Monthly Archives: January 2012

Planting a Rain Garden

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For a few years, FFEC has dreamed about and planned to add a rain garden at Fernbrook. Last year at this time, Farmer Q planted three River Birch in the wet circle in the middle of the offices and Kerney Barn buildings to get the ball rolling. This October, Fernbrook Homeschool students ages 6-14 learned about the advantages and necessary considerations before planning the design of the Fernbrook rain garden! Pinelands Nursery, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and Fernbrook Nursery donated the wetland-loving shrubs, ferns and grasses that the students planted. Then in November, the staff prepped the garden for winter with mulch and bird feeders and we are now watching winter birds come to the new rain garden.

Homeschoolers planting in the Rain Garden

In spring, we will watch the garden come back to life showing how the students planned the flower colors and habitat design.  Over time, we plan to add a wooden boardwalk bridge over the middle, a small pond with lilypads and educational signs for visitors.

Letter From Farmer Q

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Dear Friends, 
  Technology is a wonderful thing – especially when it works! You’ve probably experienced the frustration of your computer not working the way you want it to or your GPS taking you down the wrong road. ‘Smart’ technology vs. dumb people?! It seems to me that the challenge is to balance all this technology with human relationships. Not only relationships with each other, but with our communities, our land, our food, our environment. 
   Like in so many other places, technology becomes more and more a part of Fernbrook all the time. We use email and Facebook to send program and event updates rather than the postal service. We’re creating online registration for summer camp and eventually you’ll be able to pay for all programs online. Our solar array can be monitored online as well. We’ve planned several more improvements to our Kerney Barn thanks to the continued generous financial support of the James Kerney Foundation. This is what we might call low-tech: cooking appliances, biology, chemistry and physics lab equipment, projector and screen. 
   But the most important aspect of any of this technology at Fernbrook is to allow kids the opportunity to experience their wold firsthand. We want kids to build an Archimedes’ Screw (see article below), not just research it on the internet. We want them to catch a butterfly, dissect a fish, or unearth some creepy, crawly thing from a decomposing log. Children can touch, taste, smell and feel the real, not the virtual, at Fernbrook. They can develop a sense of wonder. They can challenge their curiosities through exploration and hands-on activities. 

Snowy Wedding Gardens
 
   As winter begins, we often think that our natural world becomes dull and uninteresting. Nature in winter can be a fascinating experience; it’s a different pace – slower, quieter – a valuable lesson in our fast paced, technological world. Put out a bird feeder, look for animal tracks, check out the night skies, and watch the sensational sunsets and sunrises we’ve had.
   During this holiday time of year, we are given the opportunity to stop, listen, see and act with compassion toward our neighbors and our world. May you and your family enjoy a happy and blessed season!
- Larry “Farmer Q” Kuser  

Exciting Camp News and Registrations

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The Education Center is thrilled to announce a new structural addition to our facilities which should be completed before the start of Summer Camp 2010 – a low ropes challenge course! Project U.S.E will be constructing three different elements to be used during Monday morning team-building at Summer Camp and through the year for businesses, classes, and scout groups.  These elements will be built in the small meadow between the animal pasture and irrigation pond.  This is in addition to a few portable elements we have/are building and an exciting second grant from the Kerney Foundation to continue improving the classroom, kitchen and lab space in the Kerney Barn.

Along with these announcements, Fernbrook Farms Education Center welcomes all families to check out registration that is now open for our Fiddlehead Summer Day Camp for ages 6-11 and Young Stewards Summer Enrichment Program for ages 12-14. 

Looking for a birthday present for you child or grandchild? Consider giving a summer week or a few school vacation days of special memories, new experiences and friendships forged while exploring 230 acres of Fernbrook Farms.

So many discounts are available such as early registration discounts, sibling discount, returning camper discount, active military discount, and attend 4 or more weeks discount available as in the past.

This year we are also offering a special referral gift.  For each new family that writes your name on the “how did you hear about Fernbrook?” line of their registration form, we will award your family one camp t-shirt of any available size on your first day of camp this summer.  We will be holding three Summer Camp Open Houses for families who are new to Fernbrook to take a tour, meet staff, and learn about our program.  Past families can also come and see the changes.  Bring a new family along to meet the expected babies in the animal barn and get an introduction to 2012 camp.

Lastly, just a reminder that Winter Camp 2012 is held on Martin Luther King, Jr Day, as well as, President’s Day for kids to experience Fernbrook in the wonderful winter. Activities include animal tracking in the snow, winter bird watching, building survival shelters (with snow if we have some), caring for any early animal babies possibly and many other activities to enjoy winter on the Farm. Bring your children to Fernbrook to experience the wonders of Winter Camp with us when they don’t have school!

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