What happens on the Fairfax School Farm in summer?
Who takes care of the gardens, the berry nurseries, the construction projects?
When students and teachers are gone what happens?
The BFA Fairfax Farm to School Club takes care of business!
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 9:00 and 11:00 throughout the summer members of BFA’s Farm to School Club come in to work on the School Farm. Thanks to their efforts the school gardens are thriving, growing the vegetables for our Harvest Dinner, and for schoolwide “taste-testing.” The students in the club all have other jobs but they do their best to free 2-3 mornings per week to keep the School Farm operating.
Shane Seals sums it up well: “Summer Farm to School is a great experience to learn how to garden and take part in a farming environment. It’s a good way to give back to the community and help build a foundation for the future of the school. The program has an amazing amount of diversity.”
The Club harvested and froze two gallons of blueberries that will find their way into the Farm to School Class’s kitchen curriculum in fall. They have timed the planting of vegetables so that the bulk of our produce will be available when school is in session. A portion of our summer harvests is donated to the Fairfax Food Shelf. When the garden is caught up, kids work on the chicken house or maintenance of the beehives. We are currently involved in clipping and drying parsley, sage, oregano, thyme. Each of the many tasks provides unique opportunities to learn.
“During the summer work at Farm to School, I have been able to increase my gardening and building skills and gain overall worldly experience. We are all hard workers who enjoy each other and the fruits of our labor,” said Alyese Caruso-Randall.
Isabelle Collum agrees, “Seeing your hard work pay off every week is such a rewarding experience, and knowing that you’re helping your school and community makes it so much better.”
The club members understand the importance of their volunteer efforts. “Summer Farm to School is a fun creative way to integrate community service and easy learning. Farm to School is a very extensive program that allows people to enjoy what they are doing and learn more about it. In the future I hope to see more faces come and enjoy their summer the way I do,” said Farm to School Club President Caitlin Allan.
But there is so much more involved than just work. Eli Silman adds “it’s a great way to hang out with friends during the summer.”
This may be the most important reason of all!
If you are interested in joining us this summer contact Farm to School Club President, Caitlin Allan.
The FWSU Story 