Page Title

Fostering an Appreci= ation for the Land

Stratford Ecologic= al Center

Stratfor= d’s September Update

Like = the summer garden that births an abundance of living and nurturing growth, = a circle of women feeds the soul and energizes the body. Bring your E= arth-loving spirit into a circle of community, mindfully dedicating a weeke= nd of your life towards renewing your connection with nature and birthing a= connection with other women. See the brochure for full details: Click her= e: http://www.stratfordecologicalcenter.org/Women of the Earth.pdf Registration deadline = is August 29th.

Women of the Earth Retreat C= oming Up Soon!

Stratford will be closed Labor Day weekend. =

We= will close at 4pm on Fri., Aug. 29 and will reopen on Tues., Sept. 2 at 9a= m. &= nbsp; &nbs= p;

You won’t want to miss Stratford’s b= iggest event of the year!

Family centered in every way, the farm is transf= ormed into a

play-ground and celebration of the season. = Puppet shows,

entertainers, and storytellers take over our pic= nic area on the main stage. Big kids are occupied as the pasture beco= mes “Kid’s World” and is active with kites, stilts, face = painting, and a giant Earth ball. Little tykes are kept active in our= hay bale toddler area with farm toys. Kids of all ages can climb on = a tractor, make apple cider, ride on a horse-drawn wagon, make plantable se= ed collages, grind grain, and so much more! Stratford sells home-grow= n food for lunch and volunteers provide a great array of baked goods for sa= le. Old-fashioned games involve the young and young at heart! T= he Harvest Fair is a celebration of Stratford and a celebration of down-hom= e family fun! $= 6/adults, $4 children 2-12 years old.

Saturday, September 20, 10:00am-5:00pm.

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To remove your name from = our mailing list, please click here

Sac= k Races at a past fair

In th= is 8-week discussion course, join others in exploring how the pervasive eff= ects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can influence a child&= #8217;s view of the world. Discuss ways to create meaningful family t= imes and healthful environments for children, and explore ways to develop a= child’s connection to nature, and to foster creativity. This i= s an inspiring and potentially life-style changing class. $25 for the= course book. Limit 12.

Tuesdays, September 16 through November 4, 6-8:00pm

“Healthy Children, Hea= lthy Planet” Class

Produce: Tomatoes, Peppers, Okra, Eggplant, = Horseradish, Edible Flowers, Kohlrabi, Kale, Collards, Basil, Parsley, Garl= ic, and Blackberries.

Other edibles: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Eggs, Honey, He= rbal Teas

Non-edibles: Stratford mugs, greeting cards, can= dles

= ;

We ar= e in need of your baking skills for the Harvest Fair bake sale! Cooki= es, muffins, breads, whole pies, bars, and all kinds of other yummies are i= n great demand on the day of the fair. We’ll be accepting donat= ions starting on Thursday, Sept. 18. Please package your donations in= to small serving size portions.

This = year we’ll be having a silent auction at the Harvest Fair in an attem= pt to bring in some financial support for our programs. We are in nee= d of donations of handicrafts, art, gift certificates, gift baskets, etc.&n= bsp; Please bring or send donations to Stratford at your earliest convenien= ce.

Thanks Summer Camp Helpers!<= /span>

Sendi= ng out a big thank you to the folks that helped make our summer camps a gre= at success. First and foremost in my mind is my mom, Dorothy Hein, wh= o contributed countless hours sewing 320 flags for our 6-8 year old camps s= o that each camper could have 5 flags representing each lesson they learned= about the Earth. She also volunteered a whole week as a support pers= on for one of our July camps. Another person in need of our gratitude= is Ann Kelley, last year’s summer education intern, who came back as= a volunteer for an entire week of camp in August. Shelley Barden was= our volunteer cheese-maker this summer, lending her time to making many ba= tches of scrumptious ricotta cheese with the children. Others who len= t their time and talent include Erin Robertson, Pauline Scott, Chris Warner= , Jen Gliebe, Amy Walter, Kaye Cragg, Christina Pelletier, Sarah Morris, Ro= semary Gantz, and Paul Sandstrom. Thank you all for helping to make t= he summer camps a wonderful and rich experience for us and for the 160 camp= ers that shared their summer with us!

Hor= se-drawn wagon rides

Bags and More Bags!

In an= effort to reduce the amount of plastic bags coming into and out of Stratfo= rd, we want to encourage folks to bring their own reusable cloth bags to pi= ck and purchase vegetables from the farm.

On a = similar note, we are in need of paper grocery bags for our seed collage act= ivity at the Harvest Fair. This is an experience in recycling! = Bring us your old clean paper grocery bags so we can cut them up and turn t= hem into plantable pieces of art!

Herba= list Anya Syrkin will teach a Using Local Plants Class on September 25 from= 6-7:30pm. She’ll take participants on a walk around Stratford&= #8217;s lawn and forest, investigating and discussing the wild plants that = can be used in our daily lives. $15.

Class Teaches How to Felt Wo= ol

Fiber= Artist Yiling Tien will teach felt-making on Saturday, September 27 from 4= :30-7:00pm. In this class you’ll learn how to transform wool in= to felted material or felted sculptures. Yiling will guide you step-b= y-step through the felting process, teaching needle and wet felting. = You’ll create a sculpture, wall hanging, or ornament. You will = leave inspired! $25/person, advance registration.

We wo= uld love to have more families join us for the Green Families group. In September the group= will be going on a hay ride around the farm. Join us at 6:30pm on Tu= esday, Sept. 2 for a fun evening with other environmentally conscious famil= ies.

The <= /span>Herbal Study Group= will be meeting on Tuesday, Septemb= er 16th from 1:30-3:30pm, focusing on the edible Nasturtium and the skin-so= othing Calendula. Come join the stimulating discussion!

It wo= n’t be long before the holiday advertising season will start, bombard= ing us with messages to consume and to celebrate the holidays by buying lot= s of stuff. This month’s Simplicity Circle = will put us on track for following = our own desires for our family celebrations as we focus on simplifying and = greening the holidays. Bring your ideas and past experiences, as this= will be a sharing circle. The Simplicity Circle will meet on F= riday, September 26 from 7-9:00pm.

Strat= ford’s monthly groups are $10 ($20 for a family) per year. Your= first experience with a group is free. We’d love to have you j= oin us for intentional conversation and group learning!

Monthly Groups at Stratford = have Fun and Interesting Topics

It is more important now than ever t= hat our children learn about their food sources and how to respect nature.&= nbsp; Come be a part of teaching kids about nature and at the same time bec= ome an intricate part of the farm. Join us for two mornings of traini= ng as we take new volunteers through the steps of becoming a Stratford Farm= and Nature Guide!

&nbs= p; Part 1 - Wednesday, September 3rd (9am-1pm)

&nbs= p; Part 2 - Wednesday, September 10th (9am-1pm)

Stratford's main goal is educating other= s about their relationships
with other living things and their environment. By doing so, we
hope to foster a community in Delaware dedicated to respecting the
land and all life that depends on it. One of the volunteer opportun= ities that speak to this mission is being a Farm & Nature Guide. We are= always looking for dedicated volunteers to become Farm & Nature Guides= to lead small groups of children on adventures around the farm and nature = preserve. You don't need to have experience. We'll train you on= the animals, in the garden, and in the forest, letting you know how we gen= tly teach the school kids about the amazing processes going on around us.&n= bsp; All you need is a love of the land and a desire to share that love wit= h children. Register<= /span>

Farm and Nature Guide Traini= ng Coming Up Soon!

We are now recruiting volunteers for= Stratford's annual Harvest Fair on Sat., S= ept. 20; we're in need of help from 8:00am-6:00pm. This is Stratford’s bigge= st event of the year and we're putting out th= e call to all Stratford Volunteers -= we need= your help! Some = of the opportunities include info table, bake sale, food booth, parking &am= p; admissions, barn supervisors, Kid's World, games, crafts, wagon tour gui= des, face painting, cidering, photographer, set up and clean up, and certai= nly several other things we've yet to think of. Please let us know as= soon as you can if you can help.

If you aren’t available the da= y of the fair, we could use your help preparing for the event the week of S= eptember 15th.

&nb= sp;

Volunteer=

Harvest Fair Helpers Needed<= /span>

As always, there are a plethora of w= ays you can be involved in helping out at Stratford. Below are a few = examples:

Farmer's Helper - Being a farmer= 's helper may include preparing and maintaining the fields, animal chores, = carpentry, fence building, and other farm maintenance and upkeep.

Garden & Greenh= ouse Gurus - Come help us water, = weed and harvest produce for the food bank.

Landscape Upkeep - We are always in nee= d of folks to help care for our gardens and landscape.

Saturday Receptioni= st - Come spend a Saturda= y morning at Stratford. This volunteer answers the phone, takes messa= ge, greets and directs visitors to activities, trails, u-pick areas and sel= ls farm products. They may also water plants and do light office clea= ning.

Volunteer

Volunteer Opportunities Avai= lable in September

Stratford Ecologic= al Center

3083 Liberty Rd.

Delaware, Ohio 430= 15

(740) 363-2548

3D"Text

Contact Information

Jeff Dickinson, Executive Director—farmscaper@msn.com

Christa Hein, Education Director—treebeing@aol.com

Chris Byerly, Operations Manager—(740) 363-2548

Jane Walsh, Volunteer Coordinator—secvolunteer@aol.com=

April Hoy, Field Trip Coordinator—secearthshare@aol.com

Mary Hilborn, Office Manager—StratfordCenter@aol.com=

www.StratfordEcologicalCenter.org

We’ve got a new email update format! = This is our first try at spicing up the look of our monthly update. = We’d love to hear your opinion and suggestions for improvement!

Let us kn= ow what you think

2 - Green Families

5-7 - Women of the Earth Retreat

16 - Herbal Study Group

16 - Healthy Children/Planet

20 - Harvest Fair

25 - Using Local Plants

26 - Simplicity Circle

27 - Freezing and Drying

27 - Felting

September Programs

Learn how to pr= eserve the summer’s bounty by dehydrating and freezing fruits, vegeta= bles, and herbs. The basics of each process will be covered by people= who have used these methods in their own kitchens. September 27 from= 1-3:00pm. $20/family.

Freezing and Drying Class

Hours:

Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm

Saturday: 9am-1pm

Closed Sundays