CULLMAN – In its 16th year, the Touring Farms for Kids Camp ended on Thursday after showing 32 children the ins and outs of farm life throughout Cullman County.
“The purpose of the camp is to provide the children with an education on our agricultural community. Wallace State provides the bus every summer and the bus driver has been here every year,” shared Rachel Wiser, AmeriCorps VISTA.
The two-day camp, held through the North Alabama Agriplex Heritage Center, featured hands-on education for kids ages 7-13 at many of the most well-known farms in the area, including Bagwell Blueberry Farm, Harvest Farm in Fairview and Haynes Farm all on Wednesday. The first day also included onsite education at the Heritage Center in raised bed gardening, composting, worms, goats and rabbits, rain water collection and poultry. Day one concluded with homemade ice cream from Steele Orchard.
Rosanna Mahaffey and her son are regulars at the Agriplex’s many programs and she appreciates the diversity in the materials taught, along with the different groups of children available for her son to socialize with.
“My son is a homeschooler and doesn’t get much of the social aspect, but there’s new faces here. At the homeschool programs, we get to see a lot of the same group, but with this one, I knew some of these kids weren’t just from that same group. It’s different faces. Plus, he’s an only child so we need to be around smaller and larger kids. And, it helps keep him from being bored during the summer!”
Day two started at Calvert’s Farm in Bremen where the children enjoyed cantaloupe, then the caravan traveled to Riverwood Farm for a forestry plantation and bird dog presentation. The final afternoon found the campers at the Cullman County Archery Park and finally the Festhalle for a cooking demonstration.
The North Alabama Agriplex Heritage Center is located at 1714 Talley Ho Street in Cullman. Numerous education programs are offered for both adults and children throughout the year. For more information, visit their website at www.agriplex.org or call them at 256-297-1044.
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