Activities

Visit with the Animals

Depending on the time of year, visit with chicks, ducklings, goslings, baby rabbits, lambs and our latest young'un, Franny, a filly born on May 26 of this year. 

Spend time  observing the behavior of the animals

Depending on time of day collect the chicken and duck eggs or help feed the animals.  

Request a personal tour of the farm.

Arrange a class visit . 

Scavenger Hunt

Do a self-guided scavenger hunt to discover agriculture in Vermont, its connection to other lands, and and its affect on the watershed over the years. Follow the numbers in the barn to find the answers to the questions below: 

1. Many barns in Vermont are painted red because a red ____________was found in the soil which could be used in paint to preserved the wood.

2. Are brown or white eggs more nutritional?________________ (trick question)

3. Before a cow gives milk, she must first have a ______________.

4. The Hereford and the ____________________ are two breeds of beef cows that are popular to raise  in Vermont. 

5. What is the state animal of Vermont?______________

6. Rabbits are social animals and live in groups called ______________.

7. The ____________was located in many Vermont country stores where mail was picked up and local gossip was exchanged. 

8. How many gallons of sap does it take to make a gallon of maple syrup? _________

9. Bees keep the hive warm in the winter by _______________________________. 

10. Vermonters built covered bridges to protect the bridges from _________________.

11. Early Vermont farmhouses depended on a well or more likely a _______________ as a water source in their house.   

12. A ___________________ was used to pack snow on roads so that horse-drawn wagons or sleighs could make their way after a heavy snowfall.

13. The most popular milk cow in Vermont is the _______________, a breed which originated in the Netherlands. 

14. Which famous musical family settled in Vermont (a 1.5 hr drive from here)  because it reminded them of their home country, Austria. ________________________ 

15. What are the three “r’s” that were taught in Vermont’s one-room schoohouses? _______________________ _______________________ and___________________

16. Which Native-American tribe first settled in this region of Vermont? ________________

17. By the late 1800s what percentage of Vermont was deforested?   _______________

18. Name one way early farming practices harmed Vermont’s waterways. _____________________.

19. Name two best agricultural practices now used to improve the quality of Vermont’s waterways.  ________________________________________________

20. The webbed feet of ducks can handle extreme cold because they have no _______________

21. Ice blocks were cut out of lakes in the winter and stored in  ________, where they were insulated with straw and used locally or shipped to cities. 

22. Merino- ________ occurred in the years before the Civil War when there were 1.5 million Merino sheep grazing on Vermont hills. 

23. Sheep and _____________were the earliest domesticated farm animals.

Other Activities

Visit at sheep sheering time.

Sit and relax while watching the ducks and geese swimming in the pond.

Enjoy the flower gardens especially in July and August when the lilies are at their finest.

Help collect apples or grapes in the orchard at harvest time.

Picnic on the grounds

Follow the farm trails along the stream or into the sugar bush. 

Ask how we are restoring the stream riparian buffers that lead into Lake Memphremagog.