Whatcom Farm Circle

The Whatcom Farm Circle is an annual field trip hosted in the fall by Whatcom Family Farmers and the Whatcom County agriculture community for 3rd grade students. At this event, students learn about local food, meet real farmers, and explore the science behind agriculture.

Our objectives are to create a meaningful agriculture education experience for students, parents, and teachers of Whatcom County by:

  1. Providing a chance to meet real Whatcom farm families and learn about what they do.
  2. Providing an overview of local food production, targeting age-appropriate life science and environmental science curriculum.
  3. Providing an overview of the importance of farmland to our county, local environment, economy, and the overall health of our planet.
  4. Providing samples of healthy, locally-produced food and nutritional information.

Station Experiences

Experience Whatcom Farm Circle all year long, in many ways!

With the hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, Whatcom Family Farmers put together a meaningful alternative to this annual field trip by creating the Virtual Whatcom Farm Circle Experience. With this tool, students can now experience the Whatcom Farm Circle all year long and across the grade levels, as it is designed to cater to students beyond 3rd grade. This continues to serve as a valuable educational tool for teachers throughout the year in addition to the field trip or as an alternative.

This year for the first time, Whatcom Farm Circle is offering a new curriculum experience. Launched in October 2023, this curriculum is designed to serve as a substitute to Whatcom Farm Circle or as a supplement for students to experience before or after attending the event in person.

We encourage all 3rd and 4th grade teachers to use this curriculum and help students experience Whatcom County agriculture in more depth. These lesson plans are intended to connect our students with their food using inquiry-based learning, hands-on experiences, and critical thinking skills. Check out our Information for Teachers page to learn more.

An effort made possible by community connections

In order to make sure that the program is truly accessible to all Whatcom County students, we offer this event free of charge! However, various supplies and classroom materials that we provide during and after the field trip create a number of expenses for us. For example, we create and pay for the printing of activity journals for each student to take home. We also pay for lunches for our volunteers and station leaders. Furthermore, due to budget cuts at many schools in Whatcom County, many students are unable to attend for lack of transportation. Each year we offer a number of transportation grants to schools with limited funding.

This event is made possible thanks to our local businesses and organizations, community members, our farmers, and schools who participate. Get involved today with our various opportunities to participate, sponsor, or volunteer at the next Whatcom Farm Circle.

Information for Teachers

Sponsorship Opportunities

Volunteer

Our Collaborators

“Great visuals at every station, and many hands-on/interactive activities to keep the kids engaged! We look forward to it every year!”

-Isom Elementary Teacher

“I think it’s a great program and glad it’s out there for kids to learn about agriculture”

-Technology Station Sponsor

“Every station brought value and was educational, no wasted time”

-Group Leader Volunteer

“It aligns so well with what we are learning about plants”

-Bernice Vossbeck Elementary Teacher