Last Wednesday, November 4, Land Stewardship staff attended the second annual Farm to School Conference hosted by Green Mountain Farm to School. The event fittingly took place at Sterling College in Craftsbury, VT, where over 70% of the school's food is procured from local, sustainable, fair trade, and humane sources via Real Food Challenge calculator guidelines. Workshops were held in the morning and included Using School Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms, in which participants were given hands-on ideas for school garden curriculum including garlic planting, bug observation, garden yoga, and the some-what challenging task of making a seed pot out of newspaper (apparently kids generally have an easier time making them than adults). Another workshop, Agriculture for Every Season, had tips on carrying land based curriculum into the winter months and included some tasty samples and butter making using a mason jar, heavy cream, and a popsicle stick. The end of the conference allowed for break out sessions, one of which focused on creating a Farm to School community of practice. Communities of practice can be defined as "groups of people who share an interest or passion for something they do and interact regularly to learn how to do it better". Laraway Land Stewardship staff are excited to be a part of the Farm to School community of practice and are looking forward to staying connected with the movement. We are also bursting with ideas from just one day of meeting so many inspiring people and getting lots of fun Farm to School curriculum!
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