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Weddington Farm

A Place of Exploration, Wonder, and Learning 

Nestled in Weddington, NC lies a remarkable 330-acres of land that is a symbol of sustainable agriculture and serves as an expansive outdoor learning lab for our students in grades JK–12.

Donated by Smoky and Margaret Gragg Bissell in 2022, Weddington Farm is an exemplary model of sustainable farming and offers vast and varied natural surroundings, such as wooded expanses with native trees and plants, open natural spaces, and a stream. It includes vegetables, goats and chickens, beekeeping, and mushroom farming. The diverse landscape offers unique opportunities for experiential education, providing students with hands-on lessons in agricultural education, ecology, biology, environmental science, and much more. 

Educational Programming

Weddington Farm is a rarity in the region as one of the few schools with access to such an extensive and dynamic educational resource. The integration of agricultural practices creates a living classroom where students can explore, learn, and appreciate the intricacies of food production and environmental stewardship. Examples of inquiry-based learning include:

  • Exploring a 10-mile nature trail system
  • Harvesting and packing crops with our onsite farmer
  • Testing surface water quality
  • Surveying tree populations
  • Building birdhouses for the property
  • Conducting a bird walk survey
  • Learning about beekeeping and mushroom farming
  • Integrating reading and writing (such as turning pumpkins into beloved book characters in second-grade!)
  • Participating in the operation and optimization of a modern, intensive, small-scale farm.

Impressive Facilities

Our agricultural program boasts key facilities that support the farm's existing production and facilitates the ongoing goal to extend growing throughout the year. Facilities include:

  • Two climate-controlled greenhouses
  • Teaching garden
  • Walk-in cooler
  • Commercial wash and pack station

330-

acres of land is an outdoor learning lab for our students in grades JK-12, offering vast and varied opportunities for experiential education.

50

varieties and 15 tons of vegetables, fruit, and herbs grown and distributed to our dining halls and area wholesalers.

1,500+

students in all divisions visited the farm in 2023 with programs ranging from agricultural education to science and nature, arts and crafts, baking, and more.

Our goal is for students of any grade level to not only learn about where and how their food is grown, but for them to experience the challenges of growing healthy crops and to better appreciate the value of produce when it is shared in their school meals.

Activities at Weddington Farm

Agricultural Education
–Harvesting, washing, packing, canning, herbs, preserving
–Floral Education (growing, arranging, and pressing)
–Plant Propagation (cutting and seed starting)
Bee Education
Blacksmithing
Bird Box Woodworking
Bird Watching
Cooking and Baking
Arts and Crafts
Environmental Education
Livestock (goats and chickens)
Long-term studies (birds, forestry, and surface water)
Mountain biking
Mushroom Education (foraging and inoculation)
Nature Art (murals and painting)
Poetry and Writing
Science Experiments
Service Learning
Tree Identification
Hay Rides
Water Testing
Yoga/Wellness/Meditation

Weddington Farm Highlights

Weddington Farm is a living classroom where students explore and learn about the natural world, food production, and sustainability.

Weddington Farm grows more than 50 varieties of vegetables, fruit, and herbs that are distributed to our dining halls and area wholesalers.

Second-graders enjoy story time at the farm.

Eighth-graders test turbidity and other water quality characteristics in Upper Tar Kiln Creek.

Prepping garden beds and planting with a mechanical seeder are some of the activities our students participate in.

Students take turns cutting arugula with a hand-held harvester.

Our students selectively harvest baby bok choy.

Washing and packing today's crop.

What's an October field trip to the farm without picking out a pumpkin?

Eighth-grade students and faculty enjoy a fall hay ride around the farm.

Eighth-grade students identify, tag, map, and collect individual tree data for a long-term forestry study.

Jalapenos anyone?

Middle School Science teacher Simon Keilty educates his students about forest succession.

Working Farm Site Manager Ewan Macaulay works with eighth-graders to hone their carpentry skills and build birdhouses.

 

Fourth-graders painted the birdhouses the eighth-graders made, which adorn the property.

Students learn to identify some of the dozens of species of birds that live on the farm, both by sight and by sound.

Geared up and ready to learn about the science behind how bees live, build a hive, and pollinate plants.

Learning how to grow and cultivate mushrooms is one of several activities students engage in while at the farm.

Weddington Farm produces xx different varieties of mushrooms that are distributed to wholesalers in the area.

What's a farm without goats, chickens, and cows?

Steve WallDirector of Educational Programming

It is a wonderful gift to have a place of natural beauty nearby that can serve as an outdoor classroom for multiple dimensions of learning, exploration, and fun. The students have already experienced it with such joy and we look forward to a steady array of planning and activities for students of all ages."

Weddington Farm Map

Weddington Farm Map