The GRP Farm

Most mornings at GRP, the back field is bustling with excited campers on their way to Mentor Hikes. Walking out of Cabinville, you’ll see the bright morning sun spilling onto the field, illuminating cabin groups huddled around their Mentor for the day, and filing onto our camper-painted buses to sing some camp songs on the way to their morning adventures on The Preserve. One of these many buses, aptly named the “Carriot,” transports our campers to the GRP farm, a personal favorite hike of mine and of many campers. Aside from our farm animals, campers will meet Geoff, our head farmer, Brett the farmhand, and GRP’s AmeriCorps member for the year, Lauren.

As campers are led around the farm, they’re able to sample many of the things grown at the farm, like wild onions, carrots, edible flowers, and, if you’re lucky–some pink lemonade blueberries. They may even get elbow-deep in the dirt digging up potatoes before taking a dip in the river to rinse off.

The GRP farm even supplies some of the food eaten at mealtimes in the lodge, with a note on each item letting campers know that what’s on their plate comes from the same place they hiked in!

One of the main attractions of the farm, however, are our adorable farm animals. This year, we have juvenile chickens, a fan-favorite, which campers venture into the chicken coop to scoop up and hold, whether that be in their hands or on their heads! Geoff will also take campers into the goat and pig pens, where they’re able to give them treats and get a loving headbutt. Our longest-standing farm residents, Elvis Pigsley and Kevin Bacon, can usually be found napping in the shade, but our other two pigs, Wilbur and Charlotte, love to visit with campers and get a good scratch. Particularly lucky groups may even get a glimpse of our two elusive farm cats…

This year, we have a nest of four baby birds that have taken up residence at the farm, and are getting bigger every session! Soon, they will be taking flight and leaving the nest–along with many of our campers who have left their respective nests and taken a leap of faith by coming to GRP–a magical place of wonder, exploration, and growth.

Story by Charlotte Accarrino with photos by Samantha Keebler