Bowers School Farm Posts News Detail

It was a winner-take-all event with the Gucci SNL slide just edging the Robotics Rocket at the First Annual Bloomfield Bold Sledding Adventure at Bowers School Farm!

We’ve had an exciting, action-packed start to 2020, and the Academy Students find new ways to impress us all with their heart and spirit every day. Here are some of our favorite highlights from the past couple of months. 

Baby Season on the Farm

With 22 lambs, Academy Students were lucky enough to witness multiple live births! Students had a front row seat as a ewe delivered 2 lambs, with another to follow later. We are grateful to Kathleen, Jessica, and Alan for allowing students to be a part of this event. They continue to capitalize on the teachable moments in these situations, entertaining insightful questions, providing commentary, making connections, and inviting students to be active participants in the natural occurrences on the farm. Authentic learning of this type is impossible to find in any other space. We are SO lucky to be able to learn here every day. 

Since then, we have transitioned from lamb season to “kid” season… The baby goats are here! Bowers students again have the opportunity to be involved as babies continue to join our Bowers Farm community. Several students have taken a special interest in this aspect of the farm, and have done an excellent job embracing daily life and responsibilities here. Every day, we continue to be impressed by the authentic learning that happens here, and the commitment and responsibility that the students embody. As additional kids are born, students look forward to more opportunities to engage in live births and bottle feed the newborn kids.

Cardboard Sled Races

On February 9th, Bowers Farm hosted the 1st Annual Cardboard Sled Race! Bowers Academy Students worked hard to create sleds utilizing cardboard, duct tape, and paint. The sleds were quite impressive! The students designed a #1 Pencil Sled for me, and a Barnyard Bobsled for Farm Director Alan. Academy Students volunteered their services at the concessions stand inside the FAB and enjoyed sledding on the hill. It was a great event all around, and students are already brainstorming ideas for next year!

Building Community

On Wednesday, February 5th, Academy Students visited Way Elementary to read together, do crafts, and visit with Rockit the farm bunny. Students really highlighted the different dispositions we have been discussing all year long. They were curious, reflective, independent, responsible, caring, flexible, considerate, adventurous, and compassionate risk-takers. This visit surpassed expectations and laid the foundation for a wonderful partnership in the future.  

We have embodied community in so many ways in the past couple of months. We wish the images could paint a picture of the magic that unfolded during each of these experiences. We have had such powerful moments together, and there will undoubtedly be more to come.

On Sunday January 26th, Bowers Farm hosted a fun-filled family event: storytime at Winter Park! Kids of all ages enjoyed snowy-themed crafts, read-aloud books with librarian Ms. Ashlee and firefighter Mr. Ryan, and a touch-a-truck with emergency vehicles. We were even lucky enough to get a visit from the firestation’s mascot, Sparky! Thanks to the Bloomfield Township library and local first responders for making this event so successful. 

Dr. Aileen Myer, administrator of the Academy, and Alan Jaros, Director of the farm, gave Bloomfield’s Bold Sledding Adventure their all this past weekend. They both raced valiantly in sleds made by Academy students - Dr. Myer in a #1 Pencil, and Alan in a Cardboard Barnyard. It was so wonderful to see our community coming together at the farm!

Winter Park will continue to be open on weekends, weather depending, for the time being. Keep watching our Winter Park website for updates about upcoming dates, and hope for SNOW! 

Bowers School Farm will soon be home to a mobile chicken coop and we are inviting area elementary school classrooms to join us in growing our pastured flock for this exciting new addition coming this spring! We offer an embryology educational experience students, which includes incubating eggs and experiencing the wonder of hatching chicks in the classroom followed by delivering the chicks to the farm. During the field trip, students will engage in the poultry operation first-hand, expanding their understanding of life cycles, plant and animal needs, and a chicken's purpose on a farm, which includes eggs for sale for the community. For more information, contact Jackie Doran.

Our staff and students have been putting on their scientist hats and diving deep into some of the finer details of what we do here at Bowers. Our new microscope camera allows us to stream slides live on our computers - which means students will be able to take on a more active role in managing animal health and monitoring for parasites in our livestock.

The Bowers Academy Students have been hard at work creating a business from the ground up. After creating a formal business plan and requesting a loan, Bowers Farm Store merchandise is officially on sale now!

We currently offer sweatshirts, beanies, tote bags, lanyards, and travel mugs - and we work hard each day to evaluate consumer need with an interest in increasing our offerings. This project has been an excellent link between students’ Creative Writing and Business Math classes, and will soon include Economics, as well. 

If you are interested in purchasing Bowers Farm Store merchandise, please email Dr. Aileen Myer. 

Lambing season has come to a close here on the farm, and kidding season has just begun! We are so excited to welcome 22 healthy lambs into the Bowers family, as well as the goat kids that are on their way! Our staff and students have worked diligently to take care of the moms and babies during this exciting time, and are doing everything they can to foster early growth and a healthy environment for these animals. We have lambs and kids jumping with joy, excited to meet all of our Bloomfield and Birmingham elementary students who will be joining us on the farm soon for spring field trips! They can’t wait to meet you!

It's that time of year again!  Every year, we welcome a sow to the farm to create another hands-on educational experience for our students.  Our sow provides an opportunity for high school students in our animal and veterinary science classes to be involved in monogastric animal management, learn in-depth anatomy, and engage in conversations about food production locally and globally.  She arrives on the farm each year in time to farrow, meaning "to give birth".  Her piglets also serve as 4H and FFA market projects - which are invaluable educational experiences for learners of all ages. 

Our sow farrowed last night, and we are so excited to welcome her piglets to the farm!

Registration for this year's summer camp opens January 25th on Community Pass. Mark your calendars now for some amazing adventures, new friends, and farm exploration.  Campers from preschool (potty trained) to 14 years old can come and enjoy all we have to offer, with interactive learning and growing during the best months of the year.  We offer a full day camp experience for kids ages 6+ and four hour 1/2 days for preschoolers.  Each week offers a different theme for children to experience, with everything from veterinary science to survival skills.  Each day is a new opportunity. . . come spend some of your summer with us!  

BLOOM-CHICKA-BOWERS-CHICKA-BOWERS-CHICKA-BLOOM! Join us in April to experience the springtime craze on the farm! With a new theme every day, campers will explore plants and animals, weather, pollination, and food systems through STEAM experiences. We will also examine and reflect upon the relationships between these components throughout the week. Each day will include daily chores, garden time, and plenty of fun activities.

Camp is offered to children ages 6-10.  The cost is $375 for the week. Registration is available now!