$14-H Education Center At Auer Farm

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Last updated on July 24, 2008

The 4-H Center at Auer Farm, in partnership with the University of Connecticut,College of Agriculture, provides hands-on science education and recreational opportunities for visitors to gain a greater awareness of - and an appreciation for - the interrelationships between people, agriculture, technology, and the environment.

Description:
The Connecticut 4-H Development Fund, Inc. is a volunteer directed not-for-profit organization. Last year, over 30,000 people visited the 4-H Education Center. Over one-half were elementary and pre-school students from 44 towns in the Greater Hartford area. 25% of the students were from the City of Hartford.

The vision of the 4-H Education Center is to provide high quality science education programs and out of school lessons for students in grades prek-high school. Our lessons support a scientific literate population by preparing students for the State Science Mastery Test.



The 4-H Center represents the best practices in youth development. Our programs provide opportunities for middle and high school youth in mentoring, service learning, multi-cultural understanding, team building, job training, and skill building.

The Center provides outreach to enable community members to learn about the farm's natural and cultivated lands and livestock and to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the farm and the fruits of its harvest.

The 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm is located on a beautiful 125 acre working farm, 2 miles from Hartford, in the hills of Bloomfield. More than 17,000 Connecticut boys and girls benefit from structured programs annually by developing social, vocational and leadership skills that will last a lifetime.

Volunteers share in the experience as the backbone of this unique resource. The seasonal outdoor projects and festivals held throughout the year are only a few of the ways volunteers can be involved.

The balance of our visitors came to the farm to use our facilities for meetings or to pick and/or buy apples, raspberries, hay, Christmas trees, other farm products,walk the corn maze or attend the Fall Festival.

History:
The centerpiece of the Connecticut 4-H Development Fund is the 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm located on a 125 acre working farm which was in part donated to the non-profit in 1976 by the family of Beatrice Fox Auerbach, owner of G. Fox and Co, who created the farm as a premier dairy, poultry and apple farm in the mid 20th Century.

The land has continued to be a production farm under the guidance of the University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture. The Education Center is an outdoor classroom for the hundreds of thousands of children and adults who have visited the Center since 1976.

Professional teachers conduct inquiry science lessons throughout the year. Lessons address the science curriculum in grades k-10, "Apples and Apple Trees", "Farmer as a Scientist", "Food, Land and People", "The Inside Story: the Chicken and the Egg", "Maple Sugar ", "Biotech-Field of Genes", "Farming-Our Roots"; "The Amazing Corn"; "Farms Produce Food"; "Food Mood", "Kids and Cameras", "Nutrition In Action" and "Summer on the Farm", "Integrated Pest Management", "Global positioning", "Food for People", "Environmental Science" and "The Farm Visits You".

Contact people:

Beth Salsedo, Director, (phone), (email) Rose Dugas, Office Manager, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (860) 243-0005

Address:

158 Auer Farm Road (Route 185) Bloomfield, CT 06002 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.auerfarm.net

Directions:

The Farm is located in Bloomfield on Auer Farm Road off of Route 185 (Simsbury Road), approximately one mile from the intersection of Route 185 and Route 218. From the North - I-91 - Take exit 35B (Bloomfield/Route 218W) Turn right onto Route 218. Follow Route 218 through Bloomfield, approximately 5 miles to Route 185 (Simsbury Road). Turn right onto Route 185 and travel for one mile to Auer Farm Road, approximately one mile on the left. Look for our large green and white sign and turn left onto Auer Farm Road. Bear right at the fork, onto the dirt road and follow signs to the farm. From the South - I-91 - Take exit 35B (Bloomfield/Route 218). Turn left onto Route 218 and follow directions above. From the West - I84 - Take exit 41 and follow South Main Street into West Hartford center and continue north until North Main Street becomes Route 218. Turn left onto Route 185 and follow directions above. From the East - I84 - Take Route 291. At the end of 291, take the Bloomfield/Route 218 exite. Take a left onto Route 218 and follow directions above.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: none   Nearest Bus Stop: Bishops Corner, West Hartford, 30 minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.cttransit.com/

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