Two weeks ago Pine Island was pleased to once again host the Moorestown Friends School Intensive Learning Pine Barrens program. From the MFS website:

For one week each March, regular classes are suspended for “Intensive Learning,” when Middle and Upper School students and teachers engage in an in-depth study of a specific subject, often involving off-campus research. This long-standing MFS tradition – which dates to the mid 1970s – allows teachers and students to break out of the structure of formal class periods and traditional study by subject disciplines (math, English, history) for a time of experiential learning in out-of-classroom settings.

The morning started off with a brief history of the farm and the family before team members Matt Giberson and fifth generation grower Mike Haines gave the group a talk about a year on the farm.

Then it was time for a walk! Matt and Mike took the group over to one of our young beds, whwere we’ve removed the winter flood. This was a great chance for the group to actually get their feet in a bog and see up close how cranberry vines grow.

There was even a little bit of time to take a tour of our shop and check out some of our equipment!

“I like talking to this group every year,” Matt says. “It was a good opportunity for them to come out and see what we do, because how a cranberry farm works is a new experience for them. I think they enjoyed the equipment aspect a lot. It’s a shame that they can’t be here a little later when things are growing and it’s a little more interesting, but it’s a chance to see something that not a lot of people get to see in the off-season, and that’s just as important.”