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Adventures Out
The Farming Life's for Me!
If your children think that food only comes from the supermarket, it’s time to visit fields and farms in Massachusetts. Here are three unique, hands-on experiences to consider:
Eggs Aplenty
At Chip-in Farm in Bedford, Neil Couvee collects eggs at 3 a.m. With 2,000 flighty hens, he does the job quickly and stealthily, trying not to ruffle anyone’s feathers. After all, these free-running hens are skittish and don’t take easily to strangers.
Hours later, Farmer Sandy Couvee leads a children's class into the cellar where the morning’s eggs are washed, checked, sized, and boxed for sale at stores in Massachusetts. Although the kids don’t handle these fragile eggs, they have plenty of chores to do, from working in the garden to mucking out stalls and feeding the floppy-eared goats, Agnes and Dolly the sheep, Petunia the enormous pig, Oreo the rabbit, and assorted 4-H animals. Farmer Sandy’s favorite part, though, is the animal parade, where the children open the pens and send the animals into the pasture.
The Farmer’s Helper (ages 3-5) and Hired Hands (kindergarten through 5th grade) classes help children learn about small working farms. The classes are available through the Bedford Recreation department. If you don’t get a chance to attend a class, go to the old-fashioned general store and check the animal-feed bucket for fresh vegetables to feed the “petting zoo” animals.
Plant a Seed
Like to dig in the dirt? Volunteer with your kids at Waltham Fields Community Farm. Located at the University of Massachusetts Field Station site in Waltham, this nonprofit nine-acre farm donates produce to hunger relief agencies across the state. To fulfill its mission, the farm is partially funded through a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program where families buy shares of the annual yield of crops. The farm also relies on volunteers to plant, weed, and harvest vegetables or help with other farm-related chores.
Before you visit, check the volunteer schedule on the farm’s web site. Drop-in times for volunteers depend on the season and the tasks at hand. In mid-March, the soils are tilled and the planting begins. In June, the first crops are ready to be picked and packaged for the CSA program and the food shelters. Farming is labor intensive, but with lots of hands, the job becomes much easier.
At Waltham Fields, children of any age are invited to participate, with adult supervision. While you’re pulling weeds with your kids, you can discuss how the soil provides nutrients and the sun and air offer food to help plants grow. When you’re picking zucchini, you can talk about how much work goes into growing vegetables. As you’re bagging produce for a homeless shelter, you can explain how together you helped hungry people eat good, healthy, fresh food.
Straight Off the Vine
If you’re hankering for juicy red strawberries or plump blueberries, go to Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro---and pick your own. By far more popular than veggies, fruits are kid-friendly produce with just the right bite of sweetness. Before you go, check the web site or call ahead to find out what’s in season.
In recent years, Parlee Farms has grown. To get to your picking destination, you may get to ride in a hay wagon pulled by a tractor. Apple-picking school groups find the ride the best part, along with the hay play area.
After picking fruit, kids can feed the goats and bunnies while you’ll be enticed by the smells of just-baked apple cider donuts or kettle corn at the farmstand. The farm also sells fresh vegetables, homemade jams, their own honey, and fresh-cut flowers.
For more farming opportunities in the area, check out the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources web site.
(BPP, 6/08)
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