49 – Holly Hill Farm
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Christa Hein: Hey there, welcome to the Farm Educator’s 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.
Christa Hein: Welcome back to another episode of The Farm Educator's Roadmap. Today we're heading to Massachusetts to visit Holly Hill Farm, an organic nonprofit farm that's been connecting people to food, conservation, and sustainability for more than two decades. What caught my attention was the breadth of their educational programming, which partners with 40 schools and reaches more than 20,000 students each year, and how intentionally they think about education.
Whether they're supporting school gardens, developing curriculum, creating leadership opportunities for teenagers, or dreaming about a brand new middle school initiative, everything seems to start with one question: How do we help people become lifelong stewards of the land? Joining me today is Education Director Wendy Prentiss, who spent years as a classroom teacher and school administrator before making the [00:02:00] leap into farm education.
Wendy, welcome to the show.
Wendy Prentiss: Thank you so much for having me, Christa. I'm looking forward to chatting with you.
Christa Hein: Absolutely. So, I'd like to start by getting to know you a little bit and how you came into this work. So, I've heard you described as having one foot in education and one foot in conservation growing up. Can you tell us a little about your childhood and why farms always felt meaningful to you?
Wendy Prentiss: Oh, sure. Yes. I grew up outside of Boston in Norwell on the South Shore, very close to Holly Hill Farm. Though I didn't go there as a child, I did go to other nearby farms.
My father has an agriculture background in that at age 11 he was driving a truck on a poultry farm out by Concord, Massachusetts, where he grew up. He did study some at Stockbridge School of Agriculture and went into a career in land conservation.
So, I grew up in a household where we were [00:03:00] the only family I knew that had our milk delivered. And I didn't know what the word agriculture meant, but my parents said, “We get our milk delivered to support local agriculture." So, I knew it was a good thing and that my family was supportive of it.
And my parents had a huge garden, and they still have a huge garden. They live nearby still. And we ate out of that garden, and my mom made preserves, and she canned so that we ate almost year-round out of that garden. They had bought like a, what would be a tear-down of a house on a single track lane with a couple of neighbors, and, really, we lived in a house as my dad built it around us.
And when he finished that, he built a timber frame barn on weekends with some helpers. But he had to get old, like, 100-year-old tools to do it the right way. So, we had a big barn in our backyard. We had chickens. And in the neighborhood were some horse owners, [00:04:00] and Prince the pony was a Shetland pony who no one could keep in a corral. So, he was just in the neighborhood. It was not unusual to see Prince wandering through. I would ride him. I would put daisies in his mane.
And I really thought everyone grew up with vegetable gardens and a comfort level with big equine. And I learned that wasn't true as I went out into the world.
Christa Hein: So, what made you interested in education and getting started as a teaching career?
Wendy Prentiss: I think learning education, like, there's schooling and there's education. And learning is just something I, it lights me up. I value it, and I think that it's so joyful and fun to be learning and developing. And it just was an easy choice for me to go in the direction of working with people to support their curiosity and their development
Christa Hein: So, you spent many years teaching in traditional schools before you made the leap into farm education. Can you tell [00:05:00] us what was happening in your career that made you realize you wanted to teach in a different setting?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, I think it was also around the time my children were leaving home and growing up in a really reflective time. We'd been through the pandemic, which I think pushed a lot of people to look at their lives closely and reflect. And I've always been an optimist, and I still am an optimist. I choose that. I think it just makes more sense.
But I was having a harder time helping my students feel optimistic. And what I was hearing from them was a lot of fear and resignation around the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Very real, very scary. And what I felt the adults weren't doing, I felt like we were scaring them and then not offering much more besides "Well, your generation, you can fix this. Just recycle. That's what you need to do."
So, I decided that [00:06:00] worry isn't preparation, so I needed to just begin. And I would say that to myself, "Just get started. Just begin.” It feels overwhelming. So, I started to look for ways to learn, and I took a certification through the Green Building Council to be a green classroom educator. I took a wonderful course with Jamie Cloud at the Cloud Institute, Education for Sustainability.
And then I took an executive education course at MIT that wasn't for educators. And I wanted to do something that wasn't for educators. It really was for businesspeople and people that wanted to be chief sustainability officers. So, it was called Sustainability Strategies and Opportunities for Industry. And I felt a lot more I guess capable to speak to and understand all the acronyms and all the language around a massive topic, sustainability. And then I had a friend reach out and say, "Oh, you know Holly Hill Farm? It's really close [00:07:00] to you, and they're looking for an education director."
And I just loved the idea of it. I think in one of your taglines you say, “We need farming education now more than ever.” And when I think about the perfect school is, really, for me, it's a farm. When I think about what all the things that people need. So, sustainability and issues that worry me are part of it. But another part is, oh, we're worried about loneliness, and we're worried about lack of community, and we're worried about people being on their screens and not being out in nature, and we're worried about ultra-processed food.
So many of our problems really, the remedy can be found on a farm.
Christa Hein: Yeah. Beautifully said. So now you've been at Holly Hill Farm for about a year?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah.
Christa Hein: So, what surprised you the most about farm education that you maybe wouldn't have understood as a teacher in a school classroom?
Wendy Prentiss: So, to me, just [00:08:00] planting a crop with young children, really young children, looked easy. It's not. It's, you know, like you've got whether it's 15, 20 or, 22 first graders and you are doing the hands-on work, and you are in the dirt, and there's delicate seedlings, or seeds or, whatever you're doing, it's harder than it looks.
We help schools build school gardens, and then we go throughout the year and do gardening lessons. And teachers do appreciate it. It's messy and dirty, and it's crowd control, but it's powerful. I mean, as a traditional classroom educator, the first time I walked into, it was a middle school for a meeting, and we'd just been moving soil at the school garden, so I was really dirty. And it was a middle school full of students. And I walked in, and I had dirt all over me, and I felt this alarm because this is my professional [00:09:00] environment where I had to always look a certain way.
But then I saw these smiles, and the students were like, "Oh, are you from the farm? Are you gonna plant? What's going on?" And that made me realize this is what they need. They need farmers coming in. And it's exciting, and it's different, and how powerful.
Christa Hein: So, let's talk about Holly Hill Farm itself because it's so much more than just a place where children come on a field trip. So, for someone who's never visited there, can you paint us a picture? What makes the property such a special place?
Wendy Prentiss: It's really tucked away in a coastal suburb, very coastal. From part of the farm, you can see an ocean inlet and a lot of very big, beautiful expensive homes. A place where you wouldn't think a farm would be able to remain as there's been such a push to build things out. So, it's tucked in.
And Cohasset, it comes from the Wampanoag word Conahasset, I think, [00:10:00] which means rocky shore. And it's the farm, and the land around it, and the neighborhood around it, is full of beautiful outcroppings. Like, big granite outcroppings. And it's a challenge for the farmers because we have some cliffs on this 5.25 acres, like steep drops. So, it's unique geologically.
So, you're in this neighborhood, and then you drive up a little driveway, and there's a red farmhouse. It's from the Victorian era where three farmers live, and then there are two barns from around 1780. So, around the time of the Revolution.
So, two historic barns standing and some other outbuildings. And then you might not see the production fields as you come in because they are below a cliff. We have some hoop houses that you can see when you come in, but you need to get out of your car and walk down and around to get to our main production fields.
And [00:11:00] if you continue past the barnyard, there are a few private homes, but that will take you out to all the forest and trails. Because we have 120 acres of forest and trails and some meadows adjacent to the farm that we have access to for programs.
Christa Hein: So, Holly Hill Farm is a working farm, an education center, a conservation space, and a nonprofit. How do all those pieces fit together under one mission?
Wendy Prentiss: Pretty well, I think. We meet as a team every week, and there's a phrase that we'll say sometimes, ‘one farm’, because everyone has got their piece. But we do have some events, like Farm Fest is our biggest fundraiser. That happens in September, and it's all hands on deck, and everyone helps out.
I had some culinary art students come from a local high school this winter and the farm store manager, I gave her some questions in advance, and [00:12:00] they interviewed her about the farm store, but also how she got into that work. And she'd had a little prep time, and she spoke so eloquently about it that some students went away just saying, “That was great. I had never thought about doing that kind of work."
So, yeah, sometimes the farmers are educators, and sometimes the educators are farmers. We help get ready for a really big plant sale that happens in the spring. So, we've been doing some up potting and some labeling when it's crunch time.
Christa Hein: So, one part that I wanted to ask about is your source of income. So, I read on your website that you have this three-tiered way of supporting the mission with farming, the educational programming, and fundraising. How do you think that diversified model has helped Holly Hill remain sustainable all these years?
Wendy Prentiss: I mean it, it does seem to work. It's something I don't know too much about as I'm one year in and I've been focused on [00:13:00] the education piece. But people who love the farm, and maybe they're just there for the farm store, they also love that it's got all these other programs, the education piece.
I'm just always impressed with the people who have stories and connections to Holly Hill. They just keep coming, and I just keep meeting them. And they traditionally have a New Year's Day walk, and as Education Director, that's traditionally something I lead. So, I led it and I met all kinds of folks who I'd never met before who have been involved in the farm over the years in all kinds of different ways.
Christa Hein: Yeah, and I'm sure that having the farm supply people's food brings them into the education programs, which makes them want to support. And that if one area is maybe not doing as well, another might be able to support that.
I'm thinking about our listeners who may be thinking about how to structure their own programs if they're right now just thinking about one income stream, [00:14:00] to think about adding donations or farm products or education, and how those pieces might be able to work together.
Now, I also notice that there's a membership program listed on the website, and I think that a lot of nonprofits might consider that as worth the effort. I know that you're only one year in. I'm curious if that membership, if you've noticed if the members are joining that as a way to sustain the farm, they're looking at it as more of a donation, or if the perks of the membership really are a draw. Like, are they using the perks and is that why people are joining?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, so for the workshops that we offer for adults, there is a discount if you are a member. So, I'm sure that for some people it makes sense for both things. I can help out this nonprofit that I believe in, and I'll get a lower price on the workshops. We have tiered pricing, so there are a lot of [00:15:00] people who are members who are also choosing tier A to donate as well.
So the biggest source of revenue for the education department are the summer programs, and those programs we have three-and-a-half year olds up to really we have CITs at age 15, so three and a half to 15, and everyone that comes to the summer programs is required to have a membership.
Christa Hein: Oh, okay. That's a really great way as well to build a community, because they're not just coming for a week, they're now a part of something. Oh, I love that.
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah.
Christa Hein: So, one person that I want to make sure that we mention is founder Jean White, who I read is still a daily presence on the farm, even in her 90s. So, what's it been like joining an organization with such a beloved founder who's still actively involved? And have you been able to work alongside her at all?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, it's very special. And I see Jean [00:16:00] most every day, and I love to tend the animals with her, and she loves to talk about the history of the farm. She and her husband, who's passed away, were the founders. They founded the nonprofit. He had been a teacher, and they decided to turn the farm into an organic vegetable farm, and then soon after that to make it a teaching farm.
She also, if children are around, she loves to interact and she will bring out the eggs that she's collecting and she’ll let the children handle the different colors. She also has raised children and has grandchildren, so when an egg gets cracked, she doesn't get upset. It's all part of the program and that's a learning, a teachable moment.
So, yeah, she's wonderful with the children. She's an inspiration because she's, like I said, she's in her 90s, and year round she's there every morning and every early evening taking care of the animals. So, we have a [00:17:00] donkey, two goats, a lot of chickens. There is a pony who is 38 years old, a Welsh pony, and a barn cat named Courtney.
Christa Hein: Nice. So, I heard that this fall is a huge milestone because the nonprofit will actually purchase the land that it's been leasing for decades. So, what possibilities does that open up for Holly Hill's future?
Wendy Prentiss: Oh, well, first of all, it keeps the farm a farm because land on the coast of Massachusetts is very expensive, and there's a lot of pressure to build homes. And so, keeping the farmland is just very exciting. So, setting us up for the future.
And then where the farm store happens is an unheated barn. So, in the winter, because they do grow year-round, they move into a greenhouse, and it's not easy to access. It's not sometimes easy even to find. It's less than ideal [00:18:00] as a place to sell the produce. And the barn, it's not all access. It's difficult for people who have mobility issues to get in and out. And our education programs are mostly outside and that gets tough when it's pouring rain or it gets super cold in the winter.
We do not have a kitchen, and we do cooking lessons because the kids want to eat and people want to taste what's been growing and what they're harvesting, and it's a really important piece. We have a nutrition coach as a part-time staffer who does some cooking lessons, and that's a summer program, but she's also done it in the fall and the spring. So, that would be a game changer. That would be wonderful to have a kitchen.
And we have porta potties right now, which it's rustic, it's a farm, but people don't love them. And with really young children sometimes,… I was taking one little guy to use the porta potty the other day, and he kept opening the door every time he heard a car because he was [00:19:00] afraid the truck was coming to clean the potty inside. So, you know, there's some anxiety around it with the young children.
Christa Hein: And so, this transition is going to include a new educational building?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, so it's first, purchase the land and then the improvements. So, we're fundraising for that right now. We're starting with secure the money to secure the soil. The next step is the infrastructure, getting it ready for the next 20 years or so. A green LEED certified building would be the goal. So, a teaching opportunity with that as well.
Christa Hein: How exciting. So, one thing I noticed is that education doesn't happen only on the farm, you spend as much energy bringing the farm into schools, and you now partner with more than 40 schools and serve over 20,000 students a year. How did Holly Hill evolve into becoming such an important educational partner for schools?
Wendy Prentiss: So, the working at [00:20:00] schools with the school gardens was the brainchild of John Belber, who is part of the education team. And he really wanted to do that. He's told me the story with Frank White, so Jean's husband, was the founder, and he resisted. Frank resisted for a while, and finally they started doing it.
And at that time, John he had young children, so they were headed into the schools. And when I came along, most of the garden beds are at the schools already and the routines have been established. We just rebuilt some garden beds that we used, just wood raised beds, so they don't last forever.
But, yeah, the relationships were already there. And the way it works might not be the way it always works because the scheduling is a nightmare to be honest. It's each grade level has a different crop and a different time, and then we're sending the small team of educators all over the place, and trying to factor in drive times, and we're driving around [00:21:00] with seeds and shovels and things in our cars.
And sometimes it feels like time confetti because you might be going to a really small school, and it's only time to plant the kale, but it's not time to plant the garlic, so you have to do that later in the season. So, you've driven all the way there, and it's a short time. So, trying to figure that out. And then also teachers trying to figure out when we can come, and then it rains.
So, it's wonderful. It's impactful. I'm looking at different software to see if I can make scheduling any more efficient and, yeah, that's to be determined.
Christa Hein: So, when a school first contacts you, where does that relationship usually begin? Are they asking for a school garden, or a field trip, or curriculum support, or is every school and every time different?
Wendy Prentiss: It's a little bit different. What my experience has been is right now I'm sending... Because the administrators have come back usually in August to the schools in Massachusetts, so I'm sending a proposal for the [00:22:00] year: the fall, the winter, and the spring. And a lot of schools will say, "Yep, we'll do the fall and the spring, but not the winter."
We love it when schools have us in year-round for continuity, and I think a lot of farm educators do the Three Sisters garden. So, that is something that we teach in the fall. And in the winter, it's fun to go and grind the corn because it's been stored, and then make the samp, the traditional Wampanoag dish, and in the spring do the planting.
We also have an erosion lesson that we bring in all the erosion models. It's very dirty and messy, but fun. But we do that in the winter with fourth graders. So, some schools will pick from the menu, and I guess most commonly the proposals for the fall and the spring planting get asked for and then they can pick from some of the other lessons that happen in the winter.
That's mostly public schools. We have some private schools, and they might ask us for [00:23:00] something more tailored.
Christa Hein: So, what would you say is the percentage of the schools that you serve where you are going to them as opposed to them coming to you?
Wendy Prentiss: They're not necessarily different. So, a lot of schools do come to the farm, and those are the same schools that, they'll say, "Oh, I know you, you came to my class," when I'm leading a field trip. So, they do both. And we are trying to do more.
I come from a high school background, so we're trying to do more with older kids because we mostly work with elementary school kids with the school garden lessons and the field trips. But I think there's a huge opportunity to keep those relationships going. And so, we have middle school field trips coming this fall. That'll be something new.
And we've expanded what we do with some of the high school students. So, I said earlier we had some culinary arts students come from a high school. But the AP environmental science [00:24:00] classes, they have their unit five usually in January, and that is land and water use, and that's when the farm is freezing. And we don't have an indoor facility, but we've made it worth their while. We really prepare them for their exam that they have in May.
And we looked through the units before unit five to test them on some of the things around ecosystems and carrying capacity, and because we have all the land around us. But also, just looking at the chicken coop and I'm like, "All right, let's do a calculation. What are these, what kind of species are these?" Just asking lots of questions that test them in a low stakes way on what they're going to need to know.
And yeah, one teacher said, "This is really great," because they learn about the Green Revolution and the history of agriculture, and they pull out some of the old tools. Because the farm's been in operation for hundreds of years, and it's been in one family since the 1840s. So, there's stuff stuck in the lofts and things from all the [00:25:00] eras of farming.
And there's residue in a room they call the chemical room under one of the old barns where they used to have the fertilizer and the pesticide. And you can still smell it. And that's the history of the farm before it became organic and before we started doing regenerative practices. So, it's great for students to see it and see the farmers and talk to the farmers. And we feel good about that curriculum, so tailoring the field trip to the AP environmental science.
And then this summer we're doing some work with curriculum and middle school students
Christa Hein: Yeah. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that? About the vision for how you want to reach these students at this really identity-forming age?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, sure. So, Massachusetts has a program that all schools use that gets students thinking about career pathways in [00:26:00] eighth grade. They also have a civics project in eighth grade where they can choose a topic.
And actually, when I was interviewing for summer staff, I had an interview with a middle school math teacher who had quite an impressive background. So, I said, "Hey, would you want to work with us on this?" And he said, "Absolutely." So he's been doing some work this summer, and we've brought in some contacts we have in middle schools, and he's just designed like a hub for educators and students when they're in eighth grade and they get to that point of the year where they're going to do their civics project.
It's not up on our website yet, it's still being developed, but it's going to be a resource for both teachers and students, connecting them to sustainable agriculture as a topic and helping them formulate the questions. There's a lot of steps that it takes them through, and it points them to good resources, and it gives ideas for projects.
So, one of the options would be to find a [00:27:00] farm, and Holly Hill Farm would be one of the places or a cranberry bog or whatever, where you can do interviews, you can take your project to the real world. And reach out to politicians. There's a lot of different pathways, but the way that Caleb, who's the teacher, has set it up, it's very user friendly. And I'm excited for that.
And in talking to some other middle school teachers to find out, how can we help you? Because having been a classroom educator, you don't have extra time. You don't. We ask teachers to do so much, and they care so much about the future, and they care so much about empowering their students to move us towards a more sustainable future. So, they'd like to give them the tools instead of just scaring them. Which something that I once heard is we actually don't teach sustainability, we teach unsustainability in schools. We just talk about everything that's wrong. So, offering them ways forward, [00:28:00] positive ways forward.
We had a seventh grade teacher, through the Massachusetts high quality curriculum connections through the Department of Education, have students studying orangutans in Borneo in a palm oil production area. And the kids love it, and they love the orangutan, and it's a real world connection, but it also feels pretty far away, like someone else's problem. And the farm down the street, or the farm that's a little drive away, the farm next door is dealing with many of the same issues. It's a way to teach a lot of the same concepts.
So, not saying don't study the orangutans in Borneo, but also, hey, look at this. We're still figuring it out, but if we can bring a local connection and make it easy for teachers to do that, that's the goal.
Christa Hein: Yeah, and you're mentioning sustainability. That leads really into these other initiatives that you have that are giving back to your own community. And a program that [00:29:00] really intrigued me is your Farm to Food Pantry initiative where teenagers aren't just learning how to grow food, but they're growing it for families in their own community.
So, what changes have you seen in students who are getting to take their own skills and create sustainability in their community?
Wendy Prentiss: Oh, I think it's pretty amazing to see how students think about maybe their own ways of getting and eating and wasting food when they're tasked with growing food for people who are so grateful for the opportunity to have fresh food. Because it's not easy for everybody to get fresh food.
Something one of my mentors, Jamie Cloud at the Cloud Institute, said that has always stuck with me, and it's something we use at the farm when we're thinking about working with young children.
And Jamie said, "When you're working [00:30:00] with young children and teaching education for sustainability, three tenets. First is have them fall in love with the natural world. Secondly, help understand systems, and that systems have limits. And the third piece is understanding that change is inevitable." And at the farm, the joy, the wonder that children feel, with the natural world and with when they're in the garden and with the animals, I feel like we do that.
Understanding systems, it's so much of what farm education is showing people and children. And then that there are limits. I have an alter ego on the farm. Wilma the Wasteful is my sister. She shows up with a big pink hat and sunglasses and a trash-covered cape, and she comes through and she leaves the caps off markers. She'll leave the water running. She's dropping trash. [00:31:00] She's been evolving this summer, but the kids, they just want to help Wilma get it together.
So, at first they were a little bit mad, but now Wilma's more clueless than evil, so they've been teaching her. And the reason you put your caps on the markers is the next person that comes along is going to have a dried out marker, and what a waste. So that's, my piece with teaching them about systems have limits.
Jamie Cloud's third tenet that she said was helping children understand that change is inevitable. And we do that just learning about like, I know you want a strawberry, but it's November. So, the seasonality is one example of where children might like things the same all the time, in fact adults do sometimes, too. But understanding that change is inevitable is really a helpful life lesson, but also helpful for understanding sustainability.
Christa Hein: Yeah, absolutely.
So, accessibility seems to be deeply woven into the [00:32:00] mission of the farm through the scholarships and the tiered pricing, community gardens, all the outreach that you do. How do you decide where to invest your energy so that it's making the biggest impact, but without stretching the organization too thin?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, that's a great question and something I'm one year in that I'm really thinking about. And just thinking about all the different programs that the education department is running.
In preparation for talking to you I thought, "Gee - Are we going to not do something because we keep adding?" And there's two things to weigh: what is the most mission-aligned, and then what is bringing in the most revenue? And they sometimes are the same thing and sometimes feel pretty far apart.
There's after-school programs that schools ask us to come and do something for an hour with students. And I would say that can be good because we get into the school gardens, and we can do some maintenance, and keep the kids [00:33:00] occupied. But it's also at a time when kids are not really that receptive to learning and having an organized activity. They've had a long school day.
So that's something we talk about as a team is, is that really the best place to put our energy?
Christa Hein: Yeah. Everything has its pluses and minuses as you're weighing it all together. So, now that you've had a year to see Holly Hill from the inside, what's one lesson that you can think of? I'm sure there's been many, but what's one that you've learned about running a successful farm education program that's maybe surprised you, or delighted you, or challenged you?
Just something that would be helpful to share.
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, I think making space and opportunity for others to bring their enthusiasm and their gifts and their talents is always worthwhile. And you would think as someone that's been a teacher for so long, that I would always have that in mind, but I [00:34:00] think sometimes there's other pressures competing, and it feels like maybe I shouldn't be making time for another or trying to keep things efficient.
But I think finding, trusting people, and I mean staff, but also volunteers, and also the children who are learning, to give them that room and that trust because people will amaze you.
Yeah, just another sort of connected piece to that is I really love working with the young children on the farm this summer. Yes, they're very tiring, but the world is amazing, and they know it, and they remind us with their curiosity. So, I find that that really feeds me just being with… my own children are in their 20s, I don't, in my home get to have that, that sort of zany, curious experience all the time. But at work it's fun.
Christa Hein: So, is there any piece of advice that you would give somebody who is really passionate about educating people through agriculture [00:35:00] but may be overwhelmed about everything they think they need to know before they can even begin?
Wendy Prentiss: Yeah, I think the piece, that phrase that I told myself when I first realized that I, if I was going to get out of bed every morning in this climate of doom about the climate, that I needed to just get started. So, I don't know if you know that book by Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird. It comes from someone just being overwhelmed with how am I going to write a report on birds, and the father saying, "You're just going to do it bird by bird. Just one, one thing at a time."
Christa Hein: Nice. So, when you imagine Holly Hill Farm five years from now with new facilities, expanded programs, new partnerships, what excites you the most about the future there?
Wendy Prentiss: Oh gosh. I guess all the people who would benefit from coming to the farm that aren't able to because it's not easy, it's not accessible. Whether it's the [00:36:00] season or, just we're not ADA compliant. Yeah, that really excites me. There's so much we can do there, and having a kitchen would also, I think, be a game changer.
Christa Hein: Nice. So, Wendy, one thing that really stood out to me is that Holly Hill has found this way to connect so many pieces of education through your farming and your education community service, your partnerships with schools. It reminds us really that farm education isn't just about teaching children how vegetables grow, but it's about helping people understand how they're connected to the land, to one another, and to their future.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey and giving us the behind-the-scenes look at how Holly Hill Farm continues to grow and evolve.
Wendy Prentiss: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Christa. I love listening to your podcast.
Christa Hein: Oh, thank you.
To our listeners, I hope today's conversation leaves you thinking a little bigger about what farm education can become. Sometimes [00:37:00] we think our job is simply to create a great field trip or teach a memorable lesson, but organizations like Holly Hill Farm remind us that farm education can also strengthen schools, build communities, inspire future careers, improve access to healthy food, and create lifelong stewards of the land.
If you enjoyed today's episode, I'd love if you'd share it with another farm educator or someone who's passionate about connecting people with agriculture and nature. Until next time, keep sharing the story of agriculture because the world needs more people connected to the land.
Christa Hein: Hey, farm educators, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Before you go, I have a question for you. If you could build your own version of farm education around the way that you want to teach work and live, what would that actually look like?
Because there are a whole lot of ways to do this work. And the version that sounds exciting for someone else, well, it might be completely wrong [00:38:00] for you because your strengths are different, your resources are different, and the kind of life you want to create is all yours. That's why I created the free “Discover Your Farm Education Path Quiz.”
In just a few minutes, you'll get a result based on your strengths, your goals, and how you want to work. It might point you in a direction you hadn't considered, or maybe it'll confirm that you're on the right path.
So, before you move on to the next thing, open the show notes, click the link and take the quiz. I can't wait to see what you get.
