August 2011 Update:

The Woodstock Elementary School gardens are alive and thriving!  It has been an amazing summer for many of our “crops” and plants that the school children were able to plant just before they left in June.  There is always the challenge of garden care during the summer months, however we have found that using hardy crops and planting them a little later, does help to prolong the harvest into the end of August when the children are returning to school.  We have a jungle of yellow beans that will be frozen for soups to be served in the cafe, and some will be left to go to seed in order to be used for bean art and counting.  Our tomatoes are just about ready and will be used in the cafe for sauces and on our salad bar. Our basil will get turned in pesto and our carrots will also be served on our salad bar. We are also keeping our fingers crossed for our butternut squash which will make great soups for school lunch. The students will be helping to harvest and will be learning to preserve/cook the various crops with the assistance from their teachers and the cafeteria staff. We are looking forward to celebrating what our gardens have given us this growing season!

WES Trek to Taste kids begin their local beef research!

A group of WES 5th/6th traveled to Cloudland Farm (Pomfret, VT) on Tuesday, May 3rd to begin their research on how a small local cattle farm raises beef.  They will be presenting their findings at the June 4th Trek to Taste event and providing samples of mini-meatballs.  You can test your taste buds to see if you can tell the difference between grass fed beef and commercial beef!

Picture 1: group students with cows in background
Picture 2: cute pic of momma cow with baby peeking from behind

Woodstock Elementary School put together a group of 16 students in Grades 3-6 to travel to 4 different local farms in the month of November and into December.  This idea was conceived by our principal Karen White, who supports and values our Farm to School goals. These trips were supported by our Farm to School grant and included a small farmer stipend. We have one more trip the first week in December to the Kedron Valley Stables.

Each visit has been amazing and labor intensive! The students were able to get their hands in a variety of different farm activities. The students have done everything from thrashing beans, peel leeks, make fresh Angus beef meatballs, harvesting winter greens, muck stalls, milk goats, collect eggs and tasting the foods produced on the farm. For many students this was their first time visiting a farm, or collecting an egg. These experiences are priceless for our children and we are so fortunate to have so many wonderful farms in close proximity to our school!

The Woodstock Elementary School has been busy ramping up its farm to school program.

Woodstock Elementary Farm To School “Grow It” Series

The Woodstock Elementary School Farm to School program is sponsoring series of films, workshops, and demonstrations. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all events. See individual entries on the link above for registration information.

Visit our school website at www.wesvt.org