Hands-on education grows at Gorman Heritage Farm

Just 15 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati, kids from the heart of the city eagerly demand second helpings of radishes and spinach.

After a day of exploring the 160-year-old family farm, students have worked up quite an appetite for the food they pick fresh from the garden, says Vicki Foster, Gorman Heritage Farm's marketing and special events manager.

"All of them go into the farmyard," Foster says. "They get their hands in the ground."

With 4,000-plus students visiting every year, Gorman is a busy educational and working farm -- 120 acres in Evendale protected from development by the wishes of Jim and Dorothy Gorman, the brother and sister who deeded their property to ensure it remained a farm.

Students receive small-group opportunities thanks to the efforts of an army of dedicated, trained volunteers, who provide 70 percent of the educational offerings. Foster says that organizers split field trips into groups of no more than a dozen students each to ensure authentic hands-on activities each child.

The farm hosts seasonal festivals, public farm tours and summer camps for a range of ages. They sell greens in the spring, produce through the summer, popcorn and pumpkins in the fall and honey from their own hives.

For Foster, though, the importance of the farm reaches beyond its educational and edible offerings. She remembers an exhausted young woman who stepped through the farm gates at the end of a long work day, took a deep breath and visibly relaxed. Foster invites others to the farm so that they can understand its power.

"Come and get back in touch with yourself."

Do Good:
• Sponsor a field trip. This March, many scheduled school field trips may cancel due to budget cuts. Visit the farm's website to make a donation.

• Rummage away. Volunteer to help at, donate to or shop during the farm's annual rummage sale, Feb. 26. If you can help, email the farm.

• Take a class. Whether it's wood-fired cooking or gardening workshops or summer camp, Gorman Heritage Farm offers regular opportunities to get in touch with nature. 

For Good News Editor: Elissa Yancey (Sonnenberg)