When students at Roots Academy welcomed a special visitor to their classroom this spring, they weren’t just meeting a farmer—they were also planting the seeds of their own gardening journey. Farmer in the Classroom, a new upstate summer pilot program led by The Sylvia Center’s Learning Garden Manager, Julie Cerny, aims to bridge the gap between TSC’s in-class programs and the one-acre Learning Garden on Katchkie Farm.
The program starts with an early spring site visit, during which students learn to identify parts of a plant, practice harvesting, and learn about seasonality. This is followed by a summer farm visit, where the same kids get to harvest, taste, and cook the produce Julie grows.
In The Classroom
Julie first visited the community school in April, knowing she’d see the same class in the Learning Garden when the growing season was in full swing. “A big part of the classroom sessions is getting them excited about coming to the farm in the summer,” she explains. “It’s planting a seed of imagination—building curiosity and anticipation.” Equipped with pea-shoot seedlings and a slideshow about tomatoes, Julie spent the first session working with the kids to feel confident around exploring plants, teaching them to harvest using “caterpillar fingers” and “lobster pincers”, and discussing what nature needs to do for plants to grow.
On The Farm
A few weeks ago, the same class made their way to the Learning Garden, where they planted seeds, harvested and tasted vegetables, and ate an al fresco lunch in our farm pavilion. The program is carefully crafted to make young learners feel brave when tasting new things, but Julie acknowledges this isn’t always the case: when the kids are hesitant, she offers “mouse bites”, and celebrates each new flavor discovery with a thumbs-up vote. “The first iteration of the program did everything we wanted it to,” she says. “The kids loved planting and tasting everything”.
The Future
Long-term, Julie dreams of students planting a seed in the classroom and harvesting it on the farm. “Supermarket produce has a story,” she says. With programs like Farmer in the Classroom, students are able to start seeing fruits and vegetables as more than just meal-time items: “They become exciting living things,” says Julie. “And that creates a much deeper relationship, not only to the plant, but to the food these kids are eating”. Thanks to Farmer in the Classroom, our students are learning to see—and taste—that connection for themselves.
