We were thrilled to present a session on care farming in the United States to students at Warren Wilson College: “Growing Resilience: Care Farming in the Netherlands” is a new class offered by Professor Sarah Himmelheber which culminates in a 2-week trip to the Netherlands to spend time on care farms, like Noorderhoeve.
What a pleasure it was to discuss and highlight the care farms operating in the US and talk about CFN’s work to increase awareness and build capacity + connection among US-based care farms. The class explores care farming, or the use of farming tasks and practices towards a therapeutic aim. Students are introduced to the typical needs of populations served by care farms including older adults, people with SPMIs, people with ID/DD, people coping with addiction, among others. During the campus-based portion of the course, students plan on visiting multiple facilities in the region that utilize interaction with plants and animals as therapeutic interventions Students will gain hands-on interaction with plants and animals as preparation for participation with the Noorderhoeve care farm in the Netherlands.
As care farming is better understood in the United States, it’s heartening to see that colleges like Warren Wilson are teaching about care farming practices, modalities, and providing exposure and awareness about care farming!
