What Happens When We Give Our School Gardens?
A special thing happened in 2023 when asked the question, "What happens when you give a school a cow?" With your help, we answered that question and established The Farm at Ithaca Waldorf School and new vibrant life filled our campus. We prepared for the arrival of the cows and were surprised by a new calf, and then the chickens, ducks and pigs followed. As we’ve settled in and gotten acquainted, our connection and love of The Farm has blossomed and grown - and now, we’re ready for the next phase of growth!
- Thank you to all The Farm Patrons and volunteers who helped us establish this amazing and integral part of our campus in 2023. Your support got us here, and we hope you'll join us in this new project ♥️
- This Spring, your support will be able to help us grow more than food. It will cultivate wonder, stewardship and hands-on learning for every child at Ithaca Waldorf School and beyond.
Welcome to The Farm Gardens Project!
- At the heart of the Ithaca Waldorf School is The Farm — a living classroom where children plant seeds, care for animals, harvest food and learn what it means to live in rhythm with the land.
- Our students spend their days outdoors—gathering eggs, learning to compost, tending raised beds, and discovering the wonder of a world that grows slowly, season by season.
- It’s not just a farm. It’s a place where children develop a deep respect for life, resilience in the face of challenges, and a reverence for the natural world.
- And now we're adding vibrant edible gardens and orchards!
Join Our Giving Circle & Help Bring These New Gardens to Life 🌱
- This Spring, your gift can plant something lasting — a tree, a berry bush, a section of fencing, or another essential element of our growing farm and garden program.
- Each donation brings new life to our land and opens new opportunities for our students to engage with meaningful, hands-on learning.
- We're seeding a fruitful future for our students and community that will grow and prosper.
What Your Gift Will Grow...
- $50 — Blueberry and raspberry bushes
- $100 — A new fruit tree for our orchard
- $250 — Materials for expanded fencing to protect our gardens
- $500 — Seeds, soil, tools, and compost for our new community garden beds
- Any amount — Supports the heart of our farm-based learning curriculum
🌱 Your gift doesn’t just support our gardens — it supports a way of learning that grounds children in wonder, purpose and connection!
🌱 Every fence post placed, every tree planted, every berry picked — it’s all part of a deeper education, one rooted in land stewardship, rhythm and care.
Consider Becoming an Evergreen Farm Patron
One-time gifts are deeply appreciated AND monthly or quarterly donations make an even greater impact! When you give regularly, you help ensure the long-term health and vitality of our farm and garden program, providing steady roots for future growth.
🌱 Recurring gifts help us plan ahead — to nourish the soil, care for our animals, support our educators, and deepen our students' relationship with the land year after year.
🌱 Whether you give once or become a sustaining supporter, your generosity helps us grow something beautiful.
Planting the Future — Together We Grow
Joining our Giving Circle as a Farm Patron today helps our land, our children and our community flourish.
A farm is a living, breathing, organic and whole organism made up of fields, forests, plants, animals, soils, compost, people and the spirit of the place. Farmers and gardeners work to nurture and harmonize these elements, managing them in holistic and dynamic ways to support the health and vitality of the whole. Stewards of the land listen and sense what may want to emerge as they develop and evolve their land with a unique individuality. That's what we hope to do here 💚
When we dream, we dream big! Today we are dreaming of lush orchards and edible gardens, thriving pastures, flourishing meadows and brimming ponds that welcome frogs, birds, bees, butterflies and all nature to thrive as our students to learn and grow 🌱