LAWRENCE: Program educates kids about farming

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Bees buzz around Terhune Orchards all spring and summer, flitting from plant to plant collecting nectar and making honey. These little insects are the most important creatures on the farm because without them, the plants would not be able to bear fruits and vegetables throughout the growing season.
   Preschoolers at the Lawrence farm’s Read and Pick program earlier this week learned about bees and butterflies, which fly from plant to plant taking pollen and distributing it around the farm.
   These simple lessons help children understand where their food comes from, said Elaine Madigan, a Terhune employee who runs the children’s programs, activities and camps.
   It began about seven years ago as a way to educate parents and children about food, farming and how to pick fruit properly and enjoy it, said Ms. Madigan.
   ”In response to teaching parents and children where food comes from,” she said. “It connects them to the farm and the farmers and having them respect the farm and farmers.”
   Throughout the year the Read and Pick program focuses on strawberries, apples and pumpkins. Right now, blueberries are in season.
   But this week’s program wasn’t about picking. Instead, it focused on the most important workers on the farm: the insects that pollinate the plants that produce all the fruits and vegetables.
   ”We can’t have the fruit we pick at other programs without the pollinators,” said Ms. Madigan.
   The program also takes place in the winter where people can learn about what goes on during the winter at a farm.
   Parents admit they learn things while their children have fun listening to the stories and walking around the farm during the program doing hands-on activities.
   ”I think it’s fun for her to do something she doesn’t normally, especially in the summer when she’s not in preschool,” said Jennifer Romaine, a Lawrenceville mom. “It keeps her active.”
   The programs also help the kids make friends, as did Jennifer Romaine’s daughter, Molly.
   Molly has another 4-year-old girl, Lillian Cole, 4, of Hamilton, whom she meets at the Terhune programs.
   Her mother has the opportunity to socialize and meet other moms as well.