. This direct interaction helps demonstrate to children that farming is a profession to be respected, and that there are real people behind the food that we buy at the supermarket. To help reinforce lessons learned at the farm throughout the year, Stone Barns offers professional development opportunities for school teachers who bring their classes on field trips. Teachers also have the opportunity to work with our education staff to design customized follow-up lessons and activities.
Since 2004, Stone Barns has reached more than 36,000 children with our unique, hands-on education programs.