Our fabulous On Farm Educators have been busy at the Learning Center over the past couple of weeks. Randy, Jessie, Allyson, and Laura have all been busy delivering dynamic curriculums to hundreds of area high school students.

Some of the amazing things taught were: the natural history of our area, the value of crop rotation, organic farming, soil, and biodiversity, just to name a few.
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In addition, the students were able to participate in hands-on projects, such as taking and analyzing soil samples in order to better understand the components of a healthy food system. They even harvested some herbs, fruit, and vegetables for their farm-fresh salad! Let's give a big thank you to our hard working On Farm Educators, they really are making a difference!

In partnership with Zion Lutheran Church we officially opened the Buddy House. Residents from the Blackhawk community were invited to join us for a fun-filled afternoon, which included relay races, scavenger hunt at the farm for the kids, and bingo for the adults. The food was prepared by several volunteers from the Blackhawk community and the menu included hamburgers, brats, chicken and BBQ ribs. Side dishes included potato salad, baked beans, green beans and macaroni and cheese (Yum..Yum). Finally for dessert there was homemade strawberry ice cream, along with an ice cream making demonstration. The strawberries came from the Roots & Wings Farm & Garden.

The Park Players, a youth group from Zion Lutheran Church served the food to over 125 Blackhawk residents. It was good to see these young men and women supporting our efforts and volunteering their time to serve in this way. In addition their were a few vendors on site selling their wares, and I noticed several items being purchased from them. 
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Fun was had by all, and we are already planning our next event. It was so nice to see the community coming together enjoying one another's company, and deepening their friendships. I want to thank Janice, Peggy, Yatte, Angela, Wayne, Leon, Park Players and the residents that supported this event.