Why this Waynesboro school farm is more than just a garden
WAYNESBORO — A visitor recently stopped by Berkeley Glenn before heading to the Waynesboro Education Farm behind the elementary school. When signing in, the visitor was told they could just list destination as "classroom" because the farm is an outdoor classroom. Ryan Blosser couldn't have been happier when he heard that story. As the lead educator on the farm, Blosser has known this was a classroom since he took the job, but one of his missions is to convince others of the same thing. When he heard that story he thought, maybe that was happening. The farm program began with a renewable grant awarded in 2019. In the spring of 2021, a group of students from Kate Collins Middle School along with help from Alleghany Mountain Institute began work on the high-yield farm. In 2022, district leaders reevaluated the farm's mission, shifting the primary target from general food access to direct student achievement. Last year students prepared 1,940 meals, had 5,700 lessons tied to Virginia's Standards of Learning and 8,000 hours of instruction on the farm "I'm proud of that number," Blosser said, "because it makes this a classroom." The farm has 1.25 acres fenced in and a third of
