See what's happening at Tollgate this month!

MSU Tollgate Farm September 2020

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Save the Date! Upcoming Events

Tollgate programming andevents during CoronavirusCOVID-19

Michigan State University hasmade the decision to cancel orpostpone all in person activitiesuntil further notice. This means

the farm will be closed to the public, but select volunteershave been given permission to work in the gardens on thefarm. Although this may make it appear that Tollgate is nowopen to the public, we remain closed. If you are interested involunteering at Tollgate, see the article below on instructionsfor steps to volunteer. We appreciate your help in keepingour staff and volunteers healthy and safe by not entering thefarm during this time.

NEW! Virtual Series for Home-Based Learners

Registration is live for MSUTollgate Farm's 2 new Fallweekly interactive virtual series. The Secret Life ofTrees (Grades K-2): October 5, 12, 19, 26, &November 211 a.m. EST

Explore the secret life oftrees as we investigate bigideas - how trees haveunique and diverse lifecycles and how they haveamazing structures andfunctions that help themsurvive and grow. Do trees compete or cooperate asthey use resources in their own environment to survive? Which trees grow at Tollgate Farm and why? How arethey alike and different from the trees in the studentsyard, park, or schoolyard? Interact with MSU TollgateFarm staff, visit the fields and gardens, engage in STEMchallenges. Register here.

Follow The Nutrient Trail (Grades 3-5):October 8, 15, 22, 29 & November 53:30 p.m. EST

How do plants and animals depend on their parts and onother living things to help them survive? Let's follow thenutrient trail of consumers, producers, and decomposersas we meet our goats, chickens, and red wiggler friends,the worms! Visiting the garden, greenhouse, orchard,and animal barn, students will investigate how plantsdepend on animals and insects for their survival and howthe energy of the sun and nutrients travel through thenutrient cycle. Students interact with Tollgate Farm staffas they question, hypothesize, experiment, analyze data,conclude and question again through hands-on STEAMchallenges. Register here.

Financial aid process available. For more information on

these programs, visit our school and community programspage here.

Learning Fresh From the Farm

A virtual classroom series withMSU Tollgate Farm andEducation Center is designed forstudents to explore naturalresources and agriculture whilelearning about sustainability andthe environment. Aligned with

literacy, math, and Next Generation Science standards,programs utilize inquiry place-based learning. Life cycles andsystem interdependency are revealed as students virtuallyvisit the fields, forest, greenhouse, and farm animals toinvestigate science phenomena taking place on the farm.Virtual series with Tollgate Farm are scheduled Septemberthrough early June. Financial aid process is available. Forquestions or to tailor a program to meet your teaching goals,please email Ellen Koehler.

Sign up now for our Fall series:

The Secret Life of Trees (Grades K-2) October 5, 12,19, 26, & November 2: 10 a.m. EST

Follow the Nutrient Trail (Grades 3-5) October 8, 15,22, 29 & November 5: 1 p.m. EST

For more information or to register, click here.

Join us for Goat Story time onFridays this September!

Join us in the barn via Zoom onFridays at 4 PM in September tokick your weekend off with somequality time with our Toggenburgladies. They will just be gettingready for their dinner, so it willbe the perfect opportunity to

learn about what they eat, how they have dealt with this heat,how they spend their days on the farm and what fall means ifyou are a dairy goat. Do you have a younger child in yourfamily who has also been missing MSU Tollgate Farm? Well,our kids want to share some of their favorite books with yourkids! So be sure to tune in to see what story our early learningteam chooses to read to our baby goats.

Find more information or register here.

Virtual Goat Experiences

Last time we checked goatscan't use phones very well, butluckily our MSU Tollgate staffcan! Want a personal goatencounter? Sign up for Goat toMeeting or Goat Shout Outs! Learn more about our newvirtual goat experiences here.

Coming Soon! Pumpkin SalesStarting September 28th!

Would you like a beautifulpumpkin grown at TollgateFarm? We will have all sizesavailable for curb-side pick-upstarting September 28th. Onlinepayment is preferred at the FarmStore but we will allow payment with exact change onsite. Allproceeds will support educational programs.

Evenings in the Garden presents: Race, Food, & Landin Detroit.

Across the United States Blackfarmers and Black communitiesface major barriers related to

farmland acquisition and food sovereignty. These issues often

go unseen. MSU Extension and MSU Tollgate Farm isfacilitating a three-part lecture series to investigate the past,present, and future of race relations in Detroit and how it hasimpacted land acquisition and food sovereignty. The last partof this series will be September 24th. During each session, ateam of MSU Extension facilitators, will be joined by panelistsfrom across the Detroit food systems landscape to share theirlived and learned experiences. Registration fees, minus thecost of stipends for the panelists, will go toward initiatives thatsupport the needs of Black/African-American farmers inDetroit. Individual sessions are $10 each or $25 for all three.

Pre-register for these Zoom sessions here. Each session is eligible for 2 hours of continuing education forExtension Master Gardeners.

If you would like to attend but are unable to contributefinancially, scholarships are available for qualifyingparticipants on a first come first served basis.

Free Fall Virtual School GardenEducation Series

Designed for formal and non-formaleducators including school andcommunity garden organizers, thisseries of four interactive, educationalgarden sessions will be held everyother Wednesday starting October 7through November 18, 2020 from 4:00to 5:00 p.m.

October 7, 2020: Seed Saving by Ben Cohen, SmallHouse Farm

Join author, seed farmer and founder of MichiganSeed Library Ben Cohen as he shares theimportance of saving our garden seeds, sharingtheir stories, and giving the gift of seed to others.See how easy and rewarding it can be forgardeners and youth to collect and save seeds tocreate their own local seed bank. Learn the basicsof this traditional skill and start saving seeds fromyour own gardens.

October 21, 2020: Indigenous Gardening - NicholeBiber, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa

Nichole has been an organic gardener for morethan 20 years, is a mother of three, a publicelementary school librarian, and an activist forenvironmental justice and a jingle dressdancer. Learn about Three Sisters, indigenousgardening methods and native foodways in thisengaging session.

November 4, 2020: Interesting Plant Experiments thatEngage Kids - Dr. Norm Lownds, Director 4-H Children'sGarden, MSU

Join Dr. Norm as he demonstrates how to involvestudents in fun experiments that connect them toimportant plant science concepts.

November 18, 2020: Engaging Community Partners-Parkview Elementary Second Grade Teaching Team

Learn how these teachers gained the involvementand support of significant local partners for theirschool garden.

Register here.

Virtual Evenings in theGarden

Register for these upcomingvirtual sessions here.

October 15Jae Gerhart - The Impacts of

Covid-19 on Local Food Systems: Washtenaw County FoodSystems Coordinator, Jae Gerhart, explores the impacts ofthe coronavirus on local food systems - from production andprocessing to distribution, effecting the economy and health ofthe region. October 29

Angie Lucas - Ferntastic!: Learn some fascinating facts aboutferns of the NW Lower Peninsula by joining us for apresentation by Angie Lucas, Senior Land Steward andbotanist at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy,as she presents an overview of the native fern species foundin the Grand Traverse region and how land protection andstewardship efforts benefits rare and declining species, aswell as some identification tips and resources to use whileexploring the northern forest and wetland trails of northwestlower Michigan. Additionally learn how GTRLC uses varioustools like floristic quality assessments to prioritize restoration,protection and other nature preserve projects.

November 12Will Jaquinde - Integrative Pest Management for HomeGardens: Tollgate's own Sustainable Agriculture InstructorWill Jaquinde leads this session on pest management. Youwill learn how to identify common pest problems in yourgarden and determine the best control with the least harm tonon-targeted species.

Tollgate Farm Highlighted atthe Michigan State Fair, LLC

Tollgate partnered with theMichigan State Fair, LLC toprovide videos from the farm fortheir Virtual 2020 Fair. Thesevideos included segments onvermicomposting, an eggdissection, a goat encounter,how to put your garden to bed, a farm tour, and a cookingdemo with Chef Ken Miller from Toasted Oak.

You can still see the videos on the Michigan State Fair, LLCFacebook here.

Fall CSA Registration Open!

Are you interested in a weeklysupply of seasonal, sustainably

grown produce? Join us for ourFall CSA, which starts October21st and runs for 10 weeks.Space is limited so please

email MSUE.TollgateCSA@campusad.msu.edu to check foravailability before sending in the registration form and acheck. Click here for more information or to register.

Virtual Learning Takes Shape At Tollgate: ExperientialLearning in a Virtual World

How does the farm takeexperiential farm-basededucation into the world ofremote learning? Thissummer, Tollgate'seducation staff venturedinto the world ofsynchronous virtualprogramming with nearlyone hundred campers to find out. Read more here.

Want a look inside one of our virtual programs? Check out theVirtual Vet Science Blog with all the fun interactive activitiesand videos here.

Congratulations to TollgateFarm 4-H Club Members!

At this year's Michigan StateFair, LLC, Tollgate Farm 4-HClub members Aaron Hutka,Susanna Khanuk, ChloeLaBelle, and Rachel Siporinreceived urban farming

scholarships. Interested in joining the Tollgate 4-H Club?Check out their facebook and website.

Get your Tollgate swag fromour new Farm Store!

We still have limited T-shirt sizesavailable. Check out our newFarm Store for two t-shirtoptions, the one seen here andthe 2020 camp t-shirt.

Visit the Farm Store here.

This Month's 4-H Newsletter isHere!

Oakland County 4-HConnections is a monthlynewsletter for 4-H members,families, and the generalcommunity with news andinformation about 4-H youthdevelopment activities inOakland County.

September Newsletter

Tollgate News & Announcements

MSU Tollgate Farm is featuredin a newly publishedbook, The Sky Above and theMud Below: Lessons fromNature Preschools and ForestKindergartens, by David Sobel

Brooke Larm, former EarlyChildhood Coordinator at thefarm, wrote two case studiesfocused on Farm Sprouts, the

preschool program she foundedand led from 2016-2020. Thesecase studies are included in thebook and were completed as apart of a fellowship funded bythe George B. Storer Foundationto coincide with Brooke'sgraduate studies with AntiochUniversity New England. Theyhighlight the Farm Sproutprogram's efforts to support duallanguage learners, as well asthe collaboration with theTollgate's SustainableAgriculture team. The book is intended to guide educators inutilizing the outdoors to support whole child development andincludes research to illustrate the benefits of farm- andnature-based education.

MSU Tollgate Happenings forTeachers and Their StudentsThis Fall

Check out our newest newsletterfor educators with information onour newest programming andlearning opportunities. Read thenewsletter here.

Check the Quilt Raffle HistoryCompilation

The Tollgate Garden volunteershave been hosting a quilt rafflefund raiser for many years. Tollgate volunteer, DarrettaFerasin, has been a part of theTollgate quilters who created quilts for our raffle for all of that

time. Darretta recently compiled images for all of the manybeautiful work-of-art quilts that have been created through theyears. Check out these amazing quilts here.

Meet Our Staff & Volunteers!

Curious about everyone whoworks at MSU Tollgate Farm?Every Monday on our Facebookand Instagram we feature a staffmember or volunteer. The lastmonth we have featured DeannaWagner, an Agricultural Laborer,Kari Heughens, our Event

Coordinator, organization, John Ross MacInnis, a maplesugaring volunteer, and Darby Anderson, the productionmanager for the sustainable agriculture program. Read moreabout these staff and volunteers here.

Interested in Volunteering atTollgate?

We are grateful and appreciateour volunteers at MSU TollgateFarm. We are now able to allowExtension Master Gardenersand Non-Extension MasterGardener volunteers to return to the farm once they havecompleted our new volunteer selection process. If you wouldlike to begin the steps to volunteer, please visit our blog forthe full instructions. Please remember that we cannot allowvolunteers to enter the farm until they are completed thisprocess and have permission from our Farm Manager, RoyPrentice, or Education Coordinator, Ellen Koehler.

MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center offers programsthroughout the year designed to allow adults and children to

experience learning hands-on, explore the joys of gardening andthe natural world, appreciate and promote locally grown food, and

build community.

MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center28115 Meadowbrook Rd.

Novi, MI 48377248-347-0269

tollgateprograms@msu.eduhttp://tollgate.msu.edu/

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan StateUniversity Programs and materials are open to all, without regard to race,

color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, height, weight,disability,political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital, family or veteran status.

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