Winter CSA week 2; “Sense of Place” Class Trip

Yesterday at 9am sharp a big yellow school bus pulled into the farm stand parking lot and disgorged 17 highschool students and their 2 teachers. It was a class visit from Hartford High, where the students are enrolled in a class that focuses on Sense of Place. When I asked what this meant to them they said that they were learning about the “braid” of Community, Environment, and Economy in different places around the region. A visit to our farm couldn’t have been more fitting.
As we walked around the farm I introduced them to the CSA model, which is a perfect example of this braided philosophy. We peeked into one of the greenhouses where boxes were being packed with veggies for this week’s Winter Share. We discussed the role Sweetland plays in our community as a source of food and a gathering place. As many farms head into their economically lean time of year we are fortunate to be able to extend our CSA season for a couple extra months and keep our farm stand open year-round, thanks to a community of dedicated local foodies. After standing for a few minutes in front of our “weather rock” to talk about how climate change is affecting local farms, we ducked into the balmy air of a second greenhouse to share some of our efforts to reduce Sweetland’s fossil carbon emissions, like the new wood-fired heating system and roof-top solar panels (more of which were going on the new barn roof as we spoke!). And of course, no visit to a farm would be complete without a little hands-on work. Half the class headed to the hay loft to stack bales and sweep up the loose hay while the others helped bag carrots and turnips for your shares.
At the students’ request the final stop was a visit to the farm store. I couldn’t help but note the fittingly place-based selections of maple sap seltzer, bread and butter pickles, and maple candies for their bus ride back to school. Thanks for the visit, team, I hope you added a new appreciation of place to your growing list.

Cheers

Norah and the Sweetland Crew

Week 2 Winter Harvest

Carrots

Garlic

Kale

Sweet Potatoes

Rutabaga

Spicy Greens Mix

Honeynut Squash

Hakurei Salad Turnips

What’s Cooking This Week

You can find ingredients for all of these recipes in our farm store! We source meats, dairy, grains, beans, sweets, and more from local and sustainable producers. Don’t forget to use your CSA member discount!