Where does our food come from?

Our friend, sister Mary El Khatib brought about a dozen youngsters and their parents from the Nur Center in Northern Virginia to discover how carrots and other vegetables grow and to explore other delights of nature at the Farm of Peace. In an overnight Nature Camp organized by staffer Maryam Hand, the kids and their parents enjoyed time in the country and had hands-on experience of farm activities.

In the CSA garden, Jesse Amin showed the kids how to pull onions and carrots, and the kids had a blast unearthing their food!

With Maryam, they visited the orchard, seeing apples and peaches growing on the small trees. Maryam gave the children some of the apples as treats for the donkeys.

Mu’min Shay helped the kids make friends with the still-growing pastured poultry chicks; this is where the nutritious, wholesome meat on our table comes from.

Collecting eggs for breakfast was quite an adventure. Visiting the chicken coop, the children had a close-up encounter with the rooster and hens, and explored the nest boxes for fresh eggs.  In the evening, there was a campfire and of course, toasted marshmallows!

After a full morning of farm adventure — and a yummy pancake breakfast — the children gathered with Dr.  Jeanette Hablallah, who taught them about nature, plants, animals and bugs — and the beauty and awe of the creation they’d experienced on the farm. The children completed their Nature Camp with drawings of their experiences.  We hope all  the children and their parents will come back again to visit the farm!

"I love marshmallows" -- Adam