Episode 28: Starting Where You Are: Lessons from Seven Months of Farm Educator Interviews
Hey there. Welcome to the Farm Educators Roadmap. I'm Christa Hein, former nonprofit girl turned farm education entrepreneur. I've spent the last 30 years creating hands-on programs that connect people to the land, animals, and the traditions that nourish our daily lives.
If you're listening, you probably believe what I do, that farm education is needed now more than ever. Not just on rural farms, but in suburbs, cities, and everywhere in-between. In this podcast, you'll hear real stories and practical advice from farm educators all across the country, people who are creating change through their programs in creative and inspiring ways.
Whether you're dreaming about starting your first program, are already knee deep in your own farm education work, or are just curious about how others are impacting their communities through farm education, you're in the right place. [00:01:00] Let's dig in.
Hi there! Welcome back to the Farm Educator's Roadmap!
Today, we're doing something a little different. There's no interview - it's just me, talking to you.
There are a couple things I want to share today - first, where I am in my own farm education business. And then, I want to reflect back on the last 7 months of interviewing farm educators for this podcast, using some questions that were sent to me.
I really hope you find this episode valuable!
Back when I launched this podcast last summer, I was in the busy season of my own farm education business, Bring the Farm to You. We share around 400 programs in our central Ohio community every year, all taking place at our client's locations. My husband and I both work full time for Bring the Farm to You, and we have an amazing full-time Communications Coordinator who manages our client scheduling and program logistics, and our social media channels.
I literally could not do it without her. And then we have a group of wonderful educators who share the role of teaching our programs with us.
Last year, as I was trying to grow our team, I tried to fit a round peg into a square hole, asking a creative to manage spreadsheets and databases and an ever-changing amount of details. It did not go well for either of us. We all have our strengths, right? It was honestly the hardest year in my business so far. And I know how hard it was for them to be authentically trying, but it just not working.
As we were struggling, I made a commitment to myself. Even when it was its hardest, I wanted to be proud of my reactions. I wanted to be authentic and honest and vulnerable. I wanted to connect as a human. Eventually, we both realized her strengths weren't in data management - but oh my goodness, is she an incredible teacher! And so, we shifted.
So much of what I've been learning in this past year - especially as I've been talking to other farm educators - is the importance of that kind of shift - of not holding on to things too tight, of letting the seasons, the land, and the people shape what happens next.
But that's not always easy. I was reminded of that in last week's episode, when Steph McDonough talked about losing her farm lease. Even though it was devastating at the time, it ultimately opened the door to an even better space and opportunity.
Shifts are hard! Especially if they're not chosen.
At this point in my podcast journey, I thought I'd have an established person as backend support who would be handling all the behind-the-scenes details of scheduling and editing, letting me carry on the role of managing my farm education business while stepping into this role as podcast host. But life doesn't always work out in the way, or with the timing, that we want.
So, in full transparency, this solo episode is coming out, not because it was planned, but because there's a shift happening in the background.
Last week, I hit publish on the last interview I had pre-recorded (an amazing one by the way - I absolutely adored the conversation) But as soon as it went live, I started to panic. Because I didn't have another amazing conversation scheduled next. I reached out to a couple people, but in my belly, I knew I wasn't going to find someone in time, and that I'd be doing this next episode alone.
So, I started to jot down notes of what I might want to talk about. At the same time, I was planning and writing the next newsletter for my business.
I've always been authentic in my newsletter. I share the hard parts of farming - the choices. the losses. and the growth - not only in the business, but also inside me. Because in our lives - we all have these wild ups and downs. And hearing that someone else is going through something is validating - It reminds us that we're not alone when we struggle.
So, I really wanted to be authentic here. If you've also found yourself without support, or starting over when you thought something was already settled, know that you're not alone. I'm right here with you, juggling roles, recalibrating, and waiting to see what this shift brings on the other side.
And I've gotta tell you - the universe so often steps in to help! Today's episode is an incredible example of that.
Because as I was struggling with what this episode should be about, besides authenticity and shifts, an email serendipitously arrived.
A past guest on the podcast reached out, asking if I'd ever considered doing a solo episode because she had questions - for me - that she'd like to hear my answers on. She basically wrote this episode's questions. Unsolicited - at a time when I was struggling to know what to say. So, a huge thank you to Cindi - and to the universe for giving her that nudge to send that email right when I needed it.
So, here's what she was hoping to hear from me - after 7 months of weekly interviews, what common themes have emerged, what surprised me, and how have the interviews shaped my thinking and influenced my own priorities and practices.
There were more questions too- but I'm going to hold those in reserve for another episode.
So let me dig into these meaty questions because they're really interesting to consider!
When I think about the themes that keep coming up, there're definitely huge differences in the farm programs we've been exploring, but there's also a lot of common ground.
I think the biggest commonality is that for almost all of the programs - or maybe even All of them - there's this feeling and understanding that this work isn't just about information. Sure, we all want people to learn, but education doesn't just mean information. Sometimes what we're helping people learn are ways to listen, to connect, to find their strengths, or to experience joy. The farm can be this avenue for learning not only information about plants and animals, but also about ourselves.
It can also become this place where community can build and people feel supported.
Several guests mentioned how people have told them that just coming down the driveway onto their farm helped them immediately relax. I remember Leslie from Forsythe Farms talking about how bunny cuddling became one of their most popular programs because people needed that physical connection with an animal.
For some of the farm education centers, healing is their mission. Steph from Fiddlehead Care Farm shared how her farm helps kids regulate, builds confidence, and helps families connect.
I remember talking to Sandy Pond about her place - Sacred Connections at Back Roads Farm and how she uses every space to help people center and retreat with the earth.
And there were several farms whose focus was on creating community, health through food, and feeding families in need.
So really, it's so very true that farm education isn't just information and curriculum, it's so much more than that. It's this mix of, sure, lots of information, but also this connection to land. and people. and food. and belonging.
And then when it comes to what people are teaching - a lot of people mentioned discovering along the way that the farm itself often dictated their curriculum. The seasonality of it - what would the weather allow and encourage them to learn or do? That is especially true of the farms that are running preschool programs - their curriculum has to stay open to what's happening around them if the kids are always outside.
Farms with animals always have that variability - who is giving birth, what needs should we address today. The farms with horticulture talked about including the kids in planting and transplanting and watering. And then there's always the question - what do the kids themselves want to learn or discover?
Several educators talked about needing to release control of a strict curriculum and let the flow of nature - and curiosity - lead.
Farm work itself was mentioned several times as having this intrinsic value - giving people this chance to not only help share the chores of the farm, but with the goal of building this feeling of responsibility, of caretaking and being needed. That the work itself was building confidence, sensory regulation, and really valuable life and work skills.
I remember Liz from Sunflower Farm talking about the kids helping with daily feeding and watering - and that sometimes that meant breaking the ice in the water pans. What a real experience of what it takes in the various seasons when you get to be a part of a farm and really do the hard work of caring for plants and animals.
Several farms mentioned using farm work to help teens grow actual job skills through their programs. Some are teaching kids how to cook for themselves, involving them in feeding their neighbors with food deliveries, running markets and practicing customer service. There is so much value in giving people an opportunity to get their hands busy with the work of the farm.
Another theme that really stood out is how important partnerships and collaborating can be. Once I really started looking for this thread, it was everywhere. There were school-based partnerships involving farmers, teachers, cafeterias, procurement coordinators, traveling educators, school garden coordinators, and licensing agencies.
There were community and municipal partnerships with local government, health departments, schools, and funders.
There were restaurant and food systems partnerships. And farm-to-farm partnerships.
There were partnerships between healthcare providers and social service organizations. And youth employment and leadership partnerships with community organizations, and employers.
Again and again, the educators shared that they aren't doing this alone - they're creating relationships and plugging into existing systems within their communities. It is really amazing all the work that's being done - and the diversity of partners that are involved in farm education.
Even on the family farms, those support systems were evident - family members in different roles, people stepping up to fill needs, groups of people working together.
And then, just starting. That was a major theme I heard over and over - starting where you are. Not many had a big thought-out end goal in mind when they started. Most everyone started small with one thing, one idea - a backyard class, a play group, one family, a few weeks of camp, a single partnership, one idea or impact they wanted to make.
And then they built on that - using what they had and what they knew at the time to grow step by step. I think that's so important to remember because it's really easy to stop ourselves when we don't have all the answers. So, hearing how many people also didn't have all the answers, but they started anyway, and grew into something beautiful, is really inspiring.
So, what has surprised me the most in these past episodes?
I found it really interesting to hear how many farm educators didn't start as farm kids or with a teaching background.
I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, so I totally relate. I started my career in environmental education unintentionally - just a nature girl who liked to climb trees and play in my family's garden who started working at a camp and fell in love with it. Others started their careers in completely different fields like accounting, music, yoga, and business. Some came from therapy, traditional schools, or non-profits.
I didn't expect that diversity, and I also hadn't expected how many people started, not because of the pull of farming, but because they saw farm education as a way to fulfill a personal or community need.
Some just needed to find a way to stay home with their kids. Some were burnt out from traditional education and needed a change. Some just needed another way to survive economically themselves, or address a deep need in the community like food insecurity. And some saw other farm education programs and thought - I can do that!
No matter where their background was formed, they were all translating their skills and life experiences into farm learning. Like Cindy from Heritage Creek Farm who used her accounting background to inspire a mobile market program where kids learn inventory, packing, weighing, pricing, and setting up a market as a way to practice math skills. Or Tiffany from Earthdance who wanted to learn how to grow food to disrupt a family history of diet-related disorders and ended up teaching others how to grow their own food.
There are so many different avenues that can lead to farm education. I think it comes from our search for meaning. How can we use our skills and resources - the things we've earned and learned along the way - to find greater meaning in our own lives through our work. I love how farm education became that container to meet their own needs and then grew organically because they were following a direction they wanted their life to grow.
I think I was also surprised by how impactful a small farm can be. Which should not be surprising to me because I have a very small farm that supports our outreach work serving almost 70,000 people a year.
But whether it's 5 acres like mine, 1 acre like Sproutin' Up, 10,000 square feet like Montclair Community Farm, restaurant raised beds, like Farm to Table Kids used to teach from, or a rooftop garden at a hospice center, which is one of the urban gardens that Sean McKay manages - no matter the size, there are amazing impacts that happen by creating those small farm spaces in the places where people need them most.
I have learned so very much from all these educators and the amazing work they're doing! I think these past interviews have shaped my thinking in three ways.
1. It's really clear to me that farm education falls into a huge amount of categories - health, history, social justice, food systems, entrepreneurship, job training, ecology, animal welfare, community building, and more. It has the chance to impact and improve so many aspects of a community is such positive ways.
2. It's now even more clear to me that farm education is service. Farm educators serve kids and caregivers and teachers and local farmers and whole communities. But beyond that, there's so much we can do as organizers to use our business skills to implement that care for our team and clients and communities - simpler systems, seasonal timing, staffing that meets our community and business needs, pricing models that are accessible and protect our mission. Those backend administrative tasks are service too. Making farm education easy and accessible is a huge part of meeting needs and serving communities.
3. And I can now say with confidence that you don't need the perfect land, the perfect timing, or the perfect credentials to start. The guests have demonstrated that your origin story is enough to start and the proof comes from repetition and step by step growth.
So how have all these insights influenced my own priorities and practices? I've been teaching farm education programs for over 30 years now, so I've been exposed to a lot. But there's always growth, revision, and reprioritizing happening based on where I am in my life and business. These interviews have definitely validated a lot for me.
I have a renewed focus now on building a business that is relationship-based. I've always put relationships first in communicating with my clients. In my early years of growing my business, I learned a marketing phrase that people buy from those they know, like, and trust. So, I've always stepped into the personal, letting my clients know me so they can trust that me (and my teachers) are who they want to enrich their experience with farm programs.
But when you're trying to grow a business and manage a staff and build systems, there's always important things straining for your attention. And for me, the thing that has often fallen aside is my newsletter. Last year, I was lucky to get it out quarterly. This year, I'm aiming for monthly, because I know that every time I communicate with my clients - sending them pictures of the animals, of our programs, of my life on the farm, we have a fresh flow of reservations. And I get people emailing to thank me for giving them a connection to the farm. Some people on my list will never reserve a program - but I'm still serving them by giving them a regular connection to my experience of farm living. So, this year, I'm working towards making those relationships more regularly nurtured with newsletters going out monthly.
Another validation that popped up for me during the interviews was the preciousness of unstructured time. When I ran the education programs at the non-profit farm for 15 years, the most valued part of our farm camp was "Magic Spots", a technique I learned from Richard Louv's Acclimatizing book. It was quiet alone time where each camper was set in a spot for a specific time each day to observe, build, write, draw, whatever quiet still thing their heart desired. Consistently, over and over, the kids wanted more and more magic spot time.
I heard from several guests I interviewed that the unstructured time in nature was so important to their programs. In my work now as an outreach educator, we still try to fit in unstructured time. If a school requests a formal one-hour program with the farm animals, we plan for 45 minutes of instruction and 15 minutes of informal time where the kids can follow their own interests and interact with whichever animals they're most drawn to. That unguided time is so important! These interviews have been a great reminder of the priority of the time for connection.
And I think the last thing I want to say about how these conversations have influenced my priorities is the reminder of how important this work is. Of course, I know it's important - I've built a life and business around farm education.
But I can also forget. I can fall into the trap of resignation when people unknowingly call my program a petting zoo. It's a term they're familiar with, but one that I'm not fond of - our mission is education and connection. I don't want to reduce the animals to being just entertainment. So, these stories from other educators have renewed my resolve that yes, people enjoy farm programs for sure, but more so than that, farm programs can be a literal lifeline - emotionally, socially, and physically. Farm experiences calm nervous systems, they reduce isolation, create safe belonging, teach meaningful work and life skills, and give people a connection to the living world of plants and animals. It's really important work, and it always helps to be reminded of that when things get heavy.
To wrap up this episode, I want to come back to where I started — this idea of shifts. In our priorities, our staffing, our animals, even our land.
Sometimes they’re chosen. Sometimes they’re unexpected. Sometimes they’re uncomfortable. And sometimes, when we’re lucky, they open us up to something even better than what we were holding onto before.
These conversations over the past seven months have reminded me that farm education isn’t just a job or a program model. It’s a way of showing up — for other people, for the land, for our animals, and for our communities. It’s service. It’s care. And its really important.
If you’re listening and you’re in a season of uncertainty — whether you’re building something new, rebuilding something old, or just trying to stay grounded in the work you’re already doing — I hope this episode reminded you that you’re not doing this alone.
There are so many people out there quietly doing this work with intention and heart. And I’m incredibly grateful to get to learn from them — and to share those stories with you.
Thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. And as always — keep teaching, keep growing, and keep finding your way back to the land.
Christa Hein: Hey farm educators. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Before you go, I've got something special for you. If you're ready to build a farm education program that people are excited to book, grab my free guide, Five Simple Steps to Growing an In-Demand Farm Education Program. It's packed with the same steps I used to grow my own farm education business.
It'll help you get noticed, attract clients, and make an impact. Just head over to www.farmeducatorsroadmap.com/fivesimplesteps to get your free copy. It's quick, easy, and will make your programs irresistible. I can't wait to see what you create. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
