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First Posted: 8/21/2014
KINGSTON TWP. — Billy Stoss was working hard at The Lands at Hillside Farms recently, and enjoying every minute.
Stoss, 19 of Trucksville, and about 10 other students are part of the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18’s Dream Green Farm program designed to transition the participants to the workforce.
Brian Novicki, transition coordinator for LIU 18, said the students learn transferable employment skills, along with social skills to prepare them for real jobs in the community.
“This program prepares the students for the real world of work,” Novicki said. “Many have their high school diplomas, but they choose to stay in the program to learn the work skills.”
Stoss said he and his fellow students perform many jobs at Hillside. They work in the animal barns, cleaning the stables and feeding the animals. They also work in the greenhouses and perform other tasks as needed.
The students have planted a large garden on the Hillside property.
Garlic specialists
Jack Brady, LIU job coach, said vegetables and flowers are planted from seed. The students till the land, plant the seeds and then care for the plants by weeding and watering. When the vegetables and flowers are ready, the students harvest them and sell them at the Wilkes-Barre Farmers Market on Public Square every Thursday.
“Our specialty is garlic,” Brady said. “We grow three different types and we sell out every week.”
Brady and Novicki said money earned is used to offset the cost of the program.
“And the students work the stand and wait on customers and interact, answering questions and making change,” Brady said. “It’s really a great experience for them.”
The students also arrange flower baskets and make Christmas wreaths and centerpieces for sale.
Stoss said he enjoys his time on the farm. He said he has learned many work skills that he will take to the workplace when he finds a job.
“I learned how to use a weed whacker,” he said. “And I’ve helped with the tours here. I also learned to communicate with other people. I learned how to get along with people even if I might not like them.”
Stoss said he can’t wait to get a job and earn wages when asked what kind of job he will seek, Stoss said, “Anything at all.”
The Dream Green Farm program is in its fifth year, Novicki said, made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Place to learn
Suzanne Kelly of Hillside said during the 2013-14 school year, more than 4,000 students from throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania visited The Lands at Hillside for specific educational programs.
She said nearly 65 percent of the students were considered vulnerable or “at-risk.” Many of the children, Kelly said, have autism as well as physical, behavioral, emotional, mental or develop-mental challenges.
Kelly said Hillside Farms’ Green Guides program provides a structured and supportive environment with nature-based experiences that include: animal-assisted activities, horticulture activities, humane education and sustainable agriculture education, as well as traditional classes including math, science, nutrition, history and animal husbandry.
Students from The Graham Academy, LIU 18, Cori’s Place, Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind, McGlynn Center, Children’s Service Center, Pediatria Healthcare, Community Counseling Children’s Services and Hospice of the Sacred Heart Dragonfly Kids participate, Kelly said.
“Our Green Guides children and adults experience this immersed richness free of charge, which is made possible through the kindness and generosity of like-minded individuals, foundations and corporations.” Kelly said.
Animals used in the program have names, like: Cairo and Cookie the cows; Lulu the goat and her two “kids,” Apple Jack and Matilda plus Heather and Samantha; horses Romeo, Maive and Oreo; sheep Cara and Lee; donkeys Gretchen and Samantha; Otis the pig; alpacas Belle and Miss Muffet; peacocks Skittles and Dolores; numerous chickens and ducks, including Penelope, Sparkles, Bobbie the rooster, Sophia Puddle Duck and Harvey the dog.
Julie Fallon, agricultural educator at Hillside, said the animals have a calm demeanor that work well with the students. She said the students take the animals for walks, work alongside them while cleaning their pens and stables and they learn about each animal’s health system.
“Every time I think I’ve maxed out what an animal can do to educate our students, we find more benefits,” Fallon said.
Hillside Farms Executive Director Chet Mozloom said its mission work began discretely by reworking typical farm tours so that they included educational content. In time, Mozloom said, there was a demand for programs for at-risk groups, hands on education that subsidizes in-class topics, and vocational training.
“We created the Green Guides programs in an effort to meet these demands while serving our sustainability mission,” Mozloom said. “Sustainability is about much more than recycling plastic. It is also about being a part of the preparation of young people so that they might be self-sufficient while serving their communities throughout their lives. That’s what it is all about.”
Graham Academy
Students from The Graham Academy learn and work along teachers and Hillside staff in various locations of the farm — students work in the chicken coops gathering eggs, winterizing coops and preparing the chickens beds to keep them comfortable for the winter.
Carol McGrane of the Graham Academy said students learn more about the process and they apply the knowledge to a lesson they were previously taught in the classroom.
“For example, at the same time of their egg collecting, they are learning why Sophia the Puddle Duck needs to be with the chickens and not with the rest of her duck friends,” McGrane said. “They may learn that Sophia needs to get emotionally tougher, and be placed back with the rest of the ducks and learn how to stand up for herself.”
Other students plan how they need to corral a group of sheep into their pen for their biannual sheering.
“Monthly, multiple lessons about the farm, the animals, the environment, the importance of every role a person, animal, or the farm itself plays to keep its sustainability is brought to the Graham Academy classrooms and then transferred to the outdoor classrooms of The Lands at Hillside Farms,” McGrane said.
Established in 2008, the Graham Academy is a special education school in Kingston that serves students living with autism or emotional challenges.
Misericordia University
Paul Krzywicki, assistant director of marketing/communications at Misericordia University, said the Department of Occupational Therapy is excited to be working with The Lands at Hillside Farms and the innovative program, Green Guides.
“Hillside will be able to include additional children with special needs in the program and will also be able to expand learning opportunities for them throughout the semester,” he said. “In turn, our occupational therapy students get to work in a unique clinical environment, while also gaining hands-on experiences with special-needs children of all ages that will benefit our students immeasurably in their professional careers.”
Krzywicki said students have been working together with Hillside to develop a pediatric experience for the benefit of occupational therapy students and guests of the program for some time, providing occupational therapy services in a farming environment that will aid the children’s development of socialization and collaboration skills, while also fostering motivation, attention to detail, and many other task-oriented skills.’
Program notes
Hillside’s Green Guides will be a clinical education site & research source for Misericordia occupational therapy students. Kelly said students work side by side with educators and “co-faculty” farm animals to learn about science, agriculture, ecology, history, nutrition, animal husbandry, land conservation, sustainable living and community service.
Students also have the opportunity to observe diversities to enhance their educational experiences. Hillside offers several curriculum-based farm programs, all which meet Pennsylvania Academic Standards, for grades K through 12.
“The primary goal of Green Guides is to help improve students’ physical and emotional behavior, and when possible, teach important life and academic skills,” Kelly said. “The collective roles, responsibilities, and expectations of Green Guides and participating agencies will help children make constructive choices as well as build upon their individual strengths.”
They include:
• Increased understanding of and respect for animals, plants and the environment
• Increased understanding of food sources, both plant and animal
• Increased practical understanding of math, science and animal husbandry
• Increased problem-solving and team building skills
• Increased vocational skills related to horticulture, farming, retail sales
• Improved self-esteem, physical and emotional behavior