Education
Farm education is a key component of what the farm does. Every spring, grade-school children come to the farm and tour the facility. Most years this includes a lap around the horse arena guided by volunteers from Bright horizons. The kids enjoy seeing the brooders, the laying hens and the chickens in the pasture.
Hopefully, this gives students a broad view of where their food comes from and how a farm actually provides the food bought in the grocery store. The tour has been a huge hit in the past, and generally the teachers try to tie the farm visit into the school’s curriculum. Signs have been added to the solar electric system geared at the second grade level, in hopes that the farm can instill a bit of interest in sustainability.
Walker Farms of Siletz is dedicated to being as transparent as possible and encourages folks to come out and take a look.
The Walkers are happy to share any part of the farm that anyone would want to see, from petting the lambs, visiting the pigs, seeing how they manage the irrigation in the high tunnels, or witnessing the chicken production from brooder to butchering.