Urban Farm Classes
Learn with us at our urban farm in Alameda! These nature education lessons are excellent for class groups, family outings, corporate team building, and events. Contact us with questions, to schedule a class or to sign up for one of our upcoming events.
Urban Farming
Inspired to start your own backyard farm? Check out these classes.
All-Natural DIY
Learn to make products you love with simple, all natural ingredients from the farm.
Edible Education
A tasty way to experience nature.
An In Depth Look
Beehive Tour
Age Range: 10+
Do you want to learn more about bees first-hand? Join us on a tour of one of our backyard apiaries! On this tour, we'll open a hive and see how bees live - collecting and storing pollen and nectar, raising their young, and if we're very lucky, we may even see the queen bee! We will talk about how bees create honey and beeswax as well as how it is harvested for use in some of our favorite products. Whether you're a gardener, nature lover, or just want to get outside on the weekends, you'll be fascinated by the way these little insects work together.
Beekeeping veils will be provided, please wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants, and closed toes shoes, bring your own gloves (most people feel more comfortable with gloves, gardening gloves would do, if you don't have any, we will have a few pairs).
Urban Farm Tour
Age Range: 4+
Take tour of our suburban farm! We have a 600 sqft yard filled with veggies, chickens, honeybees and even two miniature sheep (Marshmallow and Coco)! We'll talk about what we produce with each of our animals and veggie beds, and how they work together in our small space. You'll be able to taste honey from our hives and see how it changes flavors throughout the year. Our heritage chicken breeds produce a rainbow of egg colors, we'll check the coop to see if there are any eggs to collect - you'll definitely be able to see the difference between a store bought egg and one of our farm fresh eggs. Our sheep produce wool and fertilizer for the veggies. Everyone's favorite part - we'll have plenty of time to pet, feed, and take pictures with all of the critters.
Backyard Beekeeping
Age Range: 10+
Have you ever wondered what it would take to keep honeybees in your own backyard? It’s probably a lot easier than you think! This presentation will give an overview of the time, space, cost and equipment needed to start up your own backyard beehive. In this brief introduction to beekeeping, you’ll learn the basics of honeybee biology and behavior, how to care for your bees, the benefits of keeping bees, as well as how to harvest honey, wax and other products. You’ll also learn about local associations and other sources of information. This is an excellent class for those who would like to learn more about bees in general or who are considering starting up their own backyard hive.
*** There is no contact with the bees in this class.
Lip Balm Workshop
Age Range: 8+
Learn to make your own lip balm with simple tools and all-natural ingredients! In this hands-on class, you'll get to make 5 tubes of lip balm using beeswax and coconut oil. Pick a flavoring from:
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Bubblegum
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Caramel
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Chocolate
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Coconut
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Gingerbread House
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Grapefruit
These make fantastic gifts, bring a friend if you want to swap flavors after class! (Each student will get to customize their scent, all 5 tubes of lip balm will be the same scent).
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Jasmine
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Lemon Grass
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Lavender
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Spearmint
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Vanilla
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Ylang Ylang
Honey Infusing
Age Range: 10+
Learn how to add even more flavor to your favorite honey! In this hands-on workshop you will see how simple it is to create flavored honeys using lemons, lavender, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and even fresh jalapeños! We’ll talk about how to guard against spoilage and what foods pair best with these tasty flavors - come hungry for a snack! We'll be sampling our creations!
Hive to Table
Honey Harvest
Age Range: 12+
How does honey get from the hive to your table? Come find out at this hands-on honey harvesting workshop! You'll get to help with each sweet and sticky step of the honey harvesting process, including:
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Learn how to tell when honey is ripe and ready to harvest.
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Uncap frames and spin them in a centrifugal extractor to remove honey from the comb.
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Jar and take home a bottle of local raw honey that you harvested!
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Learn what contributes to the colors & flavors of all-natural honey.
Wear clothes that you don't mind getting sticky! T-shirt, shorts and sandals are ok for this class, optionally bring a change of clothes in case you don't want your car to get sticky. There will be no contact with the hive or bees during this class.
