Growing Green
CoEd Ages 9-15
6:1 Staff Ratio
Weeks 3-11
$515/week
Availability
Calleva is constantly striving to make ourselves more self-sufficient, and farming is the perfect extension to our line-up of fantastic adventure-based programs at Calleva. This is a first-hand, start to finish introduction into the world of organic gardening, produce and protein farming. Growing Green gives campers unparalleled experiences with techniques that are critical to the health of our planet all while having fun and getting dirty! This program is based at Calleva’s farm in Dickerson where we will have our Thursday overnight. We take our time getting to know the chickens, pigs, goats, cattle; explaining their needs and how they contribute to the health of the garden by creating fertilizer and consuming our food waste. We explain all the methods we will be practicing including composting, weeding, sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings and we talk a little (but not too much) about the science behind the choices we make. We get some actual work done which could be anything from mending a fence to mixing finished compost with topsoil to prepare a bed for planting the next day. Every small farm has a list of jobs so long that one could work all through every day and night and still find more ways to fix-up, streamline, and beautify. But at Calleva, we use this fact of farming to our teaching advantage. The general philosophy in the garden is to pick something you like doing and get it done. If everyone wants to do the same thing, great! That job gets done quicker and we move on. Some campers really like weeding, really. Some only want to feed the chickens. That's fine because the chickens eat weeds! And, when we give a team of campers a wheelbarrow and shovels, they usually end up moving more mulch, compost or topsoil than we need. They are just happy to be using their muscles and contributing to the group effort. Anything that's ripe is fair game for picking. The pleasure of eating a cucumber, tomato, lettuce sugar snap pea, or ear of sweet corn that you helped to grow is unforgettable. And when the wild Raspberries and Blackberries are out, picking some for desert is a must. Then we might finish up a chore or two but mostly we are thinking about swimming. We can take the twenty-minute hike down the hill from the Calleva farm to swim in a shallow section of the Potomac or stop at Black Rock mill for some rope swimming on the way back to afternoon council. Each camp week will culminate in a farmers market selling the fruits of our labors, literally!
The Week 3 Overnight is:
Calleva Farm
See Needslist below
Basic Itinerary:
- Day One: Farm Tour & Introduction @ Calleva Farm
- Day Two: Fun Farm Work @ Calleva Farm
- Day Three: Down and Dirty @ Calleva Farm
- Overnight: Farm Food & Farmers Market @ Calleva Farm
Special Considerations: Campers will be using Power tools and farming equipment after they have been instructed about how to safely operate and protect themselves. If you wish for your child to not have that option, arrangements can be made. All tools and materials necessary are included in this Camp.
2012 Instructor: TBD