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A Cornerstone Field Trip

10/29/2021

I have been bringing students here for 16 years, and I learn something new every time I come.

Candice has been teaching Environmental Science at Lake Forest High School for 19 years, and has brought her students to visit Angelic Organics Learning Center since 2006. Why? She says:

Candice Davenport

This is a day of environmental immersion for our students. On this field trip, they are exposed to almost every topic we cover during the year. Students witness environmental sustainability first hand the moment they arrive and are introduced to a composting toilet. Our annual trip to Angelic Organics Learning Center is truly a cornerstone of our environmental science curriculum. Throughout the year we can reference back to our day at the farm, giving the students a real world experience to recall and relate to.

Our two story composting toliet

At Angelic Organics Learning Center, our students see first-hand that it’s not that hard to be sustainable. This field trip illustrates the interconnectedness of our local and the global community. When teaching environmental science, I continually stress three foundations of applying and understanding environmental science: what is the environmental impact, the human health impact, and the economic impacts of our actions. We talk about all three foundations throughout the day at Angelic Organics Learning Center.

For some students, this trip really changes their world view. We have had students become vegetarian, or inspire their family to become shareholders of a CSA. I believe the true measure of learning is when you change your habits and apply what you learned to your daily life, and we see our students doing that after our trip here.

For teachers considering scheduling a field trip with us, Candice says: The On-Farm Educators have tailored our tour to include many topics that we want our students to see and experience while on the property. As an educator you can make the day as interdisciplinary as you want. We have incorporated human health, economics, history, biology, chemistry, and art.

On-Farm Educator Randy teaching about cover crops

This field trip is a great opportunity to disconnect from our everyday lives. It is quiet and peaceful and definitely worth the effort to bring students here. Our long bus ride is worth the time we get to spend at the farm and many students say this is their favorite day of the year.

Head to our School Field Trips page to schedule your trip today!

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Restoring Our Relationship with Nature

10/6/2021

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Interview with On-Farm Educators Randy and Jessie

Like everything we do here, we think about future generations. - Randy Mermel

Randy and Jessie are On-Farm Educators who have been working on restoring the oak savanna on the Angelic Organics Learning Center property since 2013. In recent years, we have expanded to offer public volunteer restoration days as we have built up the nature trail system (read more about the trail completion here). Randy and Jessie explain, “In order to preserve and protect our old growth trees, we have to remove invasive species that impede oak regeneration. We feel privileged to be on this land and we feel it is our responsibility to steward it and try to restore some of the balance of the ecosystem.”

The ultimate goal of restoration work is listening to what the land needs.
To liberate the old growth oaks from invasive plants that were brought over since colonization.
To free the forest floor and let sunlight in.

The benefits of restoration are not just for the trees. This work can be restorative for both people and the community. When volunteering, you learn about the habitat, emotionally connect with the land, and experience spiritual refreshment. Jessie says, “This feels like a tangible thing we can do to try to right some wrongs. It feels like an act of love and devotion to tend to the forest and work together.” Randy adds, “Restoration work is great for building community. We have met many awesome people doing this. You get this sense of accomplishment by seeing what you have done as a team.”

“Oak savannas are one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. We are at risk of losing them altogether. A lot of research is coming out right now that shows how vital old trees are in the ecosystem, sharing resources through their mycorrhizal networks. Some of the trees here are 200, 300 years old. They were saplings when the last Indigenous peoples lived here. We are blessed that these trees were spared the ax.”
- Jessie Crow Mermel

Restoration work, the act of removing invasive species using loppers, handsaws, and chainsaws, is a great activity for both introverts and extroverts. During our volunteer days, you can focus on your work, and there are also opportunities to socialize. You can truly show up as you are.

Sign me up

If you would like to try a volunteer restoration workday for the first time, make sure to wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. Dressing in layers is best because your body temperature changes with the labor. We provide the tools and fire to stay warm (weather permitting), and encourage you to bring water and snacks. Come on time so we can walk into the woods together. Please register in advance before attending a restoration work day so that we can contact you if any changes are made to the timing and location.

To love a place is not enough, we must find ways to heal it - Robin Wall Kimmerer

Randy and Jessie share a love of oaks and are deeply committed to caring for them. The couple met at an activist campaign to save wetlands and old growth oaks from being destroyed in 2000. They were both raised in northern Illinois and consider this biome their home.

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What is Stateline Farm Beginnings®?

10/5/2021

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Farm Beginnings® is a farmer training model that is farmer-led, community based, and rooted in sustainable agriculture. The purpose of Farm Beginnings® is to help beginning farmers establish strong relationships with nearby farmers, businesses, resources, and customers within a community network that supports the local food and farming system. Farm Beginnings® programs support sustainable farming by promoting farming practices that are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and achievable for new and beginning farmers. Farmers participate at all levels-- as steering committee members, classroom presenters, on-farm presenters, and on-farm mentors.

Field day at Fansler Farmstead in Janesville, WI.

Field day at Ten Men Farm in Pecatonica, IL.

Angelic Organics Learning Center hosts Farm Beginnings® programming for the state line area of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois-- Stateline Farm Beginnings®. Over the last 16 years, Stateline Farm Beginnings® has been a bedrock course for aspiring and beginning farmers in this area. Farmers learning from farmers is a core principle of the Farm Beginnings® model. With each graduating class, the pool of potential speakers to teach current Stateline Farm Beginnings® grows.

Three of the 2021 Stateline Farm Beginnings® participants at Angelic Organics Learning Center.

In recent years, the interests of new and aspiring farmers in our course have shifted. While livestock and vegetable farming are still central to most farm dreams, many new students are deeply interested in diversifying their offerings with enterprises like cut flowers, orchard fruits, mushrooms, hemp, and eco-tourism. While many plan to start their operation with less than five acres of land alongside an off-farm job, the opportunity for land access and growth is present and supported throughout the program.

In 2021, we reconfigured the course into three sessions - Farm Dreams Intensive, Skill Building Practicum, and Farm Business Intensive. This new model allows beginning farmers to pursue their farm dream at their own pace. Most recently, the course has moved to an online format. As we navigate through the changes in the pandemic, we continue to adapt the course. This fall, we are offering some keystone sessions in person, as safety permits.

Do you or someone you know have a farm dream? Applications for the 2022 cohort are now open! Visit the Stateline Farm Beginnings® page or contact us here with questions.

Learn More

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Nature Trails Completed

10/1/2021

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On September 29th, our staff and family members gathered to celebrate the completion of our nature trail system, located at the Angelic Organics Lodge in Caledonia, Illinois.

Thanks to the community supported campaign "Save the 70" (seventy acres of oak woodland and prairie adjacent to Angelic Organics Farm), this land was purchased in 2011. Our team set to work building trails, removing invasive species, and creating a map and working land acknowledgement. Today, our summer campers, school groups, and visitors of all ages have hands-on educational experiences on our trails.

Trail signage and maps are made possible by a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and the deep dedication of our staff and volunteers.

Special thank you to On-Farm Program Director Laura Sjoquist and On-Farm Educators Jessie Crow Mermel and Randy Mermel for their leadership.

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A Cornerstone Field Trip

Restoring Our Relationship with Nature

What is Stateline Farm Beginnings®?

Nature Trails Completed

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