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Earth School, from Something Good in the World

Westchester, NY — somethinggoodintheworld.org

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About Us

Since 2002, Something Good in the World (SGITW) has been producing quality educational programs to provide a safe and enhancing environment wherein children may be promoted to achieve their highest potential in learning and development, and to prepare them toward becoming responsible human beings ready to take on the challenges of life.

Our accomplishments over the past ten years include building three Children’s Peaceful Gardens in New York (Manitoga Nature Center, Garrison; Something Good in the World, Croton-on-Hudson; and now at Hilltop Hanover Farm, Yorktown), each time becoming more enhanced with applications demonstrating sustainable living to children and their families.

About Earth School-to-Farm

The goal of SGITW's Earth School-to-Farm programs is to bring groups of 25 children at a time from inner city school circumstances to Hilltop Hanover Farm 3-4 times per year. This way, they have an experience of nature, farming, nutrition and healthy eating in all seasons, to get a well-rounded understanding of local, seasonal foods and how the living systems that produce these foods work differently depending on the time of year.

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Watch a short video about
the Earth School-to-Farm project

The aim is for the same group of 25 children to visit the Farm in the fall, spring, and summer seasons, so that they have the complete experience of preparing the soil, composting, planting the seeds in a greenhouse, transplanting the growing plants into the farm fields, weeding and watering them, then harvesting and cooking and eating these vegetables, herbs, and fruits. The culminating event is a meal prepared by the students in the farm's barn kitchen, which the whole class and their teachers can enjoy eating together.

The whole experience includes getting to know pollinators such as bees, enjoying their honey; getting their hands dirty by putting worms into the soil; collecting eggs from the hens and feeding the chickens; and hiking into the woods to get to know the forest animals and plants that contribute to a healthy ecology, as well as to forage for fresh berries and herbs in season.

The cost for 25 children from the Harlem Children's Zone to spend one day at the Farm engaged in educational programs (in workshops that divide the students into two groups, for more one on one attention) comes to $600. To accommodate an entire First Grade of 75 children costs $1,800 for one season. To bring the same First Grade of 75 students to the Farm 3 times in the year costs $5,400 for the year.

If the school requires financial assistance with bus transportation, the cost of one bus is approximately $500 for the day, or $1,500 per First Grade of 75 students for one season, or $4,500 for the year.

That brings the total cost of $9,900 for three seasons of visits for the First Grade students of the Harlem Children's Zone, or the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, or any of the other high-needs school districts whose students are currently participating in our programs.

We wish to offer these programs and, if needed, the transportation to the schools at no cost to them, or at the very least to be able to subsidize their costs.

We have calculated that in the course of an extended school year (which the Harlem Children's Zone and many other urban schools are currently engaged in), we can accommodate school visits any time from September through November, and April through July. The total number of students that we could serve, in groups of 25 children per day, would come to 1,000 (each of whom would experience the Farm and its living systems 3-4 times per year).

The total estimated cost for providing free educational programs and transportation to 1,000 students, plus providing their teachers with preparatory training for the workshops, and including administrative and materials costs would be: $55,600 for one year.

At the moment, the Harlem Children's Zone's Promise Academy 2 has been able to send its First Grade classes 3 times for Earth School to Farm programs, with a small amount of grant assistance. The Bronx Charter School for Better Learning has been able to send its Fifth Grade classes once.

Our wish is to add one grade per year to each school, so that HCZ can now send not only its First Grade, but also its Second Grade, and that BBL could send its 4th Grade in addition to the 5th Grade, so that more children would feel a sense of ownership and understanding of not only where their food comes from, but what the vast picture is of all that is connected to providing healthy food throughout the year.

The goal of Farm-Based Education in America at this time is that every school should have a farm that it visits and learns from on a regular basis. At Earth School, what we're saying is: "We want to be your farm!"

More Information

To learn more about Something Good in the World, visit somethinggoodintheworld.org.