Alta's Farm
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https://altasfarm.wordpress.com/
ALTA'S FARM
Welcome to Alta's Farm!
We are a team of six individuals who are passionate about sustainable communities and equitable education for all students. Therefore, we are in the process of creating Alta’s Farm:
A sustainable farm dedicated to providing a fun, empowering environment for all children to learn and grow, particularly those with developmental and learning differences.
To do this, we need your help.
In order to start summer programming this year, we need to:
(a) Aquire the land
(b) Purchase farming and curriculum materials
Every little bit counts in helping us support both the land and our students. We cannot thank you enough.
If you want to learn more about the farm and our programming, a more extensive description is below...
WHY ALTA'S FARM MATTERS
In terms of the child...
As modern children are engaged more and more in indoor activities away from nature, substantial data has indicated a resulting loss of:
Memorable experiences
Adventure
Sense of achievement
Autonomy
Sense of being and belonging
Enjoyment
Alta’s Farm wants to reverse this trend.
This small-scale sustainable farm adopts the European model of Care Farms or Green Care. This philosophy affords the child an individualized experience away from the many distractions of the modern world. This includes the deluge of technology and the pressures of social media.
Alta's Farm will use the increasing data of the negative effects on the child disconnecting from nature and the guidance of the community to empower every child. The help from families of children with Learning Differences, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified is invaluable to this work.
With this input of the adolescent and young adult communities positively affected by their engagement with nature, with your support, Alta’s Farm creates a safe and sustainable environment for all children to grow AND develop.
In terms of the land and the community...
In order to mitigate ongoing climate change, we will focus on carbon recaptureing by planting perenials, including native species. In addition, our focus on community will include food justice. As an example, it is our desire to contribute fresh produce to the local food bank throughout the season.
ORIGINS OF ALTA’S FARM
Alta's Farm project started six years ago as a project to bring farming to a small Montessori School in Park City, Utah. Shawn, our lead activist, was hired to develop a robust outdoor program to connect the children to nature. He then moved onto a therapeutic boarding school in the Park City area of Utah working for three years with adolescents with various diagnoses, through a farm to table program. Over the past three years, Shawn has worked as a special needs educator focused on the child’s engagement in nature at a Montessori Lab School in Salt Lake City, UT. Specifically, Shawn has, and continues to, focus on the Montessori philosophy of Erdkinder, engaging the child in farm work in support of their social, emotional and academic growth.
Through his work, Shawn came to see the need for Alta's Farm. He then invited our other team members to be on board: Matt, who is in charge of farming, Jenna, who is in charge of finance, and Evie, who is in charge of education.
However, the most important member of Alta's Farm is our namesake: Alta. Alta is an avid river and mountain person, having run her first class IV rapid when she was four years old and having been named after a ski hill. When not living the dream, Alta spends her time reading and writing, playing guitar, practicing her photography skills and speaking with fairies. And farming, too!
PEDAGOGY
With the launch of Alta’s Farm, we look to provide the child structure, clarity, and predictability. More broadly, we look to facilitate interaction between children and the natural environment. This interaction is integral to children’s emotional and social growth.
On Alta’s Farm, growth is recognized through knowing beyond the purely cognitive or intellectual knowing. It includes embodied knowing, where knowledge held in the body related to feelings and experience could be drawn on and used as a resource for growth. The hands-on, experiential process of the farm support this embodied way of connecting nature and self.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING
The intent of Alta’s Farm project is to acquire 3 acres of land, focusing on the small scale and permaculture approach of farming. The land would be used to develop a high altitude farm, as outlined by Dr. Fred Montague a retired professor, author and resident of the area.
Our ultimate goal is for children to have the opportunity to visit and work on the farm on a daily basis for no fee. The crops will be used to supply Alta’s Farm CSA which will self-fund and sustain the children’s opportunities on the farm.
Alta’s Farm embraces the need for a safe and sustainable environment for the child to experience embodied growth—the opportunity to feel whole, engaged in the World.
ALTA'S FARM
Welcome to Alta's Farm!
We are a team of six individuals who are passionate about sustainable communities and equitable education for all students. Therefore, we are in the process of creating Alta’s Farm:
A sustainable farm dedicated to providing a fun, empowering environment for all children to learn and grow, particularly those with developmental and learning differences.
To do this, we need your help.
In order to start summer programming this year, we need to:
(a) Aquire the land
(b) Purchase farming and curriculum materials
Every little bit counts in helping us support both the land and our students. We cannot thank you enough.
If you want to learn more about the farm and our programming, a more extensive description is below...
WHY ALTA'S FARM MATTERS
In terms of the child...
As modern children are engaged more and more in indoor activities away from nature, substantial data has indicated a resulting loss of:
Memorable experiences
Adventure
Sense of achievement
Autonomy
Sense of being and belonging
Enjoyment
Alta’s Farm wants to reverse this trend.
This small-scale sustainable farm adopts the European model of Care Farms or Green Care. This philosophy affords the child an individualized experience away from the many distractions of the modern world. This includes the deluge of technology and the pressures of social media.
Alta's Farm will use the increasing data of the negative effects on the child disconnecting from nature and the guidance of the community to empower every child. The help from families of children with Learning Differences, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified is invaluable to this work.
With this input of the adolescent and young adult communities positively affected by their engagement with nature, with your support, Alta’s Farm creates a safe and sustainable environment for all children to grow AND develop.
In terms of the land and the community...
In order to mitigate ongoing climate change, we will focus on carbon recaptureing by planting perenials, including native species. In addition, our focus on community will include food justice. As an example, it is our desire to contribute fresh produce to the local food bank throughout the season.
ORIGINS OF ALTA’S FARM
Alta's Farm project started six years ago as a project to bring farming to a small Montessori School in Park City, Utah. Shawn, our lead activist, was hired to develop a robust outdoor program to connect the children to nature. He then moved onto a therapeutic boarding school in the Park City area of Utah working for three years with adolescents with various diagnoses, through a farm to table program. Over the past three years, Shawn has worked as a special needs educator focused on the child’s engagement in nature at a Montessori Lab School in Salt Lake City, UT. Specifically, Shawn has, and continues to, focus on the Montessori philosophy of Erdkinder, engaging the child in farm work in support of their social, emotional and academic growth.
Through his work, Shawn came to see the need for Alta's Farm. He then invited our other team members to be on board: Matt, who is in charge of farming, Jenna, who is in charge of finance, and Evie, who is in charge of education.
However, the most important member of Alta's Farm is our namesake: Alta. Alta is an avid river and mountain person, having run her first class IV rapid when she was four years old and having been named after a ski hill. When not living the dream, Alta spends her time reading and writing, playing guitar, practicing her photography skills and speaking with fairies. And farming, too!
PEDAGOGY
With the launch of Alta’s Farm, we look to provide the child structure, clarity, and predictability. More broadly, we look to facilitate interaction between children and the natural environment. This interaction is integral to children’s emotional and social growth.
On Alta’s Farm, growth is recognized through knowing beyond the purely cognitive or intellectual knowing. It includes embodied knowing, where knowledge held in the body related to feelings and experience could be drawn on and used as a resource for growth. The hands-on, experiential process of the farm support this embodied way of connecting nature and self.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING
The intent of Alta’s Farm project is to acquire 3 acres of land, focusing on the small scale and permaculture approach of farming. The land would be used to develop a high altitude farm, as outlined by Dr. Fred Montague a retired professor, author and resident of the area.
Our ultimate goal is for children to have the opportunity to visit and work on the farm on a daily basis for no fee. The crops will be used to supply Alta’s Farm CSA which will self-fund and sustain the children’s opportunities on the farm.
Alta’s Farm embraces the need for a safe and sustainable environment for the child to experience embodied growth—the opportunity to feel whole, engaged in the World.
Organizer
Shawn Crawford
Organizer
Oakley, UT
