Michael Kaufmann's Page

Many of us, at farm museums, CSA’s, in community based farming or any farm based venture rely on motivated interns who come to us and spend varying lengths of time assisting us in our agricultural work, with educational outreach and in overall business management.



Here on our farm we could not do without interns.…

Not all Farm Based Educators are People!



A while back Mr. Fluffy Pants died. As roosters go he was ancient and had lived his entire life at the Green Chimneys farm. Fluffy Pants was unique. Chickens come in many breed varieties; all are different in size, color, history and were developed for different…

 Yesterday it snowed. Big wet flakes drifted down in real-time slow motion. A group of four and five year old students from our Natures Nursery School slowly wandered across the farm, wrapped in mittens, hats and thick jackets. All of them had their faces turned to the grey sky, little mouths wide open, catching the descending snowflakes with cheerful giggles. The teacher impatiently hurried them on, not really taking in what they were doing. They had an indoor activity to go to.

Farm…

Many farm related businesses and educational outreach programs focus on as broad an audience as possible. Goals range from bringing in additional income, to effectively serving a wide community, or to implement an advocacy driven agricultural mission for as many people as possible.



Yet people with physical, cognitive or psycho/social disabilities frequently are overlooked as a potential core audience and may even be intimidating to some groups who otherwise look for creative…