Welcome to our July newsletter! Exciting changes are coming to the farm. Take a gander at some of last month’s adventures.
Programs
Frederick YMCA’s Strive High, a social-emotional enriched summer camp, joined us for a pleasant, mindfulness-filled day on July 3rd. They were tasked with team building activities and with forest-bathing inspired walks through the property. This group specifically formed a deep connection with our goats! As always, we are delighted to see therapeutic relationships with the animals blossom.
We continue to have a lovely time getting to know the youth and staff from Boys & Girls Club. They enjoyed their farm time in July by digging up the potatoes from the garden. Although some of the kids started this process with hesitancy, by the end of our time in the garden, all of the kids were covered in dirt and ready for their next activity! They ended the day cooling off in the stream, and we can’t wait to have them back for their last week in August before the school year starts.
The Éxito Program with Centro Hispano brought along 50 youth to the farm this month. With the help of their teachers, the kids had the opportunity to connect with nature on a deeper level and truly enjoy its beauty. The brief rainstorm did not interfere; instead, the kids decided that playing in the rain was the fun part! We are excited to continue our partnership with Centro Hispano and the Éxito Program, which serves over 100 children in the latine communtiy.
Community Events & Nonprofits
July was packed with community events and visiting nonprofits conducting self-led programs on the property.
Early in the month, graduate students from The Johns Hopkins University Sustainability Leadership program spent a week at ThorpeWood for a “Climate Hope” retreat. Beyond their retreat curriculum, students also spent time with ED, Kaili, learning about ThorpeWood’s Healing Ourselves & Our Planet climate grief program. Additionally, the students helped to clear invasive species from the garden area, where the Department of Natural Resources is helping us to establish a native food forest.
On a humid Tuesday evening, we were thrilled to have Art MacLarty of Three Spartans Apiary as our special guest at July’s Nature on Tap at RAK Brewing Co. Frederick locals swarmed the brewery to hear Art’s insights on the life of honeybees, honey production, and colony collapse disorder. We had the special opportunity to try a lager by RAK that was infused by honey made by ThorpeWood’s very own bees. RAK was standing-room only by the end of Art’s talk and we couldn’t be more proud!
Want to attend this month’s Nature On Tap? Sign up here to get 15% off your tab and hear about composting from sustainability expert Lauren Paulet on Tuesday, August 13 at 6pm.
Frederick County Public Library hosted its second Community Day at ThorpeWood on July 11th. Bolstered by ThorpeWood’s intrepid volunteers, we welcomed over 250 people to the farm for animal visits, mud kitchen play, tractor rides, and story time led by the library. It was special to open our property to the wider Frederick community for the day. Thanks to everyone who made the event possible!
Throughout July, we were glad to welcome the FCPS Student Services Directors, the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE), and the Rock Creek School leadership team for self-led planning sessions and retreats. The Rock Creek School incorporated some ThorpeWood-led activities into their day including a mindfulness walk with Angelica.
Finally, to round out the month’s community events, we had another meaningful and impactful grief support group and hike on the last Saturday of July. Thanks to all who came and shared in fellowship and healing this month.
Expanding Our Network
In addition to our usual fare, July was host to a few special events at ThorpeWood that we’d love to share about.
On Saturday, July 13th, we had an incredible community event in partnership with Outdoor Therapeutics: the inaugural Human+Nature Idea Lab. Together, we co-facilitated a full day of creative problem-solving, bringing over 30 community organizations and government departments together to address the important question: “How might we work together to increase the number of community members who value and benefit from a bond with nature?” The rich discussions and genuine connections formed were truly inspiring. We generated many exciting ideas and converged on six actionable items we hope to implement. Just 24-hours after the event, ThorpeWood and Outdoor Therapeutics already started taking steps toward actualizing some of the ideas generated. Stay tuned for updates!
On July 19th, we welcomed a room full of new and old volunteers for an official Friends of ThorpeWood Volunteer Orientation. Our wonderful volunteers learned more about the property and staff, took a tour of the property, and went over our new volunteer handbook. What a delightful group! We are so grateful for our volunteers, who have already contributed so much to ThorpeWood’s programs and events this year. Are you over 18 years old and interested in volunteering? Please fill out our volunteer interest form and we will be in touch with you.
We hope everyone has a rejuvenating and joyful August. Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, which will include some exciting new announcements!
Until then,
The Team at ThorpeWood