St. Stephens and St. Agnes Visits the Farm
Every Fall, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School (SSSAS) dedicates a day to community engagement, sending students across the region to learn, serve, and connect. This year, we were thrilled to be one of their stops.
The Farm Tour
The group started their visit with a comprehensive farm tour. Our farmers guided them through the inner workings of our farm, starting with SILO, our robotic growing system. Then, they learned about our soil and vermicomposting practices and got to taste some of our unique crops, like purple shamrock and wasabi arugula.
Students get a deeper look at our worm farm, where we cultivate red wigglers and european night crawlers for vermicomposting.
Throughout the tour, students asked questions like “Where does the food go after you harvest it?” and “How many farmers work here?” Their curiosity reminded us why visits like this matter: they spark new ways of thinking about how food moves from farm to plate.
The Art of Composting
Our soil scientist, Tex, introduced the students to the heart of our farming system: healthy soil. Because we grow indoors, we create our own living soil every week, mixing compost, turning it over, and preparing batches for our farm and for community partners across the region.
The students were all in. They broke down just-harvested microgreen trays, shoveled composted potting mix into bags, and learned firsthand how every step in the process supports future crops. A friendly competition even broke out to see who could fill the most bags, turning a routine farm task into high-energy teamwork.
Our soil scientist, Tex, explains the importance of cultivating healthy soil.
Students shovel composted potting mix.
Students break down microgreen trays to compost.
The Lasting Impact
Though their visit was only for a morning, the impact of their hard work was huge. Their efforts advanced our composting production, allowing us to send more soil out to our partners.
A couple weeks after their visit, our farm received a package full of thank you notes from the students. The notes, accompanied by drawings of worms, soil, and radishes, expressed their interest in composting at home, gratitude for touring the farm, and curiosity about the food they eat everyday.
“I realized that I have no idea where my food comes from. That’s something I want to be more conscious about.” - Miriam
“I really enjoyed learning about compost. Who knew it could be so unique? Well you did!” - Clyde
We hope their experience continues to cultivate a deeper connection to sustainable food systems and community engagement!
Area 2 Farms for Schools
Your students deserve to know where their food comes from. That’s where we come in. At Area 2 Farms, we offer free, hands-on tours that bring food, farming, and sustainability to life for classrooms across our community.
