CRAFT BARN CLASSROOM

This fall, the Woodstock Union Middle and High School is launching the innovative CRAFT program (Community and Climate Resilience through Agriculture, Forestry, and Technology). This interdisciplinary program helps students develop a stewardship ethic and practical skills within the context of their community. Educators are working in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust to develop a flexible classroom space, living lab, and commercial kitchen at the King Farm in Woodstock. Listed on the National Historic Register, the 154-acre King Farm is a bustling place! The 1793 farmstead is the site of a working farm, the headquarters of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Planning Commission, walking trails, and many educational programs, including the Youth Conservation Corps. This campus will also serve as a gathering place and launch pad for CRAFT students to explore the natural and social worlds around them. CRAFT and VIA are co-developing a vision for transforming a portion of the historic dairy barn into an inviting space to discuss, learn, create, and feed people. In so many ways, this project aligns with VIA’s values: supporting education and hands-on learning, honoring the long history of the land while reimagining its future history, reconnecting people to the Vermont landscape, and fostering community resilience in the face of climate change. Fundraising for the barn project will begin later this fall.