The Basics:
• One-week sessions for campers who are rising 1st-6th graders plus 2-week leadership programs for rising 7th-12th graders
• Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with staggered drop-off in the morning starting at 8:45 a.m.
• Maximum recommended attendance: No more than two 1-week sessions
• Maximum of 55 campers/teens per session for Summer 2022
• ​Low staff to camper ratios

2023 Summer Camp Dates:
Session 1 – July 10-14
Session 2 – July 17-21
Session 3 – July 24-28
Session 4 – July 31-August 4
Session 5 – August 7-11
Session 6 – August 14-18
Session 7 – August 21-25

2023 Jr. CIT and CIT dates:
Jr. CIT session 1: July 10-21
Jr. CIT session 2: July 24-August 4
Jr. CIT session 3: August 7-18
CIT session: July 10-21

A typical day at Farm & Garden Camp:
8:45-9:15 Campers Arrive (Staggered drop off)
9:15 Morning Circle
9:30 Farm Animal Chores
10:00 Snack
10:30 Farm and Garden Activities
12:15 Circle of Thanks/Lunch
1:30 Afternoon activities
3-3:15 Campers leave for the day
* Activities: Campers rotate between The Children’s Garden, barnyard and animals, and agricultural arts including felting, cooking, and craft projects.

Each camp day includes a rhythm and balance of being all together as one mixed-age farm camp community, and spending time with same-age peers in your camper group.
Camper Groups:
Campers engage in age-appropriate activities at camp. As campers grow, activities grow with them. For example, campers in the Sprouts might focus on watering and bug picking in the garden, while Harvesters might help to build a new pea trellis or learn to save heirloom seeds. Every group has activities that are specially designed for their age and abilities! All groups emphasize teamwork and community. 

Sprouts (Rising 1st graders) focus on becoming familiar with the farm, exploring the fields, and safely interacting with the animals. Activities highlight sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and spatial/site/body awareness. Sprouts spend extra time with goats.

Planters (Rising 2nd graders) venture into further areas of the farm, expanding their geographic sense of place and space. They go through the process of felting from start to finish, including making plant-based dyes. Planters spend extra time with bunnies.

Herders (Rising 3rd-4th graders) dig into themes of interconnectedness and ecology that underlie food systems. They take on more physically challenging tasks and do more complex, multi-stage activities. Herders spend extra time with chickens.
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Harvesters (Rising 5th-6th graders) explore physical and ethical facets of the harvest: tending and harvesting crops, raising and producing meat, food preservation, wild edibles, and more. Harvesters spend extra time with pigs and cows, and run the Thursday afternoon Farm Stand.

Jr. CITs (Rising 7th-9th graders) and CITs (10th+ graders) -- ​See Teen Programs for details.

This camp must comply with regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health 
and be licensed by the local board of health.

About
Contact
Farm and Garden Camp is located at the Hampshire College Farm Center. Farm and Garden Camp and Vacation Days on the Farm are programs of The Farm Education Collaborative (TFEC). TFEC designs and delivers authentic agricultural experiences that nurture the connections between families, farms, and food in the Pioneer Valley.