by SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN-TIMES

published July 1, 2007 12:15 am

LITTLE SWITZERLAND — Agreeing that everyone was ready, fifth-grade student Terran Martin opened his hands to reveal a newly emerged monarch butterfly. Surrounded by 15 nudging classmates, Martin held out his hand. The butterfly lingered momentarily, fluttered and then glided into the air toward the orchard.

Although this may not sound like your typical farm field trip, this experience was part of Two Rivers Community Charter School’s trip to The Orchard at Altapass earlier this month.

This field trip was the second component of a workshop offered by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project for farmers and educators to learn about “Safe, Fun and Educational Farm Field Trips.” The initial workshop brought farmers and teachers together to talk about how to make a farm field trip beneficial for everyone involved. Following this workshop with on-farm field trips offers a hands-on way to apply concepts and share ideas with other farmers and teachers.

The Orchard at Altapass, located along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Little Switzerland, will not have any apples this fall because of the late season frost. School groups and other tours are a way for this farm to diversify and cut their losses.

The Parker family participated in the farm field trip as well. They own the first certified organic dairy in North Carolina, driving up from Ulla. “It is good to see what other folks are doing,” said Rick Parker. “I want kids to come learn about a working farm, not just be entertained.” In addition to selling their milk to Organic Valley, the Parker family is hosting farm field trips and is beginning to experiment with making cheeses.

In addition to the recent trip to Altapass, Amy Ager, of Hickory Nut Gap Farm Spring House Meats, hosted a field trip of kindergarten students from Emma Elementary in May.

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