July is turning to August this week. Our attention is turning towards back-to-school preparations for our boys and back-to-the-farm preparations for hands-on learning. However, learning never really stopped at the farm this summer!
This summer, we’ve hosted three interns — two juniors from Grayslake North High School and one recent graduate from Grayslake Central High School, heading to college soon. Our summer internship program allows these students to dive more deeply into learning about the farm and specific areas of interest to them.
Our high school interns focused on developing a pollinator garden within the Community Gardens. They also interned in the farm store to learn about how we connect eaters with local food and farmers. With an interest in animal husbandry, they also helped us to bottle-feed young goats, weigh animals, and clean the animal stalls.
Our college intern, once Jeff’s Engineering a Sustainable Future student in high school, is interested in building skills in grant writing and building hands-on education. She did this through experiences in animal husbandry, mechanical transplanting, and seeding plants for the Living Laboratory in the greenhouse. Her passion for renewable energy solutions helps us to identify grant opportunities that could build on our existing commitment toward renewable options on the farm.
Back-to-school is also becoming back-to-the-farm for Grayslake High School students. This fall, Jeff is teaching two Engineering a Sustainable Future classes at the farm. As the district’s agricultural lead, Jeff is also hosting farm-based projects and tours at the farm for classes. This includes projects in partnership with fellow teachers from the culinary, geometry in construction, special education, languages, and entrepreneurship.
Opportunities for younger students to experience hands-on learning will expand with the October ribbon-cutting of the Living Laboratory. We’re all honored to facilitate connections with the land, local food, and fun at the farm for all ages.
Finally, adults experience hands-on learning by volunteering at our Farm Store and Community Garden. Learning never stops, particularly when there’s so much to learn and care for in our natural world.
Enjoy your own back-to-school and back-to-the-farm preparations!
Your farmers,
~Jeff, Jen, David, Cleto, Miguel, Anacleto and the Liberty Prairie team