Education Programs

Understanding where our food comes from and how it nourishes us is essential for building resilient communities and a sustainable future.

We aim to inspire and educate the next generation to become conscious stewards of the land, active participants in creating a more sustainable food system, and advocates for environmental justice. We do this through experiential, place-based learning that connects human well-being to ecological health.

What We Prioritize

  • EXPERIENTIAL AND PLACE-BASED LEARNING

    • Hands-on engagement and learning through doing: harvesting, cooking, building, investigating

    • Real-world connections 

    • Farm as living classroom

  • SYSTEMS BASED THINKING & INTERDEPENDENCE

    • Farm as ecosystem: ecological relationships and balance

    • Human-environment interdependence 

    • Food systems connectivity

    • Cross-curricular integration

  • ACCESSIBILITY

    • Inclusive programming

    • Cultural responsiveness that avoids judgmental approaches to food choices

    • Cost-free or sliding scale cost experiences

    • Multiple learning styles accommodated

  • ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP

    • Regenerative practices that restore rather than deplete

    • Climate-smart solutions

    • Justice-centered approach that connects environmental issues to community well-being

FIELD TRIPS

Our field trip program is the foundation of our youth education offerings. Students are invited to spend three hours on the farm for an agenda that combines interactive group activities, themed farm tours, and hands-on workshops. These experiences are designed to connect to and expand upon curriculum, aligning with various core standards. Our programming is designed for middle and high school students, but we are happy to make adaptations for college level courses as well. 

We schedule field trips on Wednesdays and Fridays in the spring and fall. In January and February, we do not offer field trips at the farm, but do offer classroom visits with one of our programming staff.

For our field trips, we currently offer three different tour pathways:

  • This lesson teaches students about food system interconnectedness, covering the journey from farm to table - including growing, processing, and distribution. It explores how food production, distribution, consumption, and waste management connect, while emphasizing sustainability, equity, and health considerations throughout.

  • In this lesson, students learn how energy flows through ecosystems and how human practices impact these cycles. The lesson examines how regenerative techniques, conservation, technology, and sustainable practices promote healthier ecosystems and climate resilience.

  • In this lesson we explore how “plants” become “food,” and how they impact our health. Students will consider which plant parts are distributed as food, compare processed vs. whole foods, examine nutrition from seeds to harvest, examine how sustainable farming practices impact nutrition, and discover how access, culture, and marketing influence our food choices.

Field Trip Tour Highlights

  • Vermicompost Bin

    Learn about one of the biological techniques we use for amending our soil and promote beneficial microbial activity.

  • Hoop House

    An important space for season extension, this space houses some of our more delicate crops.

  • Rainwater Cisterns

    Learn about our closed sphere water system, from rainwater catchment that supplies nonpotable water to the building, to the wastewater treatment system that connects to our irrigation supply.

  • Regenerative Garden Beds

    Explore one of our production beds, which has a mix of annual food crops, perennial insectory rows, cover crops, and cut flower crops.

  • Microscope Lab

    Examine the microbial layers of the farm’s ecosystem by viewing soil samples under the microscope.

  • Greenhouse

    It all starts with seed. Explore our greenhouse, where we start most of the plants that we grow in our gardens, save seed, and dehydrate herbs and flowers for future use.

  • Kitchen

    Where plants become food! Our demo kitchen is at the core of many of our workshops, from making refrigerator pickles to dehydrating herbs to use as popcorn seasoning, to making jams and jellies.

Field Trip Workshops

Submit a Field Trip Inquiry
EXplore field trip FAQs
See a sample Itinerary

EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Collaborative Research Projects

As a teaching farm, experimentation is at the heart of what we do. We reserve growing space to try out new ideas, and invite students and educators to inquire about ongoing individual or classroom research partnerships. 

Examples of research projects:

  • Comparing nutrition content of vegetables grown with different methods, or processed in different ways 

  • Tracking microbial activity in soil with microscopy as an indicator of soil health

  • Analyzing pollinator activity across different flower varieties

  • Testing companion planting effectiveness

Support we provide:

  • Access to farm plots for controlled experiments

  • Mentorship from farm team and partner organizations

  • Data collection tools and guidance

  • Presentation opportunities at community events

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Internships

We host a few different internships each season. For information about a specific internship opportunity, please email us.

SUMMER FARMING INTERNSHIP

This paid full-time internship is designed for those who are interested in getting hands-on experience with organic/regenerative diversified vegetable and cut flower farming. Runs for approximately12 weeks from May to August. Must be18 or older to apply. Application opens in February.

YOUTH SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS INTERNSHIP

Geared for incoming high school juniors and seniors, this eight-week summer internship will give students the opportunity to learn about agriculture, food and climate justice, cooking, and community leadership. In addition to hands-on responsibilities on the farm, each cohort will be involved in a food security project, and will attend field trips, speaker events, and more. Application opens in March.

PRACTICUMS

We partner with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health to host master’s of public health candidates working on practicum projects.

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