New for 2019!!
Growing Roots @ Laughing Buck Farm
Youth grown CSA program
with Angela Thoresen, growingrootslbf@gmail.com 

Come join us for a hands on learning experience at Laughing Buck Farm!
Growing relationships with the EARTH, COMMUNITY and OURSELVES

EARTH:  learning how to grow food for an entire season. We will be amending beds, planting from seeds/starts, following the life cycles of plants to harvesting and applying best growing practices. 
  • Science:  
    We will discuss the importance of soil, anchoring roots and it's life sustaining water and nutrients.  We will learn about beneficial bugs -- how we bring them into the garden and how to prevent unwanted bugs.  We will study companion planting, symbiotic relationships and how this is beneficial in gardening for the future.  We will learn about bees and truly understand the importance  of these amazing insects and why pollination is so crucial.  We will explore the Fibonacci sequence and how patterns in nature are  mathematical in nature.
  • Gardening:  
    We will examine sensory gardening, exploring all senses in the garden to discover what we love and our preferences with test, smell and touch. We will dive into an array of culinary/medicinal herbs and learn how to  incorporate  them into our every day meals.  We will learn about edible wildflowers, exploring from weed to wildflower and gain an understanding of how they can benefit us. We will learn to prep and prepare healthy meals together, using fresh vegetables and food straight from the garden.
  • Therapy Garden: 
    We will work together to design and create a place to explore senses, build raised beds for accessibility,  and create peace space and a nature altar.
  • Nature:
    We will observe our surroundings, taking moments to see what is around us, understanding trees, the birds and what grows naturally.

COMMUNITY: engaging in important questions.  Who are we in our community?  What is our community  doing for food justice?
  • Food Justice:  What is it? What and why do we have so many organizations involved in this movement? How can we contribute when we have abundance? 
    • A portion of your tuition goes to The Vegetable Connection for funding CSA's for financially challenged families.  Find more here 
    • We will have service opportunities to learn from, serve and interact with the community.  We will provide a pick-your-own CSA and partnership with the Vegetable Connection, a local nonprofit.    
 
OURSELVES: life lessons in the garden.  We will be planting seeds for the future, learning vocational and life skills. 
  • We will be cultivating friendships and working together through projects and loads of hands on learning.  
  • Through the season we will create, build, grow, get messy, learn to love dirt and grow roots to all things possible. 
 
Instructors at Growing Roots, we will
  • Cultivate a safe and nurturing space for youth to learn and interact, cultivating mindfulness in the garden here and now. 
  • Use Positive reinforcement, seeing learning moments in the now to really understand life lessons in the garden, moments of beauty and when things just do not go as plan. 
  • Recognizing youth’s individual strengths and challenges, how can we succeed with what we love. 
  • Providing TONS of hands on learning
  • Set group expectations from the beginning, listen to one another and  understand who we are to keep each other safe.   
 
Email all Questions to Angela at growingrootslbf@gmail.com
Angela’s background: educated in horticulture, sustainable education, mindfulness with children and horticultural therapy. Lover of the earth, dirt and all things outside. 
 
  Welcome all that are interested in our SEED year to join us February 3rd for a Q&A.  We will discuss all and everything about this program @ 2pm. Place TBA
GROWING ROOTS @ Laughing Buck Farm   Programs 2019
Homeschool Youth Program ages 9-14
March-May 10 weeks $35 per 4 hour class  ($350)
 
We will meet every Wednesday from 10-2. Each four-hour session will include:
  • group work, discussing expectations, cultivating our relationships with each other, sharing, journaling, discussing projects and how they will work and what they will look like. 
  • lots of hands on learning, building and creating projects as groups, as well as time to work individually on specific projects
  • lessons in the garden including soil building, garden planning, soil science and what makes healthy plants. 
  • hands-on projects like creating  garden beds, seeding, planting starts, understanding companion planting and how it is beneficial, incorporating beneficial insects into the garden, understanding the important role of bees.
  • designing and creating a therapy garden with herbs and sensory plants that will provide learning and exploration of culinary and medicinal herbs.  
  • breaks for snack and lunch during garden work as well as end of day reflection on how things went and a final wrap up.
  • towards the end of the season Spring produce will be provided, radishes, peas, lettuce and kale and spring herbs. 

(See CSA page for Full Details)
Summer Session Youth Program ages 10-14
June-August 10 weeks $50 per week
includes 6 hours of class time  ($500 total)
includes a full CSA share for the 10 weeks
(for $150 extra families can continue the CSA through October)
 
Summer program will meet 2 days a week.  As a group we will ALL meet Monday from 10-2.  Our Monday meetings will include:
  • group work, discussing expectations, cultivating our relationships with each other, sharing, journaling, discussing projects and how they will work and what they will look like. 
  • lessons in the garden including soil building, garden planning, soil science and what makes healthy plants. 
  • hands on projects like creating  garden beds, seeding, planting starts. Understanding companion planting and how it is beneficial.  Why do we like certain bugs in the garden and bees.
  • weekly  studies of culinary/medicinal herbs, maintaining and planting in our Therapy garden.
  • creating art in the garden and seasonal awareness as we move into summer
  • end of day reflection end of day reflection on how things went and a final wrap up.
 
There will be 2 available service days-- you can choose what which day will fit you best.  These days TBA on best availability with families and CSA members.  These days will be 2 hrs. and we will mostly harvest and prepare CSA pick ups.  Vegetables and herbs. (Full CSA descriptions on CSA page)
Where we inspire children's love for farming, gardening and nature  through the rhythms of the seasons, hands-on learning and play, all in a farming, outdoor setting.

Garden Photos