Who screams for ice cream? What about a free sample of New Hampshire maple syrup?
Welcome to Apple Hill Farm, home of the tastiest education a young local student can find.
The Mountain Road farm recently hosted School to Farm, an annual two-day event promoting agricultural education to elementary students from the Concord and Merrimack Valley school districts.
Stations set up around the farm included lessons on sheep, soil, maple syrup, beekeeping, horses, and dairy farming.
A big favorite among the students was a 14-year-old gelding (a neutered stallion), which weighed in at 2,000 pounds.
The massive animal was the focus of a senior project by Kaitlyn Ryan, a Merrimack Valley High School. The horse caught the curious eyes of Conant Elementary School students during Ryan's presentation. They watched the towering creature with awe while it quietly ate its hay.
The pupose of the event, according to organizers, was to help students appreciate the importance of rural living and farming practices.
“We're trying really hard to re-educate a culture,” said Amy Hall, director of Granite State Dairy Promotion. “A hundred years ago, this was common knowledge, the same way as you get up in the morning and brush your teeth. People knew how agriculture worked.”
Diane Souther, Apple Hill co-owner and farmer, agreed.
“Not everyone has gardens now, and so the idea that you can raise your own food and have an area where you can buy it local is all part of it,” she said. “(I enjoy) the young people. You never know who you're talking to and what they're going . . . to learn.”
