GUILFORD-Every tradition starts somewhere, and for Guilford Central School (GCS), 2025 marked the first year of what the school community hopes will be an annual celebration of local agriculture.
On Oct. 9, in the heart of harvest season, all 130 students took a morning off from their usual studies to congregate in the "circle garden" in front of the school, where squash, carrots, and tomatoes are still growing. From there, they broke into small multi-age groups to visit six stations led by local farmers, parent volunteers, community educators, and staff members.
GCS Farm to School Coordinator Sarah Rosow explained the origins of the celebration, inspired by a similar tradition at NewBrook Elementary School in Newfane.
"A lot of people these days are very disconnected from nature, the land, and their food sources," she said. "I think it's really important to educate kids about where our food comes from, to teach basic cooking and gardening skills, and to strengthen relationships with the farmers in our community."
Rosow collected ideas, gathered resources, took donations, and (with lots of community support) orchestrated the Farm and Field Day on an iconic fall day - sunny but chilly, with a wide-open blue sky.
"What a picture-perfect Vermont autumn morning for this fabulous all-school celebration of our agricultural heritage," remarked GCS Principal John Gagnon.
Local food, from milk to pie
At one station, Lisa Nichols, the education, events, and demo coordinator of the Brattleboro Food Co-op, guided students through making their own mini no-bake apple pies - a huge hit with the kids, who diligently chopped up apples and waited for a grown-up to pour a bit of melted butter into each tiny cup.
At another station, students printed with leaves and their hands to make colorful art under the direction of GCS art teacher Nina Nabizadeh.
At the dairy station, students met Thuja the calf and learned about dairy farming from John and Taylor Franklin of Guilford's Franklin Farm. They also tasted cheese donated by Cabot Creamery.
Students sorted items into buckets in a guessing game, "From a Cow/Not From a Cow," most clearly knowing where milk comes from, but some a bit fuzzy about the origins of leather and beef jerky.
Elsewhere, parent volunteers Peter Welch and Michael Becker, along with music teacher Steve Damon, taught children how to run an apple crusher and cider press, making cider with apples from Green Mountain Orchard in Putney.
Local farmer and sheep shearer Andy Rice told his tales of sheep farming and demonstrated his knowledge of the history of sheep in Vermont. Students got to meet a sheep and try their hand at spinning wool. Cathi Wilken of Guilford supplied raw wool from her flock of Romneys and helped students as they attempted to spin it into yarn.
And, just behind GCS, with the school's Three Sisters Garden (intercropped corn, beans, and squash) as a backdrop, Melody Mackin, an enrolled citizen on the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, shared traditional stories about the Three Sisters and taught students about the beliefs and ways of life of the Abenaki people.
Meanwhile, Steve Hed, food systems coordinator with WSESU's newly formed nutrition program, cooked up a three sisters stew with local squash and beans for students to enjoy while they listened to Mackin's stories.
One fourth grader, Oonagh Dougherty, said: "It was super fun! I learned how to make an apple pie and about the Three Sisters. And I got to pet a sheep!"
Strengthening community connections
At the end of the morning, all of the children met again in the circle garden, where "we ended the event with singing together as a community," staff member and paraeducator Caitlin Calcagnini said.
"This was a fun and celebratory event, but at heart it was about strengthening the children's connections to their farming community and food sources - and deepening everyone's understanding of agriculture," said Rosow.
Visitors observed a lot of joy, a lot of learning, and a lot of kids overheard exclaiming: "This is the best day ever!"
"This will be an annual event - as far as I know from the very positive response," Calcagnini said. "I think it was so enriching and nourishing for everyone."
This News item was submitted to The Commons.