The Orcas and Dolphins at Farm School

The Orcas have been very involved in Farm School. We went twice a month in the fall and learned about the harvest, the chickens, as well as how to put the farm to bed for the winter. We have been coming twice a month since April, and our last two trips to the farm include the Dolphin class, as the Orcas prepare to pass the farm on to next year's Orca class who will continue the work we started this spring.

Every Orca "Teacher" had a Dolphin partner whom they cared for and made sure they knew what to do on the farm.

Each Orca "Teacher" had something to teach, such as this young man sharing some great information about the potatoes we planted two weeks ago that are already sprouting in the field.

We toured the farm and had opportunities to taste edible flowers. This Orca is making sure his partner has some.

We went into the strawberry field and the Orca "Teacher" shared what we know about mother plants, runners, and daughter plants. Then we searched the row for juicy red berries to taste.

They were so good!

We visited the chickens again, and were surprised by their size. There was one different chicken in there who was smaller, had gray feet, and the beginnings of funny feathers sticking up on her head. Now, how did she get in there?

Together we ate snack in the field. It was fun making new friends.

Next we divided into two groups and planted pumpkin seeds, as well as transplanted pumpkin seedlings into the field. First we dug a hole that was just the right size.

Then we mixed in some food for the new plant, and made the bed nice and soft.

Hello, baby pumpkin! We talked to our pumpkin plants, and encouraged them to grow.

Then we tucked them into their field bed, covered their roots, and gave them a drink of water. This little boy lay on his tummy to talk encouragingly to his plant.

In the seed planting group Farm Teacher Val showed us the two kinds of seeds we could choose to plant One is called "Spooky" and will be a good jack-o-lantern pumpkin.

After adding soil to our pots, we poked a hole, dropped in our seed, and then covered it up. These plants will go home with us as a reminder of the good work we are doing at the farm. Next Farm School day will be our last for the spring, but we can hardly wait to come back in the fall and see how everything has grown and changed!