In preparing for our first Supporter Appreciation Day, it became astounding to us just how many of you there are who support Fernbrook Farms Education Center.  Over 300!!  From those who write us checks to volunteering your time to providing us with donations of materials – we truly appreciate each and every person who helps make this a special place for so many children.

New Fernbrook Outreach Program by Little Fish Theatre

The day itself could not have been better; sunshine, cool temperatures, great food and music. Everyone got to check out our rain garden, the solar system, and the Kerney Barn science lab. We got to sample the foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’, music of Little Fish Theatre.  We’re booking them all over the state as our outreach to promote Fernbrook Farms Education Center and get kids outdoors. Mr. Brian was MC for our hayride that ended up at the campfire ring for some good ole’ marshmallow roasting.

Farmer Q dedicating the Eric Tadlock Trail

We then took the haywagon to the pond, and everyone walked around the pond (no frogs this time of year) to the upper stream trail dedication – it’s now officially the Eric Tadlock Trail in recognition of his successful creation of the Fernbrook Education programs.

Everyone had a fun time. To those of you who could not attend, we say thank you for your support and invite you to visit the farm anytime. We’re excited about the future; many improvements are planned from a low ropes course to expanded animal barn to a weather station. It all happens thanks to you!

Fernbrook's Alternative to the Haunted Hayride

Fernbrook Farms Education Center is preparing for their annual Not So Scary Halloween event offered the next two weekends leading up to Halloween. This annual event is our way of offering more fun programs for families with little ones or not interested in the scary events. Each year there is a different story or characters to meet during a wagon ride around the farm. This year there is a new lighthearted story about the Jersey Devil complete with jokes or references to make him seem like any other animal we see on the farm. The evening will start with group games for all ages and then you’ll hear the story on the wagon ride while we travel toward the campfire site for marshmallows and songs to round out the evening.

Pre-registration is necessary so please call 609-298-4028 if you are interested. There are still spaces available on Friday Oct 21st but Saturday Oct 22nd and Saturday Oct 29th have filled to our two wagon capacity. The event is from 6:30-8:30pm and cost is $12/adult, $7/child 4-12 years and Free for children 3 and younger. Bring your cameras and we’ll take your family picture at our fall photo spot on the haybales with cornstalks and pumpkin decorations. Costumes encouraged but no masks allowed please for the sake of being extra fun and not scary for anyone!

If you can’t make it this year, check back in 2012 for more Halloween fun and see what is changed for the story and wagon ride!

To most people, the Education Center has an unusual yearly schedule. We start our year in Fall, anxious to teach field trip students about tasty fall crops, take homeschool students to the forests for dendrology lessons and plan our Not So Scary Halloween and Wreath Making family programs. The seasons change and we build towards our most busy season, summer, with up to 100 campers each week exploring the farm and taking camping trips throughout New Jersey.

As we end this past summer and begin our new year with fall schedules, I’ve realized how important it is for staff to stop and reflect every so often like we encourage our campers to do during nature journal time. Environmental education can be a tough profession with all the outdoor activity on both very hot and very cold days, discipline issues, changing plans due to storms and weather, keeping students of all ages and grade levels engaged and safe, and acquiring funding for nature and agriculture programming. More importantly, environmental education can be an extremely rewarding and far-reaching profession.

Over the last year, I have witnessed some incredible instances of compassion, education, eagerness and wonder during our programs that make every moment of stress and extra hour of work more than worthwhile for all of our environmental educators. This summer, Mr. Peter and myself took groups of Young Stewards (12-14 year olds) on two separate 4-day camping trips that provided a multitude of “feel good” moments. Most notable were hearing the campers excited story-telling to all who would listen about our Black Bear sighting (a first for many in the group) and reading journal entries describing the family bonds campers created on a 4-day trip with others they didn’t know at the beginning of the week. Just yesterday, a 6 year-old homeschool student was at Fernbrook for the first time and our group was traveling through the field, pond area and woods searching for reptiles and amphibians. We came across many earthworms along the pond trail and the new student stopped behind the group saying that she was terrified to go near any worms. Before I could even get to the student, an 8 year old (who was very worried about new creatures when she first came to Fernbrook) had taken the 6 year-old’s hand and was leading her along the trail kindly assuring her that worms were friends and nothing to be afraid of. The girls had just met an hour earlier. On another occasion, a group of campers dug their own potatoes out of the Children’s Garden and cut them into slivers for homemade French fries. At the end of the day, I overheard one camper telling his mother that fresh, homemade French fries taste better and are healthier than McDonald’s fries. As an education center aimed at educating about sources of our food and importance of healthy lifestyles, that comment brings an instant smile to my face.

Finally, one of the most meaningful memories came during the first week of Summer Camp 2011. Fernbrook was sponsoring a group of campers from inner-city Trenton for a week at farm camp, many of whom had never been to a farm, seen a cow, picked a vegetable or touched a frog. They happened to come the day after one of our chicks hatched all covered in down and cheeping for attention. The scholarship campers were in love immediately, asking how to care for it, learning how to be extra gentle and experiencing farm life first-hand. I hope that these experiences are remembered forever by the campers and students involved as I will remember them and why we do what we do here at Fernbrook Farms Education Center.

- Miss Claire

The Education Center enjoyed its 7th successful summer exploring every inch of Fernbrook Farms. The Fiddlehead campers (6-11 yr olds) enjoyed the usual explorations and activities created by the superb new staff. The Young Steward campers (12-14 yr olds) experienced a rebirth to the program that included two different weeks of overnight camping!

Some of the usual activities included Tree ID guides, catching frogs in the pond, searching for unique birds, and building clay volcanoes down by the creek. Some of the featured new activities included creek clay art, archeological dig, spud & sardines, mural paintings, and fishing to name a few. Several campers were able to make fishing poles using bamboo from our bamboo forest and then headed to the creek and pond where they actually caught some fish! In another activity, a bottle piece was found that dated back to the late 19th century and originated in Ireland! But clearly, the camper favorite new activity was the game sardines and you would often have campers playing at every moment they could.

The Young Stewards of the summer 2011 will surely leave their mark in Fernbrook lore. First, there’s the impressive mural painted in the girl’s locker room that’s sure to last for years and there’s the countless day trips to all areas of New Jersey to talk about but clearly this past summer will be remembered for the launch of overnight tripping for Fernbrook campers. In July, 2 staff and 5 campers headed down to the Pine Barrens for 4 days and 3 nights of hiking. In August, 2 staff and 8 campers headed up to the Delaware Water Gap for 4 days and 3 night of canoeing. On all accounts, the trips were successful and we’re sure to do more overnight camping in the future!

As they say, all good things come to an end and the summer of 2011 came to a wet end with Hurricane Irene leaving its mark on the final week of camp. The campers and staff experienced some changes to the program but were greeted by new findings left behind by Irene.

Planning for summer 2012 at Fernbrook has already begun and we look forward to seeing campers return for another exciting summer. If you haven’t checked us out on Facebook, take a look at the photos section to see photos from this past summer.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable winter and I’m already looking forward to next summer!

Be Safe, Have Fun, and Help Each Other!
Mr. Brian

One of the fun things around Fernbrook is that we’re always becoming. There’s never a dull moment. We’re always looking for new programs to add, ways to improve existing programs or expand in different directions. All of this is because of the energy and enthusiasm of the staff, their willingness to try new things and explore possibilities. Wendell Berry has said that one of the greatest challenges of agriculture is how do you stay in one place and grow; intellectually, creatively, emotionally. Here at Fernbrook, we strive to meet that challenge everyday.

Jenna Collins, who came to us this year as a summer camp instructor, is now on our year-round staff coordinating our Unit of Study programs with the City of Trenton at-risk youth and running our School Field Trip programs. Last year we worked with four schools in Trenton; this year we’re targeting six schools. We’ll also be attending the NJEA Conference in November, part of our marketing program to bring more schools to Fernbrook, exposing more kids to agriculture, the sources of their food, and making choices for a healthy lifestyle.

New plans on the horizon include more fully developing our rain garden and making it part of our curriculum. Also, we should have our solar energy monitor up and running soon so all can see the extent of the sun’s energy on the Farm. Alternative sources of energy are always important at Fernbrook so we are looking into other projects using wind and water as our source. We’re hoping to develop a weather station as well; a great teaching tool for children to study and experience firsthand. We’re also working on the Kerney Barn to be able to have cooking classes and do science experiments. I think Wendell Berry would be proud of us!

As always, we welcome your ideas and suggestions. If you can introduce us to people or companies that share our interests, if you want us to get involved with your children’s school, or the big IF, if you can help us with grants or donations for any of our projects, we are always grateful.

Lots of events happening at Fernbrook as we approach the holidays. Hope to see you soon for a little fun on the Farm! God Bless.

- Larry “Farmer Q” Kuser, Executive Director

The following are journal entries from the Young Stewards 12-14 year old Fernbrook Campers during our 4 day canoe trip along the Delaware River. We started at River Beach Campsite in Milford, PA and canoed 40 miles to the Delaware Water Gap. See photos on Fernbrook Farms Education Center’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150297500182929.352668.330394427928).

6:30pm Tuesday 8/9/11 – Today is Day 1. We canoed for 3 hours and traveled 7 miles to our campsite. We saw some Bald Eagles and possible Golden Eagles. At the campsite, we went swimming and set up our campsite. As we were writing this, we saw a Bald Eagle take off. So far we are having a lot of fun! – Drew and Kyle

Swimming near the Campsite

6:45pm Tuesday 8/9/11 -

Today we canoed. Also, Val hung her underwear on the line (aka clothesline)! It rained too. We all got to know each other a little bit. Kyle and David are fishing right now. – Jamie, Emily, Val, Andrea and Maddie

8:00pm Tuesday 8/9/11 – Today was the first day of canoeing. On the way, we saw birds of prey, including what we think may have been Golden Eagles. When we were at the site, I saw a Bald Eagle fly into a tree across the river. It stayed for about 1/2 hour, then flew away. It was a great sight! – David 

7:45pm Wednesday 8/10/11 – Today we went canoeing 14 miles. We saw lots of eagles. This morning Maddie came in our tent and told us there was a bear! At first, I didn’t believe her but then I went outside and there actually was a bear! It was standing next to our food then it walked away across the river. We are outside sitting on the edge of our canoes when a few minutes ago, we realized one of our canoes was floating away! It was not far out so Drew got in another one and went after it! We had to pull them back in, but we got all the canoes back! Tomorrow we are going through the rapids, but hopefully we won’t fall! – Andrea

8:00pm Wed 8/10/11 – Ok, so right now Maddie and I are filtering water. The sun is setting and the sky looks so pretty. Today was really awesome. We canoed 14 miles, went to a new campsite, skipped rocks, swam, named a Great Blue Heron “Henry the Heron”, and saw a bear this morning which was so cool! I really hope we see an otter. So far, this trip has been so fun. David and Drew are so nice, Kyle is funny, Andrea, Jamie and Emily are really fun to be around, Maddie keeps everyone company, and Pete and Claire are really just awesome. I feel like we’re all a happy family. I wish this trip was longer . . . – Valerie

8:10pm Wed 8/10/11 – Today when we woke up there was a bear swimming across the river. It was really sunny but yesterday it drizzled on and off all day. We took a long lunch today and were able to swim. – Emily

8:15pm Wed 8/10/11 – Today we went swimming. We drifted a lot with the life vests. Also early in the morning we saw a bear swim!! I loved swimming! Also everyone commented on my wonderful grammar skills because I’m from Hamilton!! – Jamie

8:20pm Wed 8/10/11 – Today we canoed 14 miles and had a great time doing it. When we woke up this morning we saw a Black Bear. We were very excited. During our canoeing, Kyle and I saw two birds of prey go and fight for land; it was very cool! – Drew

8:25pm Wed 8/10/11 – This morning we saw a bear. The girls went to wake up the boys and said there was a bear but we didn’t believe them. So we slowly got out of the tent and to the water where there was a bear. – Kyle

Bear Swimming Away from Campsite

8:30pm Wed 8/10/11 -

Early this morning, a small Black Bear came through our site and swam across the river. We canoed 14-15 miles and I counted at least 5 Bald Eagles on the way. One of the eagles was with another bird that we think may have been a Golden Eagle. – David

10:20pm Wednesday 8/10/11 – When I walked out of my tent this morning, I saw Ms. Claire walking toward me. Then all at once, we both stopped. There, over by the food bins, stood a small Black Bear. I ran into my tent then over to the other tents to wake everyone. At first, the boys didn’t believe us, but then they saw it. The bear swam across the river and went into the forest on the other side. After canoeing 14-15 miles, we set up camp at Site 61. – Maddie

1:30pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Right now we’re taking a lunch break and Drew just skipped a rock 10 times and Kyle broke 5 rocks!! OMG!! So anyway, it’s very breezy. The rapids were awesome and we saw no wildlife today but Ms. Claire and Mr. Pete rescued some people that sunk. In the morning we ate funnel cake tasting pancakes made by Ms. Claire. Mr. Pete slept. Kyle and David name their boat: The Beached Whale, Ms. Claire and I: Otterly Awesome (we really want to see an otter), Jamie and Emily: The River Shark, and Drew and Maddie: The Titanic. So that was our 1/2 day . . . I don’t want this trip to end . . . – Valerie

1:37pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Today we woke up and had pancakes! It was so good : ) Today we are canoeing about 9 miles. When we stopped, Ms. Claire and Mr. Pete had to go and save three people. They tipped in the rapids and all of their gear fell out into the water. Right now we are eating lunch, actually leaving! We skipped rocks and talked. I can’t wait until we go to an actual bathroom!! Ok bye : ) – Jamie

4:45pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Today we woke up and ate pancakes that tasted like funnel cake. Mr. Pete slept for about 13 hours. We also go to use a bathroom with indoor plumbing. Ms. Claire and Mr. Pete had to rescue strangers who sunk their canoe. Our campsite for tonight is pretty small but we all fit and the current is very strong. – Emily

5:00pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Today is our last full day here : ( We canoed about 9 miles. We stopped somewhere along the way for flushing toilets and water we don’t have to filter! We got to our campsite and it’s pretty small. Me, Val, Jamie and Emily went swimming but the current was strong so we tried to walk/swim against it. When we got far away we linked arms and lifted our feet. We were floating down the river! Me and Mr. Pete named our canoe the Fernbrook Frontiers. Only 5 more miles to go!! – Andrea

5:15pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Today we woke up to pancakes which were made by Ms. Claire, David, Kyle and I. After the tasty breakfast, we went on for a few hours until we stopped to help these flipped people. Mr. Peter and Ms. Claire canoed to help them. Over all it was a good day! – Drew

5:25pm Thurs 8/11/11 – I jumped into the water and broke a brace. It was very funny because now I have 1 brace on my front teeth. Me and David are looking at a bone and we think it is human. – Kyle

5:30pm Thurs 8/11/11 – Today, we didn’t see as much as previous days. This morning we had pancakes cooked in so much oil, that they tasted like funnel cake. One thing I hate about this trip is filtering water. The filter falls apart every 5 seconds! When we were canoeing, we went through Class 1 rapids and no one tipped. – David

8:30am Friday 8/12/11 – We woke up pretty early this morning [6am] to get a good start for canoeing. When I stepped outside my tent I found out that my bag had been searched by raccoons. They had eaten all of my trail mix and the only thing I could salvage was one mint. Also we still haven’t figured out Mr. Pete’s middle name. – Emily

8:45am Friday 8/12/11 – Last night we had popcorn and s’mores. Yummy!! To make the popcorn, we had to cook the porcorn over the fire. It took a while to figure out. At the end we learned how to correctly cook it. They tasted good. Also, Ms. Claire frenchbraided Andrea, Val, Maddie, and my hair. Later that night we put a stick in the fire and drew pictures of things. It was really fun. We all became a big family!! I don’t want this trip to end. – Jamie

Breakfast on the Misty River

9:00am Friday 8/12/11 -

Last night, we ate ramen noodles and popcorn YAY! Then, we had a party in the boys tent. When we started sleeping, it was freezing and I kept hearing strange noises. There was also a raccoon. I also heard a screechy high-pitched squawking noise that was probably coming from the raccoon. It went through some bags including Emily’s and ate her food. In the morning, we woke up around 6:30am and ate breakfast on the misty river. It was cold but the water was warm. Right now, we’re taking a break. I hope we see an otter. Even if we don’t, this still was the best camping trip ever! I’m so sad that it’s the last day!!! : ( – Valerie

11:45am Friday 8/12/11 – Today we had a short canoe, about 5 miles. It was a fun short trip. We were surprised to be woken up at 6:30 because we normally get up at 8:00ish. We ate on the river which was very fun and we stopped to see Ms. Claire’s sister [who was starting a canoe trip with her campers]. We are all so sad that our trip is over and will always remember it! – Drew

11:55am Friday 8/12/11 – Today is our last day here. We are waiting to be picked up. We each had a little interview to talk about what we liked and our favorite part of the trip. We canoed the last 5 miles today and now we officially canoed 40 miles. We met up with Ms. Claire’s sister’s camp and said hit to them on the way. I will miss it here and I will miss everyone because I had a great time! I hope I can do this trip again next year. It was so much fun! – Andrea

Leaving for our journey

July 19, 2011 2:00 p.m.

The first day of our camping trip came with some obstacles such as packing our backpacks, harvesting potatoes, and dealing with the heat. The car ride to the campsite was enjoyable, although the staff of the campsite office weren’t the most helpful people, we still managed to arrive at our first destination, Atsion Lake. The girls successfully set up their tent while Pete, Zach, and I are still waiting to put up our tents since we are swapping campsites, well Zach is coaxing me to walk this way, so now I will do that! -Ben

July 20, 2011 7:30 a.m.

It is now Wednesday. First day of sleeping in the tent down. I thought it would be a little uncomfortable, but it was very good. As I went to sleep, I listened to all of the bugs and birds. But let’s talk about dinner. Well we had hot dogs and stir fry. But it got down poured with water. There was thunder and lightening. It was bad, but Pete and Claire stayed out and finished the food. And they also cleaned up. Then after the rain which was an hour or so, we went to make smores. But all of our firewood was wet, so we got out a pan and our stove. But by mistake Claire burnt the first smore. So we just had lukewarm smores. But when we went to eat, it started to rain again. So we ate in our tent. And Claire came in and we talked until the rain stopped. And Ben and Zach came to our tent and we told scary stories and jokes. But at 10:30 we all went to bed. -Erin

July 20, 2011 8:00 a.m.

Today is Wednesday. It is the morning and last night I slept terribly. Before that we went swimming in the lake. That was really fun. So today is Wednesday and we have to hike five miles. -Zach

July 20, 2011 9:00 a.m.

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of eggs with peppers, onions, and bacon. It was some of the best I’ve ever had! We also tried to convince carnivorous Zach to try some watermelon, but of course he refused. In a few moments, we are setting off down the road to site #2. – Sarah

July 20, 2011 11:30 a.m.

We are now making our way to campsite #2. After a restless night in a tent with a snorer, I ate some breakfast, washed the dishes, cut some cantaloupe, and packed up our sandy tent. With all of that done we made our way down the road to fill up our water bottles, we then started on the five mile hike, well my shoulders are starting to hurt and I am HOT! I hope this long, hot hike is worth it and if not I still got some good exercise! -Ben

July 21, 2011 6:00 p.m.

Hello to Mr. Brian and whoever else might be reading this. So I do realize that today is Thursday, but we’ve been busy and we haven’t been able to write since Ben’s 11:30 Wednesday entry. So, the news is: we spent most of Wed. morning walking down the road to get to Atsion Lake Camping Office thingy. When we go to the office and enjoyed the nice, cold AC, we were forced out (just kidding) and Mr. Pete led us in some stretches, but in the middle of these painful movements a car pulled up to the shoulder of the road. A door opened revealing a woman, wearing the most awesome clothes ever! She had on a floor length grey robe, the garb of a Buddhist monk. So it turned out that they (this is to say that the Buddhist monks the car contained) needed a bathroom stop. So we showed them the bathroom that we had just found, and they drove off. But as we were walking along, the man who was driving stuck his head out the window and said “Release the suffering”. Now if that isn’t cool, what is? -Sarah Jane

Along the Mullica River Trail

July 21, 2011 7:00 p.m.

Hello whoever this concerns. I’m going to continue with Sarah’s story. Well the suffering wasn’t released. We “kept on chuckin” as Pete says. We took breaks often because everyone’s bag weighed 20 lbs or more. Everyone had a bad spot that hurt, for example: back, shoulders and hips. We ate our snacks and our drinks. After all of our breaks, we were so tired that we just found a shady spot and laid down and slept. We called it our “journal time”. After another hour of walking, we finally reached our campsite. I will let someone finish the story from here. -Erin

July 21, 2011 8:30 p.m.

Zach is taking over so I will hand the notepad to him. -Ben

July 22, 2011 7:00 a.m.

Today is our last day on the camping trip. Last night I slept well. I hope I didn’t annoy Ben with my snoring. Even though this is our last day I am kind of sad and happy to go home. Sad because I loved being on this trip. And the challenges we faced only made it more fun. But also happy because I miss being in my nice house with showers, baths, and sinks. I miss being in my rocking chair and playing xbox. And most of all I miss my family. My parents, my dogs, my cat, and believe it or not…my older brother. But we’re not leaving yet, so I have to make a fire. And now I will do that. -Zach

July 21, 2011 8:00 a.m.

Last night I slept terribly. It was hot, humid, and my sleeping mat wouldn’t inflate. This morning my shoulders are tight and my whole body is sore. Yesterday, I injured my knee hiking. It feels much better this morning. -Sarah

July 22, 2011 1:00 p.m.

Ben here again, being force against my will to write in this journal. Some things that the previous writers left out is that as we were approaching the Batsto Visitor’s Center, we were on the verge of collapsing. We were running low on water, hot and in need of a lot of things and just when we thought that it was time to dig our own graves, a nice man with a bandage on his nose drove up on a lawn mower and let us into the visitor’s center. There we refilled our water bottles and got a ride to the campsite. It was divine intervention. Erin and I got a lift in a paddy wagon. When we got to the campsite, Pete gave us a taste of his drumming skills, we played Uno and war and finally the kind woman from the visitor’s center gave us ice cream and ICE! The next morning (today) we had oatmeal, Zach continued to tend to his son (the fire), and we swam, ate, and made our way out. Please excuse my handwriting as we are driving down an unpaved road which means I am finally in AIR CONDITIONING!! -Ben

Mr. Pete's Drum Solo after hiking is done

July 22, 2011 1:19 p.m.

We are finally done here and some lines we will never forget: “No offense”, “Release your suffering”, OMG, BFF, FTW”,  “And hot dogs”, “sucks for you in pancake land”, “what the heck, chocolate chunck, chunck chip chocolate chip”, “boundaries”. Very good times that I will never forget for my whole life. This is my last entry, hopefully this will be in Fernbrook history. Remember me as cool, funny, Erin. Good-bye. -Erin

Somebody ate my strawberries! School children on a field trip already found a few ripe ones in the Children’s Garden. Now they are gone. The peas vines are producing juicy, sweet pea pods, though.
The Rosaceae family includes fruit trees, flowering shrubs, some climbing vines and perennials. The apple, pear and quince are members of the Rosaceae family, as are the stone fruits, like cherries, peaches, plums and apricots. Does it make sense to you that roses are in this plant family? Well, that is the plant this group is named after. Strawberries are in the same plant family as vining fruits, like blackberries and raspberries. Herbaceous perennials in the Rosaceae family include lady’s mantle and meadow sweet.

I wonder what crop will be ready for eating next? Raspberries, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, onions, scallions, radishes, peas, green peppers and climbing spinach are beginning to flourish in the children’s garden.

This year we are growing a variety of cucurbits, brassicas, cruciferous, and solonaceous crops, including capsicums.
The following chart shows the major vegetable families and their most common members:
FAMILY                                          COMMON VEGETABLES in FAMILY

Amaryllidaceae                             chives, garlic, leeks, onion
Brassicaceae                                   horseradish, mustard, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi,                                                                   radish, watercress
Chenopodiaceae                            beet, Swiss chard, spinach

Compositae                                     endive, escarole, cardoon, artichoke, sunflower, lettuce, salsify

Cucurbitaceae                                 gourd, melon, squash, cucumber, luffa

Gramineae                                       corn
Leguminosae                                  peanuts, peas, beans
Solanaceae                                      tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato, tomatillo
Umbelliferae                                   celery, carrot, dill, chervil, cilantro, parsley, fennel, parsnip

Other families of  plants in the Children’s Garden include Convolvulaceae (sweet potato), Labiateae (basil), and Polygonaceae (rhubarb, sorrel).

Those of you in our home-school classes will recognize the Latin names of Family and Genus for these plants.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, swiss chard, green beans and many flowers will be growing rapidly in this wonderful weather. Come see the bamboo quadripod teepees and trellis. We are using these supports to hold up the beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash vines as they grow heavy with fruit and vegetables. As the summer progresses we will pick and eat food, and then plant and grow some more for our snacks at the end of the summer.

Do you want to try your own garden this year? Try planting seeds for herbs. You can plant some separately and then put them in the ground, or large pots on the patio or deck. Look up different germination rates for a variety of herbs grown for meals all summer and fall on the website of the National Gardening Association

http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=201102-how-to

Or you can buy some seedlings and put them together in a large arrangement.

DETRITIS!! If you don't know about it, come to Fernbrook Farms Education Center for fun learning.

As summer steps in a very busy spring is now behind us; for the first time in Fernbrook history we were completely booked for school programs during our spring season!  This past season also marks the start of a very successful new program called our Unit of Study Program in which schools incorporate a field trip to Fernbrook with three classes taught by a Fernbrook Instructor at their school.  There are currently six Unit of Study Programs available to schools which allow students to experience the great outdoors of Fernbrook first-hand:  Farm Study, Wetlands Study, Forest Ecology Study, Adaptations Study, School Garden Study, and Nature Labs Study.

In our effort to reach as many children as possible, we have also recently launched our new Outreach Program thanks to a partnership with Little Fish Theatre (a theatre company that is also in partnership with Adventure Aquarium for their outreaches).  There are three Outreach Programs currently available that will come to your school, library, festival, or special event.  “Rock the Boat!  Barnyard Boogie” is a live band that plays original children’s music about life on the farm, playing outside, and nature in a fun style that will have children of all ages up on their feet dancing and singing along.  “The History of Food (In 40 minutes or less!)” is a hilarious, fast-paced play about the complete history of food and farming from cavemen to today.  “Of Plastic Things and Butterfly’s Wings:  An Environmental Fable” is a found object puppet show that explores watershed and non-source point pollution from field to ocean in order to teach us all about the importance of caring for the environment.

If you are interested in booking any of our new programs or existing ones or would like more information, please contact us at Education@fernbrookfarms.com or 609-298-4028.  In other news, I’m also happy to report that I will be on maternity leave this summer.  I will be back in mid-September, but in the mean time all School Program questions can be directed to Claire Wildermuth, Director of Public Programs, or Marna Matthews, Administrative Assistant.

Get outside and have a great summer!

Jennifer Totora

Director of School Programs