KALE
Outreach Environmental Education
KALE, Kid’s Agricultural Learning Experience, is a two part, agriculture-based education program for students grades 5K – 12. Consisting of an in-class lesson and a field trip to the GRP farm, KALE invites students to get their hands dirty and discover the wonders of where our food comes from. Our goal for KALE participants is to connect classroom concepts to concrete, joyful experiences of ecology in the context of a working farm. Exploring the farm as an ecosystem, students learn about our role in the food cycle, farming practices, and protecting the environment through the everyday choices we make.
An essential part of our KALE mission is to provide an educational experience that is accessible to students of all backgrounds and an option for all schools. We operate payment for the farm on a sliding scale that ensures affordability for schools that call for support. To cover overhead costs of running the program, we charge a per-person minimum of $5, with a maximum of $25 based on both the needs of your school and your programming preferences for the day. We will work with you to make KALE possible for your school.
If the field trip portion of KALE is not possible for your class, we are happy to provide an in-class ecological experience for free. For 2024, KALE will be running from late March-April on weekdays. Schools and homeschool groups interested in planning a KALE experience should contact our Americorps service member, and our Director of Education and Outreach, .
Our Educational Farm
Green River Preserve maintains a five-acre working farm for the benefit of all our programming year-round, generating a half a ton of produce this past year for our farm-to-table initiative during summer camp and SEE programs. However, our farm is not only designed to produce food, but also to be an outdoor classroom for all who visit the preserve.
Unlike most farms that line the Green River Valley, the GRP farm does not use industrial-scale equipment, pesticides, or herbicides. Rather, everything is done by hand, employing the resources our land and community provide. Using regenerative farming practices that promote biodiversity, our farm is structured to assimilate with the surrounding natural ecosystem, and show students how we are a part of that ecosystem. Situated alongside the Green River itself, our farm is home to an orchard, an abundance of pollinators, vegetable and flower gardens, and several different types of livestock- all of which are open for student exploration.
After a KALE trip, students can expect to be able to:
- Identify components of the farm that make it an ecosystem
- Define the following terms: producer, consumer, decomposer, carnivore, omnivore, herbivore, pollinator, and compost
- Describe how composting can be used to recycle nutrients
- Give an example of how humans can protect the farm ecosystem through regenerative practices
- Identify various animal behaviors
- Explain how plants are grown from seedlings on a farm
We have worked to align our KALE curriculum with North Carolina Common Core Standards. To learn more about KALE and our farm, click here to download and read our Program Guide.
2024 Dates
| Dates Available | School/Organization Served |
|---|---|
| March 28th | Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County |
| April 1st | FernLeaf Community Charter |
| April 3rd | Brevard Academy |
| April 5th | The Mountain Community School and Mountain Sun Community School |
| April 8th | Brevard Academy |
| April 10th | Upward Elementary |
| April 12th | Upward Elementary |
| April 15th | Pisgah Forest Elementary |
Don’t see a date that works for you? Please email and for further scheduling questions.
Our current schedule for in-person farm trips for 2024 is booked. However, if you are interested in scheduling an in-class lesson without the field trip component, please click here to fill out an interest form.
Directions to KALE:
Please use the address 6371 Green River Road, Zirconia, NC 28790.
- From I-26, take Hwy 25 South toward Greenville.
- Take Exit 3, Green River Road.
- Turn right going west toward DuPont State Forest.
- The farm is 6 miles down Green River Road, on the left. It is the last house on the left before the road turns to gravel. The house is grey with green shutters.