Our Vocational Programs Teach Hands-on
Kindle Farm has long been known for offering a robust hands-on Vocational Program. The “VOC Program,” as it is affectionally called, utilizes the many resources of our 100-acre farm to engage our students in academic, behavioral, and vocational opportunities.
Our working farm changes in response to the seasons, keeping our community engaged in the natural world. When students arrive in the Fall, they harvest the bounty from the gardens. The fresh and nutritious produce is incorporated into our lunch and snack programs and provided in food bags that go to the students’ homes. We put our beds to sleep through weeding, cover cropping, and mulching, allowing students to explore themes of stewardship, regenerative agriculture, and all the science behind these sound practices.
As Winter approaches, students learn about our land and woodlot. We study tree identification, ecology, and woodlot management as we begin to set up for our Maple Harvest! Students certified to use chainsaws through our Game of Logging program help maintain our forest acreage according to our management plan. This year, students are also working with a local sawyer to mill our lumber from the trees our staff and student teams cut down.
We also celebrate the longer days with a glorious greenhouse overflowing with plant starts and a copious amount of pure Vermont maple gold! This scope and sequence allow for variation throughout the year and a living laboratory to explore math, science, social studies, and language arts (and so much more) in relevant ways. For many students, these topics, taught through hands-on activities, are a key component of their renewed engagement in school. In fact, we rely on this program to bolster our students’ natural aptitudes to overcome a sense of failure that often comes with the long trajectory to get into Kindle Farm.
Our Vocational Program uses many Vermont standards relating to Career Clusters: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources and standards related to Vermont Leadership Exploration and Development. We work with themes of safety, permaculture, sustainability, and appropriate tool use. Students utilize the skills gained through their vocational instruction to engage in local internships and explore social justice themes within our local workforce culture. As students develop their interests and basic competencies, many will utilize the skills gained through their vocational instruction to engage in local internships and professional exposure to the topics.