Food, Farming & Sustainability

Online Conference for Farmers & Teachers

A Whole Systems Approach to Farm and School Education for the Future of Food Security

Overview

The need for environmental education at all levels and places of education is apparent and relevant at this time in history. We can address the fear of global warming and climate change by empowerment through education. Youth of all ages are craving a way to be part of healing solutions. Farm and school programs are a perfect way to bring joy and hope to this education. Let us show you how.

Are you interested in adding a farm component to your school program or an educational component to your small farm enterprise? Do you need some practical experience with a developed and tested curriculum? Join us for an online conference that will leave you confident on how to get started with plenty of takeaways and information to make it happen. Whether you have acres of green space or none at all, we have program ideas that can work for you.

This collection of videos invites teachers and small farmers interested in developing farm and school partnerships to explore topics on sustainability, environmental stewardship, and restorative farming with a variety of experts from the field. Registration includes access to 21 videos and is FREE after completing a pre-survey and a commitment to filling out a post-survey within six months. Viewers will learn why a whole systems approach to farm education is mutually beneficial to students, teachers, and farmers while supporting public health and food security in our communities.

Meet Our Conference Host

Good Shepherd Montessori School (GSMS) has been partnering with local small farmers for over twenty years to include land-based learning for all students as part of its core curriculum. GSMS is located on six acres of property in South Bend’s urban core and is home to a robust urban farm that will serve as the proof of concept model and provide a host of reproducible landscape and curriculum ideas. GSMS offers a scaffolded farm education program that starts with introducing primary-aged children (ages 3–6 years) to nature and culminates with junior high students running a farm business based on the principles of permaculture. GSMS has prioritized hands-on pedagogy and a mission-driven focus on stewardship and care for the environment.

Keynotes

Ben Hartman: Using the Lean System to Set Up a No-Waste Farm-to-School Program

Ben Hartman discusses how to run an efficient farm-to-school program using methods from the lean system. Lean is a production approach, focused on eliminating waste, that originated in Japan but is now used globally in all types of industries. Ben explains why there is enormous opportunity in selling food to schools, and offers tips on hosting school groups at your farm, with examples from his own small farm.

Ben Hartman is the author of The Lean Farm and the 2016 recipient of the Shingo Institute’s Prestigious Research and Professional Publication Award. He and his wife Rachel make a living on farming ½ acre of production. His latest book, The Lean Micro Farm, was released in late 2023. His work can be found at claybottomfarm.com.

Theri Niemier: Lessons From 25 Years of Farm and School Experience

Theri Niemier shares her story and passion for farm and school partnerships. Her history includes 25 years of sharing her 10-acre rural farm with students of all ages. While she has partnered with Good Shepherd Montessori School (GSMS) since its inception in 2002, her recent move to the school landscape includes creating an urban agriculture learning center for the GSMS community, beginner farmers, and farm and school partnership training. 

Theri Niemier is the Farm Manager and Regenerative Farming Education Specialist at GSMS. Theri founded Bertrand Farm in 1996 and has been teaching and farming in the local community for over 25 years. Theri is a certified permaculture designer,  a master canner, and the recipient of the 2019 Conservation Educator of the Year in St. Joseph County, Indiana.

Breakout Videos

  • Tour the Urban Farm at Good Shepherd Montessori School

Tour the urban farm at Good Shepherd Montessori School (GSMS) with Theri Niemier. Theri presents multiple scales of farming possibilities for student learning and shares her whole systems approach. The urban farm at GSMS is starting its fifth year of production.

  • Schoolwide Conservation Practice: Recycling Center

Theri Niemier demonstrates Good Shepherd’s schoolwide recycling center.

  • Schoolwide Conservation Practice: Vermiculture

Theri Niemier demonstrates how to set up a vermiculture bin for classroom use.

  • Schoolwide Conservation Practice: Building Straw-Bale Composting Centers

Theri Niemier explains building a straw-bale composting system on a school landscape.

  • Schoolwide Conservation Practice: Water Capture

Theri Niemier speaks about water capture on the school landscape.

  • Setting Up a Farm-to-School Garden with Ben Hartman

Ben Hartman walks through the very beginnings of starting a garden and shares helpful ideas for those working on school grounds. Ben shares tools and space ideas that he would recommend for farm-to-school gardens just starting off. This video can be helpful for anyone interested in learning more about using compost, watering, and planting schedules.

  • Lean in the Farm-to-School Garden with Ben Hartman

Ben Hartman explains a “lean” approach to setting up a farm-to-school garden plot. Expanding on ideas from his keynote, he describes ways to improve the organization of tools and workflow without overextending efforts. This video focuses on concrete ideas that you can begin implementing into your farm-to-school garden right away.

  • How to Schedule and Grow the Top 5 Crops for a Farm-to-School Garden with Ben Hartman

Ben Hartman describes how to time plantings so that your food is ready to harvest during the school year (September–May) and explains in detail how to grow the five best crops for schools. He offers practical steps that can be implemented right away and shares ideas for summer camp programming.

  • Overview of Farm Program for the Youngest Students at Good Shepherd Montessori School

Theri Niemier tours the landscape areas at GSMS designated for the younger students and shares some of their specific farming activities. Primary students are 4 to 6 years old, typically known as “pre-schoolers;” lower-el students consist of a combination of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Upper-el students include 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.

  • Small-Scale Farm and School Program Ideas for Grades 4, 5, and 6

Educator Grace Kyle shares her tips for organizing and maintaining a school farm/garden area working with students in grades 4–6.

  • The Integrated Experience: The Junior High Farm and School Program at GSMS

Good Shepherd Montessori School (GSMS) teachers share experiences working with junior high students and using a whole system approach to teaching. Theri Niemier, Andrew Garvey, and Laura Garvey discuss best practices and how the junior high farm program evolved at GSMS.

  • Farming as a Cross-Curriculum Experience for Junior High Students at GSMS

The junior high teachers at GSMS demonstrate how they integrate their lesson plans to connect what’s going on at the farm with learning objectives in the classroom. They use the historical practice of the Native American “Three Sisters” garden as an example. Students with various learning styles benefit from cross-curricular experiences that deepen understanding for all students.

  • Farming without Green Space: Microgreens Production for the Classroom

Every classroom has the ability to be a farm—no greenspace needed. Allow Susan Greutman to show you how to grow and sell microgreens, based on her own experience running Sunchoke Farms. She will share best practices for growing microgreens and ideas on including microgreens in a class curriculum. Sunchoke Farms is an urban farm in South Bend, Indiana.

  • Tapping into USDA Resources for Farm and School Land Practices

Deb Knepp and Sarah Longenecker share some of the financial resources and technical assistance available through USDA-funded programs that can help develop a farm and school program. Check out your local NRCS, soil and water conservation, and farmer’s assistance program offices that are available throughout the United States.

Deb Knepp works for the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) in St. Joseph County, IN. Sarah Longenecker is the County Conservationist for the St. Joseph County Soil & Water Conservation District in northern Indiana.

  • Tapping into USDA Resources for Farm and School Education

Discover what education resources are available through the USDA, including educational tools and lesson plans that you can use to improve your school farm or garden. C Check out your local NRCS, soil and water conservation, and farmer’s assistance program offices that are available throughout the United States.

Ally Pudlo is the Environmental Education Coordinator for the St. Joseph County Soil & Water Conservation District in northern Indiana.

  • Soil: The Foundation of Life

Theri Niemier shares an introductory lesson on soil science including soil formation and soil functions. This information is foundational to all farm and school programs.

  • Unity Gardens Farm Tour: An Education Resource in the South Bend Community

Farm manager Emily Mann tours the Unity Gardens headquarters and free-to-pick garden on the west side of South Bend, Indiana. Learn how they created a robust free educational program that ties directly to their focus on sustainability and community empowerment, and how the Unity Garden maintains this radical free food program. Reaching out to an organization like Unity Gardens can provide experiences like field trips, service projects, and educational opportunities for students in the community.

  • Saint Mary's College Farm Tour: A Startup Educational Sustainable Farm

Saint Mary’s College farm in Notre Dame, Indiana implements a holistic approach to food security through education, spirituality, and service. The farm is in its second year of management with local farmer Matthew Insley at the helm. Matt and farm director Chris Cobb lead a tour of the farm and demonstrate sustainable practices using chickens and compost to set up a no-till, two-acre farm production area on the campus of Saint Mary’s College.

  • Discussion with GSMS Alumni on the Lasting Effects of Their Farm and School Education

Four Good Shepherd Montessori School alumni share their experiences with the farm component of their grade school education.

This online conference was made possible through the support of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) funding and Good Shepherd Montessori School.  The conference was created and coordinated by Theri Niemier, Gwynneth Hurley, and Leena Mariani. Videos filmed and edited by Madlean Koehler.

Register

You will receive exclusive access to all 21 conference videos and accompanying handouts from presenters for free. Registrants must fill out a brief pre-survey, and we will follow up with a post-survey within 6 months. Once the pre-survey is complete, we will send you the access link to the conference. This link will be live until June 2025. The link provided is intended for personal use and is not to be distributed or shared with others. The conference is free so that everyone can participate. Our survey data collection is an important component of this project, and we ask for your help and support by participating in the pre- and post-surveys.

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Thank You to Our Conference Sponsors

This online conference was made possible through the support of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) funding and Good Shepherd Montessori School.  The conference was created and coordinated by Theri Niemier, Gwynneth Hurley, and Leena Mariani. Videos filmed and edited by Madlean Koehler.