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Our Farms

We have multiple spaces for growing (and learning about growing!) on our campus: the organic student-run farm on the south end of campus, the Lower School minifarm, the greenhouse, and a commercial farm run by an independent farmer. The organic farm is a verdant, one-acre student-run farm where students learn about food sovereignty by building an intact food shed through composting, planting, harvesting and seed saving for our kitchen. This farm offers students cutting-edge experiential education in local and artisanal food arts. We have a wood-fired pizza oven, as well as a 96-foot high tunnel for extending seasons and winter growing. The farm is run and managed by our Sustainable Agriculture Teacher and our student Farm Managers.

Students can be involved with the farm in many ways.

  • Upper Schools students can choose to be part of daily activities on the farm in fall and spring. This afternoon co-curricular is where students learn and work most intensively—following their food from seed to seedling, to planting, cultivation, and harvest. Opportunities for work, reflection, group and individual activities, as well as visits to other farms in the area are part of this offering.
  • During the summer, a small CSA is run out of the farm space, as well as an onsite farm stand and a farmers’ market stand. We also work closely with the Chester County Food Bank.
  • Vegetables grown on the farm are eaten by students in the school’s dining room all year long, connecting us all to local seasonal food.

The Lower School mini farm is a place for younger students to learn about Three Sisters garden planting, the life cycle of plants, composting, and taking care of chickens. These lessons are introduced in the Lower School science curriculum and the mini farm allows for hands-on activities and an opportunity for students and teachers to expand on the lesson plan.

We also have a glass greenhouse right in the heart of campus that is used to produce food in the winter, house a collection of tropical edible plants, and to start seedlings for the other projects around campus.