The Unmentionables

This week we hosted a group of 10–14 year olds from Hill-Stead’s “STEAM” summer program. “STEAM” stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. I have never really enjoyed talking to large groups of kids as their energy level is often somewhat unhinged when they are all together outside, off school grounds. But when we heard the kids were primarily from underserved communities, it was hard to say no. And they were awesome. They were calm, attentive, and respectful.

Standing in the pasture with the sheep in the background and the campers along the fence, Anne and I attempted to weave together how we utilize Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math in our farming. I think we did well. Most of the kids were very engaged and asked thoughtful questions. We explained that we started each workday by just observing, making sure each animal looked okay and appeared content and healthy. If it looked like something was off, we used what available science and technology we had, to figure out the problem and how to resolve it. We are constantly evaluating our soil’s microbiome, knowing that its biome is the secret to healthy pastures. And a healthy pasture is the key to healthy sheep. We are constantly engineering solutions to problems with our fencing, solar panels, and water systems. And math is a given. Calculating the animal load on the pasture, the volume of pasture needed now, next week and in the spring. The hardest part of the STEAM perspective to explain was how art might play a part of our farming life. Building haystacks in 2023 could definitely be considered art - or at least interactive art.  And introducing the sheep to the farm complex has brought those buildings to life in a whole new way. That’s art, isn’t it? The kids seemed skeptical.

One message I made sure every child there heard was “you don’t have to own land to farm”. I explained that all the buildings and land were the Museum’s, but that we owned the sheep. I explained that there are millions of acres in this country that are just being mowed because people don’t know what else to do with them. The fact is they could find someone else who owns land and together, make it work.

We repeatedly talked about the importance of simply taking the time to observe, and then we regretted mentioning it. We have one incredibly aloof (and equally well-endowed) ram who, for whatever reason, decided that Monday was the day he wanted to strut his stuff along the fence line. I tried to lure him into the taller grass so his “unmentionables” (as my mother would call them) were not quite so observable. By Tuesday though, he developed a limp as if to collect even more attention. Luckily our pasture talks with the STEAM students were only those 2 days. I hate to think what he would have been doing by Friday, to get their attention.