A Day in the Life of The Summit Crew

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Summit Crew is a youth adventure, leadership, and land-based learning program that blends farm and homestead skills with forest exploration, mentorship, and meaningful responsibility. Designed for ages 12–15, it serves as a bridge between childhood forest school and youth leadership, offering real-world tasks in the fields, greenhouse, and animal areas through multigenerational mentorship with elder volunteers, followed by afternoons of adventuring, wildcrafting, and developing deep ecological awareness. Rooted in our Waldorf–Reggio–Forest School philosophy, Summit Crew nurtures confidence, competence, teamwork, and emotional resilience while giving youth a place to grow into capable leaders who care for their community and the Land.

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9:00-930AM         Gathering & Getting Settled       30min

 

This time is reserved for the arrival of the group and connecting in community. We will meet in front of the Greenhouse near the barn and check-in and make our plan for the day. We will introduce any new concepts in our farming and homesteading learning journey during this time and take a moment of morning journaling in nature. 

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9:30-10:00AM:       Prepping our Plan & Snack       30min

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We will walk around the farm spaces to observe any changes from the week before, and make our plan for our morning. We will pause for a brief snack before starting in on our farming tasks.

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10:30AM- 12:00PM           Farm Foundations            1.5hr

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Farm Foundations is the heart of the Summit Crew’s morning rhythm: a dedicated block of time shaped by the living needs of the land, the seasons, and the cycles of real farm work. This is where youth step into meaningful responsibility, learn practical homesteading skills, and experience the deep satisfaction of contributing to something bigger than themselves.

Each week, youth will take part in hands-on tasks that vary with the weather, season, and the farm’s ongoing projects.

 

Activities may include:

• Preparing garden beds, seeding, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting

• Learning the science of compost and different types of soil 

• Watering systems, irrigation setup, and understanding how plants communicate their needs

• Caring for the animals — feeding,  gathering eggs, tending to their needs, observing behaviour

• Processing harvests, seed saving, herb drying, and basic food preservation skills

• Greenhouse stewardship, learning how temperature, humidity, and light shape plant life

• Simple homesteading crafts such as cordage, natural dyes, tool care, and handwork

• Understanding farm ecology: pollinators, beneficial insects, nutrient cycles, and companion planting

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What makes Farm Foundations truly unique is the intergenerational mentorship woven into this time. Youth will work side-by-side with the Moondance Organic Garden volunteers, many of whom are elders with decades of lived experience in gardening, farming, and land stewardship. This partnership creates a rare and beautiful learning environment where knowledge is passed hand-to-hand, story-to-story. Elders may share planting wisdom, stories of past seasons, recipes, traditional skills, or insights into how the land has changed over time. Youth, in turn, offer their energy, curiosity, and fresh perspective. Together, they build relationships rooted in respect, reciprocity, and shared purpose.

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This multigenerational approach cultivates:

• A sense of belonging and responsibility

• Confidence through meaningful contribution

• Gentle mentorship and guidance from community elders

• Real-world skills in food production and land care

• Understanding that community thrives when all generations support one another

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Farm Foundations is grounding, purposeful, and deeply human. It teaches youth not only how to grow food and care for animals, but also why these skills matter; for resilience, community, ecological stewardship, and personal empowerment.

 

12:00-12:30PM     Community Gathering                30min

 

After a morning of meaningful work and learning, we gather in community with the elder volunteers to share tea and eat our lunches. This midday pause is a time to rest, connect, and honour the relationships being built through our multigenerational mentorship model. Stories are shared, questions asked, and gentle conversations flow between youth and elders, deepening trust and a sense of belonging. This simple, nourishing ritual reinforces that we learn best in community; caring for the land together and caring for one another.

 

12:30-2:30PM           Afternoon Adventures              2hr

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Our afternoons invite the Summit Crew into the wilder corners of the land: the forests, meadows, hedgerows, and creeks that hold endless opportunities for exploration and discovery. After a quiet moment to transition from the pace of farm work, the group will set out on guided nature adventures that deepen ecological understanding and nurture confidence, curiosity, and resilience.

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During this time, youth will learn to identify local trees, plants, fungi, and animal signs, building a strong foundation in place-based naturalist knowledge. They’ll practice essential outdoor skills such as navigation, tracking, fire-building, tool use, and seasonal harvesting of wild edibles — always with a focus on safety, stewardship, and respecting the living systems we are part of.

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Afternoon Adventures also include cooperative challenges, team-building games, creative mapping, shelter-building, mindful wandering, and opportunities for solo sit-spots where youth can reflect, journal, or simply listen to the land. Educators will guide the group in learning how the “wild” plants weave together with the cultivated farm foods they worked with in the morning — fostering a holistic understanding of ecosystems, interconnectedness, and the reciprocal relationships of tending and being tended by the land.

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These afternoons are designed to meet pre-teens where they are developmentally: hungry for adventure, ready for responsibility, and eager to test their growing independence in safe, supported ways. Together, the Summit Crew moves through the landscape with wonder, courage, and a deepening sense of belonging.

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2:30-3PM       Sit Spots,  Goodbye & Go         30min

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We end our day the way many nature-based traditions do: with stillness, reflection, and gratitude. After an afternoon of adventure, movement, and exploration, the group returns to a slow, grounding rhythm. Youth will settle into their Sit Spots, a practice where each youth returns to the same place on the land week after week. This quiet time invites them to listen, notice, breathe, and observe the subtle changes in nature; shifting shadows, migrating birds, new buds, falling leaves, animal tracks, or simply the way the wind feels on their skin.

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Sit Spots help pre-teens:

• Strengthen their sense of place

• Cultivate inner calm and self-awareness

• Build observational and ecological literacy

• Connect deeply with the land as teacher

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After Sit Spots, the group gathers again for a closing circle. We reflect on the day:

• Something we learned

• Something we worked hard on

• Something we’re proud of

• Something we’re carrying forward

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This gentle ending helps integrate their experiences and supports emotional regulation, confidence building, and group cohesion. Finally, we share our goodbyes and tidy our spaces together before heading home grounded, accomplished, and connected. The day ends not with rush, but with rhythm: a quiet moment to breathe out before stepping back into the wider world.