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"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil
is to forget ourselves.” Mahatma Gandhi |
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| VISITOR CENTER & OPEN BARN |
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Open Barn and the Farm Kitchen & Store will re-open this week!
We are expanding our Farm Kitchen & Store hours to offer our community more opportunities to visit us. We will be open 9am-8pm Fridays and Saturdays. We are again offering our fresh made donuts and hand-scooped Guernsey ice cream, along with farm pork, chicken, beef, and lamb available from our freezer. We are also excited to have new local partners offer products in the store. Stop in and explore!
Our barns will be open Fridays 4-8pm and Saturday 9am-8pm. Campfires in the evenings with s'mores kits will be available in our store to enhance your farm fun outing. |
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We welcome a new rabbit, “Lucky”. She is acclimating and will join Open Barn this spring.
Nothing says springtime like chicks. Chicks will be available to visit during our Open Barn, along with the many other animals. |
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UPCOMING LEARNING PROGRAMS |
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Springtime at the Farm: (Ages 3-5 w/adult)
April 3 & 18
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Intro to Gardening & Soil Health: (Ages 16 - adult) A 2-part program on April 4 and April 11
| Literature at the Farm: (grades 2-5)
April 27
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Hold Your Horses: (ages 6-10) April 20
| Make the Most of Compost: (grades K - 5)
May 4
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| Details & Register Here |
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The value of outdoor risky play is presented in an interesting article below . . .
“Children should be kept as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible.” |
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Authored by an “outdoor risky play researcher,” Mariana Brussoni discusses the meaning and importance of risky play for children's social and physical development in the following article, Why Children Need Risk, Fear, and Excitement in Play Brussoni states that, “Risky play provides children with low-cost opportunities to develop the physical and cognitive skills to master the challenges that they will face as they grow older.”
Programs on the Farm encourage these concepts with our hands-on learning experiences through a model to guide skill development and co-create expectations related to assessing and managing risk in an ever-changing, supportive outdoor environment. |
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| EARTH DAY CELEBRATION - April 20, 2024 | |
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Special Earth Day Open Barn: Save the date to enjoy a special Open Barn with activities for all ages.
Towel Drive: Towels are a key part of our animal care and around the farm. Drop of new or lightly used, clean towels during this event! (no sheets or blankets)
Volunteer Service Projects: Lend a hand and join us as a volunteer to help with projects. Pre-registration is required to volunteer. |
| Find out more here |
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We are gearing up for Spring! The crops in the hoop house are really taking off! The carrots and scallions were overwintered, which means that they were planted last fall to get a jump start on the spring. The hoop house protected them through the winter and now with longer days of daylight, they are growing again. In February, we seeded spinach, chard, cilantro, kohlrabi, radishes, and broccolini in the hoop house. They were slow to germinate but are now growing nicely and will give us some early harvests. Furthermore, the greenhouse is filling up with vegetable seedlings to be planted outside in April to get a jump start. We expect to have fresh carrots, scallions, and spinach for the store opening in April, with more to come in the weeks following.
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There is still space in the Harvest Club!
With three size options, two pick up days a week, and a variety of vegetables to choose from, Harvest Club is the easy way to eat local this summer. It is a great way to support your local Farm! |
| Details Here |
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Look no further than Bowers School Farm. You can have a private room and access to our Open Barn for animal visits and other seasonal activities. Two hour rentals are available on Friday afternoons and Saturdays.
Other types of private events can enjoy our Farm Activity Building. Events, such as weddings, reunions, or other social or business events, are perfect in our unique farm setting.
More information is HERE. |
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A Total Eclipse of the Sun
On Apr 8, 2024 a large swath of North America will experience an exciting celestial phenomenon, a total solar eclipse! The eclipse path will begin in Mexico and pass through parts of a dozen states before ending in the Canadian province Newfoundland . . . |
| Read the full story here |
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We are fortunate to have the support of so many volunteers to keep the Farm operating smoothly and keep it beautiful. The next volunteer orientation directly with the Farm is in June, and you can find out more information here.
The groups below are immediately seeking volunteers to join them. |
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| Preservation Bloomfield |
They are currently seeking committee members to support several unique historic home tours. Themes include Ghosts and Ghouls at the Chalmers Estate and Prohibition, Bloomfield’s Underground Decadence. Email Alan Jaros if interested. |
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| Master Gardeners of Oakland County |
They are looking for volunteers to join them in their efforts around the farm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Please contact Nancy if you are interested in helping out. |
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Camp - From Michelle: It's with mixed emotions that I share that I will be bidding farewell to Camp and BHS to embark on a new career path in nursing. I've spent the greater part of 8 years with BHS and it's been a true pleasure to grow alongside the Camp program. I've had countless memories and wildly unique experiences that I will always cherish. I am excited for Camp to continue to thrive! During this transition, please direct all questions regarding Camp to bowersfarm@bloomfield.org.
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There are new staff members joining us whom will be announced soon. We have a new Kitchen Manager coming on this week to tempt us with her talents. We will also have a new Camp Coordinator in order to prep for the summer camp adventure.
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Looking for other interesting opportunities?
Check out our sister site at Johnson Nature Center. | Whimsical Woodlands Festival: Visit this new earthday event on April 21, 2024. |
Whimsical Woodlands Builders: Looking for builders of fairy/gnome homes for this event in April. | Summer Camp: There are still spots available. |
| Learn more here |
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