4-H Education Center at Auer Farm

The 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm is a private, non-profit education center located just minutes from Hartford, off Route 185 in Bloomfield.

A partner with the University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture, the 4-H Education Center programs are based on current scientific research on a 120-acre farm. The hands-on experiences are offered to more than 18,000 children throughout the year.

Seasonal programs are offered to school classes, community groups, and the public in the center's animal barn, gardens, farmland and orchards.

In this setting, students see cows, chickens, pigs and goats, and plant seeds, harvest apples, pick pumpkins, observe milking and make ice cream.

Through interaction with educational staff, students learn how agricultural science affects everyday life. Lessons on biology, biotechnology, horticulture and math address content standards and expected performances in science - based on the Connecticut State Department of Education core science curriculum framework for students pre-K through high school.

For more information call (860) 242-7144, ext. 10; e-mail
4hcenter@comcast.net or visit www.auerfarm.org.

And A 'Chicken Tractor' At CT NOFA Taste!

CT NOFA Taste! 2010 is Sept. 19 at Manchester Community College, Great Path Road, Manchester, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $7; children under 12, free.

This annual event is the only local and organic festival in the state, offering a farmer's market, fresh prepared food, live music, sustainable vendors, artisans, workshops.

Free workshops include “Pickling Unusual Vegetables,” “Making Homemade Beer and Wine,” “Bread Making,” ”Extended Season Gardening,” “Top Bar Beekeeping,” “How to Raise a Small Flock,” “Eating from Your Back Yard” and others.

The children’s tent will offer old-time crafts and games, as well as live story-telling and ever-popular hoop dancing. Noontime entertainment will be an out-of-doors performance by ART FARM: playful theater with an environmental theme. Children can also enjoy a pony ride, or join their parents on a free hay ride behind a bio-diesel tractor.

Bridie, the dwarf “backyard cow,” will be present, as well as goats, turkeys and chickens, and working hens in a “chicken tractor.” Local farmers will be on hand, as well as CT NOFA executive director Bill Duesing, who will accompany groups on a “market stroll” through the local vendors and their produce.

Custom-made smoothies with local organic fruits and dairy will be available, along with fresh (local) greens with balsamic dressing.

New Haven’s celebrity chef Bun Lai, owner of Miya Sushi, will also be on hand to give a free workshop on sushi. (Bun’s restaurant was recently named one of the top-ten sustainable restaurants in America.)

More information at www.ctnofa.org or call (203) 888-5146; e-mail, Teresa@ctnofa.org.

Creating Art, Inside The Golden Egg

The Golden Egg Studio is housed inside a light-filled space that is a former chicken coop, situated on 10 acres of the original farm.

Ray and Deb Pierce's talents intertwine and are reflected in their home in Amston, part of Hebron. The farmhouse is circa 1771, home to the Pierces since 1976.

"It might be older," said Deb Pierce, who runs the studio along with her daughter, Cait. "That's the date we found on a stone lintel."

"We've been sugaring about 1990," said Ray, who taps the sugar maples on the farm plus neighbors' trees. Ray owns Pierce's Carpentry & Remodeling, and his work restoring and rebuilding (plus his art created from found objects) can be seen throughout the farm.

At the recent Hebron Maple Festival, the front pasture was full of vehicles, visitors exploring the sugar-making, drawn to the sugarhouse with billowing plumes of steam pluming skyward. "Troy," the miniature horse cropped grass just greening up, and families delighted in the plump chickens they could hold (with care and gentleness).


The Pierces' farm is welcoming and delightful, including the quirky art - a row of windows march out from the studio, framing pasture views; a display of horseshoes artfully occupy a stone niche. The farm is only open during the annual maple festival. Take heart though, the studio is open Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. (or by appointment).

Offerings include Easter egg decorating (small classes, one for adults, another for children); and children's morning art classes in April and May. There's a Mother's Day gift workshop on May 2, and in April, a Fiber Arts Show and Tea (date to be announced). Space is limited (to keep classes small) and fees vary ($15 to $30 for workshops).

"The most important thing is that people are comfortable in a place," said Deb. "Then they can let their guard down to create."



Her partners in art are her daughter, Cait Pierce, and neighbor, Ellen Ludwig. Scout meetings and birthday parties can be scheduled. For more information call (860) 228-0273 or e-mail goldeneggstudio@gmail.com; located at 325 West Main St. (Route 66).