Field Trips and Service Learning

Starting as early as Pre-Kindergarten, children come to Great Kids Farm to work together in the fields and with the animals. Repeat visits allow them to experience the full spectrum of food production by following the seeds they plant through to harvest. Older children come to the farm to experience the science of horticulture, agriculture and animal farming. High school students and teachers use the farm to enhance their studies of subjects spanning journalism, environmental science, business management and social justice. Older students also engage in service learning. Click here if you are interested in bringing your class to Great Kids Farm.

Schoolyard Gardens and Food Education

Great Kids Farm supports school-based gardens and food education programs by growing a model schoolyard garden and using growing methods that students who visit the farm can replicate in their own schoolyards. The farm offers seasonal workshops on how to develop schoolyard gardens that are especially tailored to urban school settings, and how to achieve academic goals and link curriculum to living educational spaces. Farm staff can help with site evaluation and planning for schoolyard gardens, including vegetable cultivation. The farm also provides vegetable transplants, identifies various resources school communities can tap into, and, pending continued funding, offers a small grant program to help schools set up and develop their own gardens. To support culinary programs and classroom-based food education throughout City Schools, Great Kids Farm also supplies a growing number of schools with weekly produce deliveries.

Click here if you would like to get involved in the Schoolyard Gardens project.

Great Kids Farm Schoolyard Planting Schedule and Suggestions for Spring and Summer Gardens

Global Connections

Great Kids Farm connects Baltimore’s City’s young people to young people in other cities and countries - global growing pals - through The Growing Connection, a U.S.-based non-profit affiliate of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Utilizing the nutrient-efficient EarthBox as the initial teaching and growing platform, The Growing Connection teaches young people and their families to grow food for increased food security, improved economic wellbeing and better health. At Great Kids Farm, we coordinate a regional Growing Connection EarthBox demonstration garden and support the entry of schools into The Growing Connection’s international community of kids growing food for the well-being of their families, communities and the planet. Through The Growing Connection, Baltimore City students learn to grow food plants from, and understand the food issues faced by their counterparts in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as other American cities.

Click here if you would like to learn more about Baltimore’s Global Connections program.

Internships

Another way Great Kids Farm develops young people to lead their peers into a more sustainable future based on local, healthy food sources is through internships. Our interns not only become skilled growers and eaters, but also serve as ambassadors for the farm. Great Kids Farm interns assist with:

• Planting seeds, tending seedlings, caring for maturing plants, harvesting, washing and packaging produce, and participating in all aspects of farm work
• Building the infrastructure of the farm, including fences, washing stations, an earth oven and more
• Raising egg-laying hens, goats and composting worms
• Leading educational tours of the farm for students and visitors
• Greeting guests at community events
• Selling produce at farmer’s markets

Click here if you would like to find out about internships at Great Kids Farm.