In July we welcomed groups from the Dover Summer Camp to learn, play, and experiment on the farm. One of our guiding principles on the farm is learning by doing. Humans evolved to use all of our senses, and we develop deeper pathways when we use our hands. Picking a fruit off a plant, pushing your fingers into the soil, holding a freshly laid egg: these sensory experiences help connect us to place and to one another. Experiential learning in community makes it all the more powerful, adding meaning to the tasks at hand.
Even though we live in a historically agricultural community, this was the first time some of the campers had set foot on a working farm. Children aged five to sixteen learned about how plants grow, from potting up seedlings to walking the fields to see plants in various stages of their life cycle. We painted bee boxes for our honeybees while learning about pollination. We visited the chickens and the cows, discussing all things compost and manure related (i.e. poop, pee, and soil!) We harvested sugar snap peas for our snack and sampled fresh broccoli from the field.
The day to day of farming is hard work, and it is a joy to take a break and share it with our community.
