October 2023 Positive Change Recipient: The Learning Farm

Contributed by: Christa Nunez, Executive Director, and elder young people Stella, Jennifer, Samara, and Derek

The Learning Farm’s Scholarship Program is Supported by Khuba International. It provides free and reduced Summer and After School program tuition to qualifying children so that all children can enjoy the beauty and bounty of high-quality outdoor exploration over the Summer and during the school year. Here is some news from the students we were blessed to work with from the Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Youth Employment Service (YES) Program.

This summer was amazing! The children learned so many things. Here are some letters from the elder young people who supported the younger ones in their activities.

Ms. Harmony Malone, a local dance instructor and educator introduces and explores the world of self-expression through movement. This dance break is a great opportunity for kids and counselors to let loose, have some fun, and release energy. We’ve been learning classics like the cha-cha slide and playing creative games to help remember each other’s names. These activities foster confidence and freedom within the movement, which connects to autonomy over one’s self. Teaching kids that they have control over how they move and what they do with their bodies whilst simultaneously getting to know one another and having fun. 

Cooking with Ms. Trish is a great opportunity for kids to get some hands-on experience in baking and cooking. Teamwork is a skill that all young children are learning and this activity gives them great exposure to that. Kids decide and compromise on what ingredients or steps they would like to help complete and Trish helps ensure that all the campers are included. Kids also get to learn how to make some delicious treats! Banana bread was a big hit for everybody. 

Local artist Sarah Gatowka with the Luna Fiber Studio gives campers the opportunity to learn and create using locally grown material. Luna Fiber Studio specializes in natural dyeing and weaving and has been giving the youth the basics of those skills. Campers have had the opportunity to dye silk scarves using various natural materials including Indigo, Marigolds, Cochineal (dried insects), and many other plants. Sarah gives campers full creative freedom to fold, dye, and create their scarves in any way that they like; making every scarf beautifully unique and personal to each individual. Education and exploration of nature and its versatility is so crucial and is displayed through our fiber arts activities.

Jump Rope and Double Dutch can be daunting, but not with Davi. Different levels of difficulty for different age ranges and individuals make it so everyone can feel successful. Kids have the opportunity to run around, do some creative jumping, and learn the basics of how to jump rope and turn rope. Some kids gravitate to turning and some to jumping and whatever they choose they are reminded how important both roles are. Each day they are able to build on their skills from the day before and see their peers and their own growth. This activity creates a teammate sort of bond and encourages kids to work together and support each other.  -Stella

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I learned about so many things in the first year of my job at the Learning Farm. The first one is all about what bees can do. For example, they communicate with each other by moving their body, get only specific flowers that they like to turn into honey, and are able to defend themselves and their colony by stinging the threat. 

The second one is about how to use energy responsibly, for example using LED light bulbs that help reduce the risk of combustion, using natural sunlight to power solar panel energy, and using ecologically friendly construction materials in walls. 

The third one is about making art, an example is making shaving cream color art, and photograph art with popsicle sticks, and paper origami cranes. The fourth one is about rhythm in dancing, for example learning the moves of the macarena, cha cha slide dance move, and a variety of dance style moves. The last one is about the creek. It helps you know what nature feels like. We build rock bridges across the middle of Upper Creek and be careful with animals there. I love reading books to kids, doing physical exercises like yoga, making sure that everyone is paying attention to the teacher, and having a good time in free play. What I have been doing to support my elders, peers, and campers is helping them with specific difficult tasks, making sure to give people support depending on the activity, and making sure people feel included in what we are doing.  -Jennifer

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I am working at the Learning Farm as a CIT this summer. I hadn’t worked with elementary-age people before so I was excited to have a new experience. I’ve learned more about really validating the needs of kids. I think it’s really important to just make sure that they just feel heard, everyone has different needs. One of the things I’ve learned from my peers is giving kids encouragement.

I really enjoy the amount of smiles I see every morning at the Learning Farm. I continue to learn just how smart younger kids are. Adults really underestimate how clever and insightful they are. I think the separation of age makes us think that they are less capable mentally. Kids do have a whole lot of things they can learn but so do we. We can all learn from each other. It’s not like we just gain some all-knowing wisdom as we age. We can learn and grow at any age. 

We did a really nice art activity with Elan Shapiro! I enjoyed coloring with the kids and using different patterns and colors. All of the templates had activism quotes on them. I watched the kids be creative in their color schemes and the different templates that they chose. My template was circular with layered hearts and the quote “Together we share, and from this, we live.” I colored it with different hues of pink and orange. <3

Ayden runs all of the art classes for our campers! She comes up with so many cool and creative ideas for the kids to do. Some of my favorites have been: duck tape dolls, friendship bracelets, nature self-portraits, and painting with tape and watercolor. That’s only a few of the cool art activities the campers have done! Ayden creates a space where kids can express their creative abilities freely which is so important. 

The forest at the Learning Farm is one of my favorite forests in town! I love how luscious and green the trees are. It’s a bit of a walk from the barn to the creek but the forest gives you something to admire and mushrooms the find. We have found many cool critters throughout the forest and are always making sure to respect the wildlife around us. I appreciate how the Learning Farm values teaching campers about boundaries at a young age. 

Davi Mozie comes in four days out of our five-day week and teaches us how we can improve ourselves. She makes time and space for the LITs and CITs to talk. Through serious and giggly conversations I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned more about navigating stubbornness with care. When we have talks about improving and helping the LITs grow into leadership I’ve noticed more and more how they need a lot of encouragement and just need a bit of a push. They need to know that they can lead the campers too. It feels relieving when we can all chill out and just talk.  -Samara

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My experience at The Learning Farm has been incredible. It was my first summer job. At The  Learning Farm, I provide support for Pete, Christa, and Yoshiko if they need it. I always felt welcome there. I have learned a lot of valuable skills while working there. I learned how to improve my leadership skills, how to be more decisive, and how to maintain control of situations. While working here, I learned how to take control of the situation more than I ever did before because it required me to make sure no one got hurt, and everyone was playing fair. I have been able to practice taking initiative so I can be more useful. 

The Learning Farm has a very welcoming environment. When I was working there, I always saw the kids playing kindly with each other. I never saw anyone get excluded. Every week, I saw new friendships being made. There are several different age ranges at The Learning Farm. The environment encouraged the older kids to include the younger kids while playing games.  And if the younger kids didn’t understand the project, the older kids would happily explain how to play and what they needed to do and help them if they needed help. 

Activities at The Learning Farm include learning about the animals, going to the creek on really hot days and so many others. The Learning Farm has some classes with interactive experiences like jumping rope with Davi or beekeeping with Gil. I have learned things at The Learning Farm that I never would have learned otherwise. A lot of these classes are interactive, so the kids do not get bored easily. Going to the creek has to be one of the kid’s favorite activities now because it is nice and they get to just relax for an hour on a hot day. There are also various activities to spark the children’s imagination like reading aloud, art, and yoga. There are sports that the kids love to play during free play, which can include activities such as soccer, volleyball, and tetherball.  -Derek

A Note from GreenStar: The Learning Farm is one of 10 local nonprofit organizations voted among GreenStar’s membership to be a 2023 Partner for Change. They are also GreenStar’s October 2023 featured Positive Change recipient. Read more about our Partners for Change program here.