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Hi Farm-Based Educators,
April has been a full month, and May is sure to be fuller! We got to visit with many familiar and new faces on Zoom this month for conversations about facing animal death on the farm with farm visitors; through our summer camp learning community with Ani Steele; and during Healing the Roots of Racism, a six-part series for those in food and land education.
We also saw many folks in person! The spring ABCs of Farm-Based Education ran March 31–April 1, and reminded us how deeply engaged you all are. We had great discussions, and played a lot, too! Here’s a write up of a favorite activity, Tomato Planet, which you could adapt for other types of produce.
As always, thank you for doing the important work of connecting people to land and agriculture.
See you soon,
Vera Simon-Nobes
FBEN Coordinator
P.S. If you missed our three-part conversation series about animal death on the farm, you can view recordings here, and read reflections and tips from Michaela Ryan’s experiences with supporting visiting students through grief and loss on the farm at New Village Farm. We were also joined by Michael Kaufmann of Green Chimneys. Thank you, Michael and Michaela!
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Summer Camp Learning Community (Bi-Weekly)
Next date May 8, 10 a.m. EST (Online): These informal meetings are time to talk camp! Join FBEN members who run summer farm camp to discuss hiring, registration, camp protocols and more. This year’s community is facilitated by food and culture consultant, Ani Steele. Register for 5/8.
Can’t make it? Contact Ani for notes and/or for an invitation to the Camp Google Group.
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BIPOC Listening Session
May 24, 3–4 p.m. EST (Online): The Farm-Based Education Network invites you to share your thoughts about future offerings to support you as BIPOC/people of the global majority. This listening process is developed in partnership with Richael Faithful (they/them), a folk healing artist, who has hosted spaces with FBEN since 2019. At this point, we are pausing together to deeply listen for what, and how, FBEN can be most supportive for BIPOC/people of the global majority working in food/farm/garden/land education. This form of listening is the first relational step in understanding of if, and what, we create in the future. Thank you for joining this conversation! Register for the session.
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More Learning Opportunities | | |
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EVENT
Orion Celebrates the More-than-Human World
May 9, 6 p.m. EST (Online): An event for the whole family (including those with fur, feathers, and scales). Enjoy appearances by some of Orion's favorite writers, including Jane Goodall, and their animal friends. Register now.
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MEETING
People of Color in School Garden Education Affinity Group
May 18, 3 p.m. EST (Online): Co-facilitated by Regi Jones of Life Lab and Tristana Pirkl of the SGSO Network, this group launched a couple of weeks ago and is holding their second meeting. Join by registering. Once you fill out registration you will be added to Google Classroom and receive a Zoom link.
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CONFERENCE
Inside-Out International Conference & Leadership Series
June 12–15 (In Person, Estes Park, CO): The Inside-Out International Conference and year-round Leadership Series events bring children and nature leaders together for networking, workshops, special events, and a world-class conference. More information and registration.
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WORKSHOP
Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy and Wonder
July 10–14 (In Person, Shelburne, VT): Join Shelburne Farms educators for an immersive, energizing week on the farm to inspire your curriculum with fresh ideas. While they use the farm as a teaching tool, they’ve crafted this experience to support you no matter where you’re located. You’ll learn ways to utilize your community – be it a city, the suburbs, or a rural area – as a vital resource in your early education program. No program is the same and it brings together a wonderful community of learners from all over who share, inspire, and support each other! Thanks to grant funding, participation is offered at no cost for 2023. In order to register, you must commit to attending the entire program. (Lodging not included.) Register.
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CONFERENCE
National Children & Youth Garden Symposium
July 12–15 (In Person, Knoxville, TN): Since 1993, the American Horticultural Society’s National Children & Youth Garden Symposium has educated thousands of teachers who have, in turn, gone on to educate over a million children. Every year, the symposium brings together educators, landscape architects and designers, staff at botanic gardens, non-profits, and more from around the country who are all working to engage children with gardens and the natural world that surrounds them. Register.
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Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and KidsGardening share a belief that the garden has the power to do more than grow flowers and herbs, it can grow people, communities, and even kindness, too. Together, they’re announcing a new Lots of Compassion grant program, designed to support local leaders looking to transform vacant lots into gardens to help grow compassion in their community. In 2023, 10 grantees will receive $20,000 each to transform a vacant lot into a garden. Applications are due June 2, 2023. | |
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Job Openings from Members and Partners
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Youth Entrepreneurship Cooperative Manager, City Blossoms, Washington, D.C.
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Institute for Sustainable Schools Professional Learning Facilitator, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT
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Farm to School Director, Sierra Harvest, Nevada City, CA
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Direct Support Provider, High Spirit Community Farm, Great Barrington, MA
Are you hiring? Post a job on FBEN's forum.
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The Farm-Based Education Network (FBEN) is a free member network established to strengthen and support the work of educators, farmers, and community leaders who provide access and experiences on working farms. Our mission is to inspire, nurture, and promote farm-based education. The FBEN is a project administered by Shelburne Farms and supported by regional groups, advisers, and founding partners. |
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