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| Ms. Teresa |
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| Banneker school group |
Mother Hubbard’s is a proud
contributor to community education and we try to spread as much knowledge as we
can. Whether it be about gardening, smart shopping or even large scale food production
(AKA farms). This week we got to escort a group of local school children to a
tour of the local Heartland Farms run by Ms. Teresa Birtles, the owner and
chief operator of the farm. Heartland farm is pretty substantial, there’s space
for at least a thousand chickens, countless kinds of crops, and whole herd of sheep, plus a couple donkeys and cows. She
supplies some well known, local restaurants here in Bloomington: upscale
restaurants like Finch’s to organic whole food restaurant Laughing Planet. Despite
this I had never heard of this establishment. But, having experienced it first
hand I understand now how important places like this can be for not only whole
food, but for fun and educational experiences for people unfamiliar with this
kind of work.
Now, I haven’t been to a farm since
I was a wee child and back then my great aunt owned a large sum of land, several
chickens, and a cow that couldn’t compare to what we saw. Upon arrival we were
greeted by a herd of sheep and two donkeys (that were much larger than the
movie Shrek would have you believe. Thanks a lot Hollywood). Thankfully, Ms.
Teresa is kind enough to give small tours to those that are interested and,
boy, does she have an air about her. She is immensely hardworking and
intelligent. She is fantastic at tailoring speech to fit the the audience and
making the information interesting while at the same time engaging. Most
notably, we had a whole lesson dedicated to soil enrichment that benefit her
pastures for her herd and soil for crops disguised as a lesson about poop (what
better way to get a kid’s attention, right?).
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| Look at them go! |
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| Free him! |
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| Attention Thief |
From lessons about how to corral the
herd and lead them to pasture to describing the delicate relationship between
farmer and animal and even how the animals work to protect each other, the
children kept they’re focus. That was until the cows revealed themselves like a
genie after rubbing the lamp your great-great-grandparents left you and then
you wish for a million bucks and get a million deer an- is that just me? Sorry.
Anyway, the cows appeared and stole attention which is understandable, cows are
adorable. However, the unexpected attention thief was the edible clover
flowers.
All in all, I feel that this kind of
experience sums up what Mother Hubbard’s stands for: community education about
whole foods and local businesses that has the potential to last a lifetime. Who
wouldn’t want to be here for that.
I you'd like to know more about Ms. Birtles and her farm, including everything that she grows and provides, please visit her website
HERE
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| Also, Donkeys |
