Seeds to Snacks: Connecting STEM, Stewardship, and Sustainable Agriculture at Fairgrown Farm

When you’ve already studied plant anatomy and life cycles in class, what else might spark your curiosity as a Lower School scientist? The answer was evident the moment our first and second graders’ boots hit the mud at Fairgrown Farm: just about everything outdoors. 

Since Fall 2025, Stuart has partnered with Pennington-based Fairgrown Farm on revitalizing our two school garden spaces as we root our Lower School life science units in hands-on sustainable projects. Fairgrown Farmers James and Jenna visited fourth grade engineers in December to consult on their garden designs as a part of this year’s STEM Design Thinking Challenge, but today was the first time Lower School students got to visit Fairgrown Farm in person. Despite the damp early-March chill, first and second graders jumped at the chance to apply their STEM learning and stewardship skills to a real farming project. 

Our day began in the greenhouse, which offered a welcome respite from the cold for both our numb fingers and toes and also the newly-sprouting crops inside. Amidst the tiny green shoots, Farmers Lucas and Maria taught students how to repurpose recyclables to help get gardens started. “You can really use most things in your recycling can as garden supplies,” they shared, “even something as simple as this deli sandwich tray, which makes a great mini greenhouse.” Their demonstration of a seed snail—repurposed plastic from a soil bag loaded with compost and seeds and rolled into a tight spiral—had even the teachers in awe!

But as soon as students rolled up their sleeves and got their hands in the dirt, the real magic began. Between scooping soil into egg cartons, sprinkling radish seeds, tucking in cow peas, and watering their hard work, students were captivated by the experience of coaxing new life to the surface. Plus, the clever connections they made between what they’d learned back at Stuart and our farm activities left the farm team pleasantly surprised. Even technology made its way into the mix when Farmer Liv showed students how a professional farmer might save time while planting tiny seeds with a vacuum-powered seeder. Every moment was an opportunity for real interdisciplinary discovery. 

Finally, once students exhausted their long list of plant-related questions, the very best moment of the trip arrived: visiting the chickens! Students learned about the important role that chickens play on the farm as recyclers of organic waste, then carefully snuck apple slices into the chicken enclosure as a treat for our new feathered friends. We wrapped up the morning with a crisp apple snack of our own, harvested from Fairgrown’s partner Solebury Orchards. After reflecting on the full circle of the sustainable food system, we headed back to campus, stomachs full and hearts joyful. 

Today’s field trip successfully collapsed the distance between abstract scientific study and the physical world around us through the power of students’ active participation. By planting seeds that will eventually take root in Stuart’s own gardens, first and second graders moved beyond having knowledge of plant life cycles to gaining practice with sustainable resource management and garden cultivation. Our visit reinforced a core Sacred Heart value: that true environmental stewardship is an active, informed, and ongoing partnership with the natural world around us. It’s a good thing our new Lower School gardeners can’t wait for spring!