Trustees School Programs

Farm-Based Education

Understanding agricultural practices that preserve and protect the habitats and ecosystems of Trustees farms.

Through our immersive, experiential school, homeschool, and youth programs at our farms, students see, smell, feel, and hear the daily rhythms of animals, plants, the weather, and the seasons. Hands-on field study deepens students’ understanding of their natural world, food systems, and sustainable agriculture while they gain knowledge in the life and earth sciences along with STEM practices.

Lessons at respective farms include: Discover the Farm, Forest & Farm as Home, Fall Farm Rhythms, Spring on the Farm, No Matter the Weather, Soil Scientists, Root to Fruit & Egg to Hen, Animal Adaptations, Animal & Plant Reproduction, Life Cycles on the Farm, Farming and Climate Change.

Our interdisciplinary PreK-12 programs directly support Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in Science and also connect to math and other subjects.

Select the farm nearest you for information about seasonal program offerings, grades, and pricing – and to submit a visit request:

Farm Education
  • Appleton Farms, Ipswich
  • The FARM Institute, Edgartown
  • Weir River Farm, Hingham

Appleton Farms, Ipswich

Appleton Farms’ 1,000 sweeping acres of pastures, fields, forests, historic houses & trails, livestock, and vegetable CSA production agricultural operations invite students to both learn and connect with land around them.

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The FARM Institute, Edgartown

Once cultivated by Native Americans and European settlers, the 162-acre FARM Institute at Katama Farm is both a working farm and a farm-based educational hub. In 2005, the FARM Institute, an island nonprofit devoted to connecting children to agriculture, made it their headquarters and restored the buildings and grounds.

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Weir River Farm, Hingham

Weir River Farm is a 75-acre working farm comprising of livestock-grazing fields and pastures surrounded by oak and red cedar woodlands. The farm supports diverse wildlife habitats, including upland grasslands, while the Weir River passes through the farm at its northwest edge. As a partner of Autism Alliance, Weir River is inclusive for sensory-sensitive children and their families.

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Appleton Farms
Appleton Farms Education
Four children standing outdoors in front of a corn field at TFI learning from a Trustees staff member
The FARM Institute
Weir River Farm Barn
Weir River Farm

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