Red Gate Farms: By Oscar Y. and Taeha Park

THE BASICS:

Red Gate Farms is an overnight trip for the 7th grade students here at the Browning School. It is located in Northwest Massachusetts and is a non-profit organization that helps educate young children about farm life. It is about 4 hr 30 min drive and about 180 miles away.

LODGING:

Both the children and adults sleep in a building called The Roost which is painted blue and has many similar rooms. Each room has 3 bunk beds with black, metal frames and sometimes has a camping cot. There are blue, waterproof mattresses on the beds. The rooms have two big windows and one smaller one at the head of one of the top bunk beds, letting lots of natural light into the space.

ACTIVITIES:

At Red Gate Farm, there are many activities that the children can partake in, including: gardening, sawing and lopping, moving oxen, making fencing and stacking wood. You will also have to do morning and evening chores but they are quick, easy and fun! Some chores are: Taking eggs out from under the chickens, feeding oxen and so much more!

ANIMALS:

On the farm, there are a variety of animals, including pigs, sheep, goats, chicken and oxen. The two oxen are gentle and have good temperament. Their names are Jack, who has horns, and Thor, who does not. There are fourteen sheep, kept in a pen at the entrance to the farm. Near the Roost, there is also a pen for the pigs and the rams. There are two goats, named Wallace and Gromit after the TV show.

GARDEN:

The garden has many plants, fruits and vegetables for anyone to enjoy, just ask one of the nice counselors. Some of the edible plants include: raspberries, blackberries, peppers, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes and sometimes they will allow you to pick some of the bigger vegetables which are delicious peppers, and cucumbers. During your time at Red Gate Farm there will most likely be a gardening activity. The activity that 7th grade did was digging out weeds to make way for a new pathway.

FOOD:

The food at Red Gate Farm is vegetarian. Some people may find that disgusting, but they try to make it as good as possible and most students found the vegetarian food better than school lunch. They get a lot of their food from their garden and local areas, as their fresh maple syrup that they make on the farm themselves is served with their famous (Sort of) pancakes. Last year, no one knew that the food was vegetarian and some people became angry, but now you know.