Sweet Beet’s Farm + Forest Club
a program designed for homeschoolers

Kearsarge Food Hub’s farm-based education programs are experiential, holistic, inclusive, and rooted in nature. Our farm and the surrounding forest are our classrooms. This farm-and-forest approach allows us to learn about and experience both aspects of Sweet Beet Farm and investigate how they interact. Through our programs, we foster connections to nature, connections to food, and connections to ourselves and each other.

sliding-scale tuition:

To promote equity and access to our programming, we’re offering self-selected sliding scale tuition.

• Community-Supported + Partial Tuition Support pricing are for those facing financial hardships, such as difficulties meeting monthly expenses. 

• Base Price is the standard cost for the program per child.

• Community Supporter + Farm Education Champion pricing are for those who have the financial means to help children in our community access our programs regardless of their family’s ability to pay. 

We ask that families please consider, from their current economic position, a generous amount to give. Kearsarge Food Hub is a nonprofit organization supported by community members and any generosity above and beyond the base price makes offering sliding scale tuition possible. 

Note: This is the sliding scale per child for a spring or fall 6-week session:

• $320 Farm Education Champion (Base Price + $50)

• $295 Community Supporter (Base Price + $25)

• $270 Base Price ($9 per hour of programming)

• $180 Community-Supported ($6 per hour of programming)

• $90 Partial Tuition Support ($3 per hour of programming)

Families may also request full tuition support or a payment plan if they need additional support. Note that we are an approved education service provider through Education Freedom Accounts and welcome this form of payment. We are committed to welcoming all kids into the program, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. 

All payment amounts will be kept confidential. Please reach out to Julie, farm education coordinator, at julie@kearsargefoodhub.org with any questions. 

Areas of Focus:

As a member of the Farm + Forest Club, your child will gather together with peers and our farm educators to grow and eat farm food, connect to nature, and grow their environmental science knowledge and skills. Experiences will vary with the seasons and are driven by students’ curiosity; our gatherings will involve:

• Seeding, tending, and harvesting food for ourselves and the community

• Cooking and eating farm snacks

• Meeting and befriending our local flora and fauna

• Exploring our wooded surroundings and hiking to the local marsh

• Learning bushcraft skills such as firebuilding, foraging, and tracking

• Conducting scientific experiments and using the results to learn about our local ecosystems

• Learning about and practicing teachings of Native peoples, such as the Honorable Harvest

• Experimenting with different types of art, such as print-making, natural dyes, and weaving, that feature natural materials