Farm Updates
Farm Update, November 4th, 2019
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Hello Morris Campus,
We’re putting the Farm to bed for the winter, which means pulling crops, composting, selective planting to improve the soil over winter, and more! There’s plenty to do and we would love to organize a time to see you, your classes, your groups, and your staff teams for mindfulness activities and loving farm care. In particular we would love to see you all on the last day that the Farm is open – Friday, November 8th for the Fall Harvest Festival; the flyer is attached!
If you’re interested in bringing your students out please send an email to Jen Hartzell at morriscampusedfarm@gmail.com and Ray Garcia at rgarcia19@schools.nyc.gov with timing, school, number of students/staff, and any particular interest you might have at least a day before your planned visit.
Schedule:
Mondays and Tuesdays 8am-12pm
Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30am-5:30pm
While at Morris Campus Educational Farm we…
*Use 1 mic in group settings
*Respect self & others i.e. Keep hands off others, respectful language, work as a team & participate in activities.
*Respect Morris Campus Educational Farm, plants and all living creatures–i.e. Do not pick or take ANYTHING from the farm without asking. Do not stand on top of any structures.
*Be safe with tools and take care of them. i.e. Always prop tools up against wall never leave them on the ground, keep all pointy parts of tools below the knee.
*Leave it better than when you came. i.e. pick up trash if you see it and keep the MCEF beautiful
News
- The Farm is closing! This week is the last week to visit MCEF as we prepare the Farm to survive the Winter and thrive in the Spring. The last day is Friday, 11-8-19.
- Fall interns were able to visit the farm at Randall’s Island, where we took a tour, helped prepare plants for compost, and harvested rice. Interns came away with suggestions and requests for MCEF in the Spring including new plants and potentially a few chickens!
- MCEF has been able to donate over 300 pounds of freshly harvested herbs and vegetables to the Cafeteria this season, sharing the bounty with students from all 4 schools whether or not they were able to visit, and over 500 pounds to the community!
- We had a great visit from Elementary students from NYC Autism Charter School where participants did tasks like pulling crops and bundling herbs in addition to touching and smelling through the Farm tour.
Upcoming
- Fall Interns attended the 2019 Black Urban Growers Conference, participating in workshops focused on compost, cooking, culture, and herbal remedies. They walked away with plenty of goodies to use at home!
- This Friday, November 8th is the MCEF Harvest Festival and the last day that the Farm is open before next Spring. The flyer is attached!
Farm Update, October
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The unusually warm weather has us still harvesting warm-weather crops while we plant our Fall set of leafy greens – look out for them in the Cafeteria meals! There’s plenty to do and we would love to organize a time to see you, your classes, your groups, and your staff teams for mindfulness activities and loving farm care.
If you’re interested in bringing your students out please send an email to Jen Hartzell at morriscampusedfarm@gmail.com and Ray Garcia at rgarcia19@schools.nyc.gov with timing, school, number of students/staff, and any particular interest you might have at least a day before your planned visit.
Schedule:
Mondays and Tuesdays 8am-12pm
Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30am-5:30pm
While at Morris Campus Educational Farm we…
*Use 1 mic in group settings
*Respect self & others i.e. Keep hands off others, respectful language, work as a team & participate in activities.
*Respect Morris Campus Educational Farm, plants and all living creatures–i.e. Do not pick or take ANYTHING from the farm without asking. Do not stand on top of any structures.
*Be safe with tools and take care of them. i.e. Always prop tools up against wall never leave them on the ground, keep all pointy parts of tools below the knee.
*Leave it better than when you came. i.e. pick up trash if you see it and keep the MCEF beautiful
News
Our Fall Internship has started! We’re enjoying participation from all 4 schools and looking forward to the events, field trips, and continued Fall-focused Farm care.
One of those Fall activities is the very important seed-saving that we do, which a class from MACS helped with this week!
Our website has been updated and is really lovely, check it out at morriscampusfarm.org.
Upcoming
We’ll be starting a Farmer’s Market on the Farm every Wednesday from 3:00-4:15pm starting on 10-9-19. We’ll be accepting donations and providing visitors with extremely fresh produce!
We’re looking forward to this year’s Fall Harvest Festival on November 8th where we’ll celebrate our relationship with the land with food, food demos, farm activities, and more!
We’re almost done with our new hoop house with support from New York Botanical Garden staff and Farm School students. We can’t wait to make use of this for extending the life of our crops.
As the weather changes we have more and more beds to prep and plant for the Fall, a great opportunity for classes to help out and see their work grow.
September 16th Update
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Hello Morris Campus,
Welcome back! We had a great summer at Morris Campus Educational Farm and look forward to a productive and lively fall with you. There’s plenty to do and we would love to organize a time to see you, your classes, your groups, and your staff teams for mindfulness activities and loving farm care.
If you’re interested in bringing your students out please send an email to Jen Hartzell at morriscampusedfarm@gmail.com and Ray Garcia at rgarcia19@schools.nyc.gov with timing, school, number of students/staff, and any particular interest you might have at least a day before your planned visit. Check out our website for more information: www.morriscampusfarm.org
Schedule:
Mondays and Tuesdays 8am-12pm
Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30am-5:30pm
While at Morris Campus Educational Farm we…
*Use 1 mic in group settings
*Respect self & others i.e. Keep hands off others, respectful language, work as a team & participate in activities.
*Respect Morris Campus Educational Farm, plants and all living creatures–i.e. Do not pick or take ANYTHING from the farm without asking. Do not stand on top of any structures.
*Be safe with tools and take care of them. i.e. Always prop tools up against wall never leave them on the ground, keep all pointy parts of tools below the knee.
*Leave it better than when you came. i.e. pick up trash if you see it and keep the MCEF beautiful
News
This summer we hosted 12 interns from MACS, Bronx International, HSVD, and SFE. Interns put in so much care to planting, harvesting, maintenance, pest and disease management, construction, herb drying, seed collecting, and more. All of the harvests were donated to the school and surrounding communities, totaling over 565 pounds of organic, fresh food.
Wellness In Schools also came 4 times to lead fully packed cooking workshops where interns learned cooking techniques, tips, and recipes from trained chefs, using what they learned to lead their own cooking workshops at the Jackson Forest Community Garden Open Garden Day and at South Bronx Farmers’ Market where we were hosted by La Finca del Sur Urban Farm.
The New York Botanical Garden lead weekly workshops
with interns covering food justice and farm care.
Upcoming
- Fall Internship applications are ready! The internship runs from September 23rd-November 8th; applications are on the Farm and attached to this email. Applications are due by Friday, September 20th.
- Classes, groups, and teams are welcome to start scheduling visits starting next Wednesday, September 18th.
- We’re looking forward to this year’s Fall Harvest Festival on November 8th where we’ll celebrate our relationship with the land with food, food demos, farm activities, and more!
- We’re regularly donating food to the Morris Campus Cafeteria – come help harvest!
- Our second hoop house is starting to take form, we’re looking forward to a new and larger space that will allow us to grow into the cold weather.
June 5th Update
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Hello Morris Campus,
The farm is looking so nice, everyone’s caretaking and of course Mother Nature’s love has the farm in a growth spurt. As the year winds down we know that you are all VERY busy but if you can we would love to see you, your team, or your students. Come see what’s growing!
If you’re interested in visiting with a group please send an email to Jen Hartzell at morriscampusedfarm@gmail.com and Ray Garcia at rgarcia19@schools.nyc.gov with timing, school, and number of students/staff at least a day before your planned visit.
Schedule:
Mondays and Tuesdays 8am-12pm
Wednesdays 9am-5pm
Fridays 8am-4pm
News
We’re harvesting! We were able to deliver some really beautiful garlic scapes, scallions, and thyme to the cafeteria for students to enjoy.
Some of the students have also helped start the drying process for our excess lavender, we can’t wait to create something relaxing with it!
Updates
Summer Internship applications are due today, Friday June 7th, but if you know any interested students that need an extension let me know or have them drop by the farm. I have attached the application.
—Jen Hartzell