Welcome to 21 Roots Farm
As you drive up the country lane you can’t help but feel the at home arriving to this teaching farm. This unique farm combines a quaint country landscape with wagon loads of knowledge and passion to empower people with developmental disabilities.
This is one of those magical places where time stands still, and you get to simply BE in the moment; whether you are visiting the apple orchard, chickens, cats, goats, donkeys, cows, bee hives, gardens or meandering wildflower paths.
But there is a lot more than wondering and wandering happening on these 21 acres. just north east of the Twin Cities.
Teaching Farm
As a teaching farm, the space is specifically designed for adults and children with disabilities. They offer seasonal day programming and special events throughout the year as a way to “foster inclusive connections that are rooted in real life.”
What a gift to the community the three main staff have cultivated with sweat equity – and a guardian angel who wishes to remain anonymous.
I first met up with the team on a frigid + snowy day in January, and like all good farm folks, they were deep into dream mode! Even in the snow they shared their vision of hands-on activities giving those with disabilities a chance to commune with nature and each other.
That dreaming and planning paid off this summer. Even with Covid, they continued with programming for most of their farmers, a huge feat considering the current situation. I see it as more evidence of the commitment to their vocation, the farmers and animals who know this teaching farm as home.
It certainly takes a deep commitment to keep a farm like this up and running. Three highly trained and passionate staff keep things sprouting and running.
Meet the FarmHers
Meet the brains, brawn and heart of 21 Roots. Like any great team they create a synergy together that is inspiring to watch.
Amy – Co founder and Farm Operations
Brittany– Co founder and Program Manager
Laura – Farm Manager
The Origin Story
Amy and Brittany were college friends and the dream to open something like 21 Roots Farms took hold shortly after they graduated. After gathering ideas and experiences, they are living the dream! They purchased the farm (with the help of a guardian angel) in October of 2018, have now gained 501(c)3 status and are offering the nature-based programming they’ve dreamed of.
The Farm Land
A variety of hands-on experiences center around sustainable farming practices. They have an orchard full of fruit trees; cherry trees that produce enough to be used by Sarah’s Tipsy Pies, and apple trees heavy with fruit every fall! The chickens also hang out up in the orchard and are much loved (read chased!) by all the visiting farmers!
The larger animals; their cows, donkeys and goats are kept in the big red barn seem to be the real stars…They have an adorable page dedicated to their animals, I highly recommend visiting the “Meet the Animals” page on 21 Roots to get in your daily does of cute!
They have a few different field and garden spaces where they’re growing food crops as well. Raised beds with square foot gardening grids sit next to wide open rows of crops.
The garden area even has a fun potato growing bin- my kids thought this was the coolest potato plant they’ve ever seen- because they could actually SEE it! I mean really, how cool is that!
The underground worm bin and hot compost in the chicken area are other working experiments that show the love of learning from real life that the farm provides.
The wildflower fields are thanks to the previous owners’ prairie restoration project that was started a few years back and is flourishing now.
The Programs
The farm offers day programs, which were able to continue even during Covid as all activities are held outside and were capped at 10 ‘farmers’. Different days focus on slightly different facets of the farm, but all days include time to love on the animals and appreciate nature doing her thing. The personal attention and innovative farming and teaching techniques make for a bit of learning magic!
The Popular ‘Farm to Home’ videos cover bite size pieces of information while up close and personal with animals. Sometimes reading children’s books, sometimes just hanging with the cast of animal characters on the farm. Another gift they freely give to us all.
I joined in the fun this summer during one of their “Wednesday Explorers” sessions. We talked about seed saving, walked their wildflower fields and made pollinator seed bombs. What a fun way to spread my love of gardening!
We’re planning a seed saving event of a larger scale this fall as well- if you’re interested in saving seed from this farm’s prairie restoration area for use in local Seed Libraries, please contact me directly by commenting on this post, or messaging me on social media!
Get Involved
Like any nonprofit 21 Roots always benefits from both volunteers and donations. They have a volunteer interest form you can fill out online and a link to donate as well.
Your time and efforts will reap more than you sow – it’s just that kind of place. Every time I visit I leave feeling good knowing this farm is out there, ready and waiting to serve as inspiration to keep adults and children with disabilities learning from and connecting with nature.
Simply being at 21 Roots Farm helps your spirit roam wild, while cultivating a sense of community. Choose to volunteer or donate and be part of living out the motto “it’s not the destination it’s the journey”.
Go to 21rootsfarm.org for more information on programming and how you can help today.
Find a way to dig in to this local teaching farm and you’ll be happy as a Kid again 😉
– Michelle
