In an age of Ipods, Wii, and MySpace, it’s not easy to get teens interested in cows, kohlrabi, and life on the farm, let alone get them to spend two weeks working on one – as volunteers.
But that’s exactly what happened this summer at Appleton Farms, where farm educator Holly Hannaway saw a gap in her programming for teens and found four high-school students to fill it.
The new Farm Stewards in Training program was developed around the idea that we could provide a meaningful, hands-on, educational experience for teens ages 15 – 17. This group has often been overlooked as we focused our efforts on younger kids through the successful Farm Fiddleheads and Young Farmers programs. The four teens in this year’s Farm Stewards program, who came from Beverly, Hamilton, and Danvers, were asked to commit to two weeks on the farm between June and August. They worked in the dairy, set up pasture lines, harvested onions for our Community Supported Agriculture program, and even became the teachers themselves when they helped out with our children’s programs.
The program proved a win-win – for us and the teens. We reached an audience underserved by our traditional programs – and generated 500 hours of critical work on the farm. The teens learned about the rewards of working with their hands and watching their work grow – literally. And, each teen came back to the farm for an additional week or two, even after their initial two weeks were up. All expressed a desire to return to the farm, whether as a volunteer or even an employee.
“It was a transforming experience,” says Hannaway. “The kids were excited, and they were open to new experiences. Most importantly, they wanted more.”
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