From Steve Shea, the 5/6 teacher at the Elementary School at Chewonki: 5th/6th Grade Class Update Last week, our class gathered at the farm and circled up in the hayloft for a lesson on real-life economics. Lisa and Megan joined us and kicked off the unit by defining a few of the most important terms […]
Elementary Schoolers Tackle Farm Economics Read More »
Though we’ve been under and without snow off and on all winter, the seedlings (onions! flowers! microgreens! eggplants!) under grow lights in the basement of the Gatehouse are happily germinating. Hello, March! Our tired old greenhouse got a remodel in December when local contractors pushed out one wall by about two feet and replaced old not-quite-so-transparent-anymore
An Expanded Greenhouse! Read More »
We had a remarkable lunch yesterday, thanks to the Farm & Kitchen staff at Chewonki. “Beet Butter” a delicious rubine-red blend of pureed beets and fresh butter, was served up with warm bread and of course, more beets! Beets, with their intense color and taste have always lingered on the edge of controversy: “The beet is
The Beet is the Most Intense of Vegetables Read More »
A stretch of clear winter weather has allowed us to bring down several large oak trees as part of Chewonki’s ongoing forest management plan, with the the newly thinned areas opening the way for more light on the farm gardens. The farmers are happy. “This will make a tremendous difference in our production,” says Assistant
Tree Harvest at the Farm Creates a Mighty Pile of Benefits Read More »
Maine Coast Semester students spent the weekend of February 25-26 out in the snow and the sunshine at Chewonki, learning about sustainable forestry practices. Six teams rotated through three activities: Walking in the woods with forester Harold Burnett, who manages Chewonki’s forest resources Splitting wood and twitching with Sal, our faithful workhorse, an essential part
Sustainable Forestry Fires up Would-Be Woodsmen Read More »
We were very proud to co-host the 3rd annual “Local Food, Local Hunger” forum on food security on March 2nd. The forum, co-hosted with the Morris Farm Trust, a Wiscasset nonprofit devoted to community, education, and agriculture, attracted over 120 attendees including, farmers, program administrators, interested citizens and students from Coastal Studies for Girls in Freeport and Cultivating Community in
Students Learn and Lead at Food Security Forum Read More »
The culmination of a Maine Coast Semester student’s academic work is an independent research project called a human ecology capstone, or HEC. Last week, Semester 58 students met with their advisors to choose their capstone topic and map out how to begin. HECs give students a chance to venture deeply into a subject that interests
What the HEC is a Human Ecology Capstone? Read More »
When I got out of the car after six hours of driving from northern New Jersey to Maine on a rainy and droopy Wednesday morning, I immediately felt a flush of apprehension and fear surge through my body. I was still coping with the idea of moving away from my parents, friends, and school for
This Was the Place for Me Read More »