Take Root Parent & Tot
Garden Education & Farm Experiences for Children and Families
As a charity, one of Willowgrove’s guiding values is “Honouring Land.”
Willowgrove believes that the best way to develop an appreciation for the land is to have formative, hands-on experiences in nature as a child.
This is why the Take Root Farm Project was developed: to help integrate nature-based learning into children’s lives.
TAKE ROOT PROGRAMS at WILLOWGROVE:
Parent & Tots
Willowgrove Day Camp Session
Parent & Tots Program
Connect with your toddler, nature, and other likeminded families on a 100-acre farm.
Parent & Tots Program
Take Root’s Parent & Tots program is designed for both adults and children. This rain-or-shine, outdoor program is focused on learning together in relationship with nature, working in rhythm with the seasons, and being open to exploring all that is happening around the farm.
Each season (winter, spring, fall) is broken up into 8 weeks of programming, running for 2 hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Together with the Take Root facilitator you will go on nature walks through Willowgrove’s rolling pastures and old-growth forests, visit the farm animals, sing songs, create nature crafts, and even get your hands dirty with some gardening. Each session is different!
Parent & Tots 2024
WINTER | Jan. 9 - Feb. 29*
SPRING | March 19 - May 9*
FALL | Sept. 10 - Oct. 31*
Tuesdays and Thursdays
9:15am to 11:15am
*$220/season (8 weeks)
*Registration includes:
1 Adult and 1 Child (ages 1-4).
Infants under the age of 1 are free.
$80/additional child
$50/additional adult
Additional Details: Adults are responsible for their own children. Ratios must not exceed 1 adult/2 children (Infants not included). Any additional children within a household will require an additional adult. Each season is limited to 10 registrations*.
Take Root at Willowgrove Day Camp
There is no better time to start learning about nature, and there is no better way than to get your hands dirty!
Willowgrove Day Camp operates from a hundred-acre, working farm. Each session, your camper receives weekly hands-on garden/nature workshops lead by trained instructors.
Willowgrove’s one-of-a-kind Take Root Farm Project provides children with the opportunity to participate in a variety of gardening, and nature programs, lead by knowledgable staff.
Why teach campers about gardening?
You know the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now!” The same applies to developing an appreciation for nature.
Take Root is designed to inspire children. Willowgrove believes that by teaching children about where food comes from, and how we’re connected with our ecosystems, we are connecting future generations with nature.
By watching one row of spinach thrive while another row wilts, your camper is given the chance to investigate, hypothesize, and work towards different solutions. Not only do your children get to grow healthy, organic vegetables, they also learn that every plant is a living, responsive thing that we can positively effect with our actions.
Community Partners
Willowgrove’s Take Root Farm Project also gives back to our greater community. Some of the produce we grow and harvest together at Willowgrove goes directly to Yellow Brick House in a unique CSA style program that provides fresh, nutritional produce to women and children in need. You can learn more about Yellow Brick House here.
“It’s so refreshing to see smiling faces at drop off and pick up. [Our son] comes back home so happy, and runs to the car in the morning. Such a difference from school last year. What a great thing you’ve all done.”