Connecting Partner School Districts to the Farm
Field Trips at Coastal Roots Farm offer hands-on environmental, food system, and climate education in a living outdoor classroom. Aligned with California learning standards, our curriculum integrates STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math - nutrition, climate education, and universally meaningful Jewish values through tactile, participatory activities.
Students visit the Farm to explore the great outdoors, engage in phenomena-based learning, and apply classroom knowledge in an agricultural setting. Through inquiry, observation, movement, tasting, and reflection, students deepen their connection to the land, food systems, and their role as caretakers of the natural world.
Students We Serve
Coastal Roots Farm currently offers Field Trips through district-wide school partnerships and select Jewish schools, groups, and organizations.
This partnership-based model allows us to provide consistent, high-impact programming while ensuring that scholarship needs, staffing, materials, and program costs are responsibly supported. By working with partner districts and Jewish communal groups, we are able to deepen relationships, align curriculum across grade levels, and create meaningful Farm-based learning experiences for the students and communities we are best positioned to serve.
District-Wide School Partnerships
Through our district-wide partnerships, Coastal Roots Farm welcomes students to the Farm for standards-aligned outdoor education rooted in agriculture, ecology, nutrition, and environmental stewardship.
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Escondido Union School District
Escondido Union School District
All 4th grade students visit the Farm for hands-on learning connected to food systems, science, and the natural world.
Carlsbad Unified School District
Carlsbad Unified School District
TK and Kindergarten students visit the Farm for early childhood outdoor learning experiences that encourage curiosity, sensory exploration, and connection to plants, animals, and the land.
Solana Beach School District
Solana Beach School District
TK and 4th grade students visit the Farm for experiential learning that supports classroom curriculum through farm-based exploration.
Onsite Educational Opportunities for Jewish Schools, Groups, and Organizations
Coastal Roots Farm welcomes Jewish schools, synagogues, youth groups, and Jewish communal organizations to visit the Farm and learn from the land.
These experiences connect environmental education with Jewish tradition, values, holidays, and agricultural wisdom. Programs may explore themes such as Adam v’Adamah (the interconnectedness between people and the earth), bal tashchit, gratitude, Shabbat, food justice, seasonal cycles, and caring for community.
To learn more about educational opportunities for Jewish schools, groups, and organizations, please contact Megan Freeman, Education Manager.
Since 2014, We’ve Served More Than 60,000 Youth in Education Programs
What Students Learn on the Farm
Field Trip curriculum is designed to help students learn by doing. Depending on grade level and partnership focus, students may explore topics such as:
- Plant life cycles, soil health, compost, and pollination
- Food systems, nutrition, and where food comes from
- Climate resilience and regenerative agriculture
- Animal care and ecological relationships
- Food justice and community responsibility
- Jewish values connected to land stewardship, gratitude, repair, and care for others
Our programs are designed to be active, accessible, and joyful. Students may plant seeds, observe insects, meet farm animals, taste fresh produce, explore compost, investigate soil, harvest, reflect, create, and ask big questions about the world around them.
Help Fund Farm-Based Education!
Field Trips are one of the most meaningful ways students experience Coastal Roots Farm, but the true cost of providing high-quality outdoor education exceeds what most schools and families can pay.
Philanthropic support helps make these programs possible by underwriting educator time, curriculum development, supplies, transportation support, accessibility needs, and scholarship-based participation.
If you are interested in helping fund Farm-based education for local students, please contact Sara K. Blodgett, Director of Development to learn more about sponsorship and underwriting opportunities.
Other Ways to Learn on the Farm
Even if your school or group is not currently eligible for a Field Trip, there are many ways to connect with Coastal Roots Farm.
Nature Play
Nature Play
Nature Play is Coastal Roots Farm’s outdoor, natural playground in Encinitas, CA. Designed for children ages 0–8 and their families, Nature Play offers a safe, imaginative space where kids can climb, dig, build, and discover the wonders of the natural world. Learn more.
Sprout Sessions
Sprout Sessions
Enjoy Coastal Roots Farm’s Nature Play space for a two hour play date! Perfect for preschool or homeschool groups, our Sprout Sessions are unguided programs, during which you and your group can explore the play area, utilize our toys and manipulatives, and spend time together. Learn more.
Farm Tours
Farm Tours
Public Farm Tours invite community members to learn about Coastal Roots Farm’s regenerative agriculture practices, food distribution work, environmental education, and Jewish values in action. Learn more.
Internships / Volunteer
Internships / Volunteer
Internship opportunities offer deeper, hands-on learning for teens, young adults, and emerging professionals interested in agriculture, education, food justice, nonprofit work, and environmental stewardship. Learn more about internships.
Volunteer opportunities on Wednesdays and Sundays offer meaningful opportunities to connect with the land, learn about sustainable agriculture, and support our impact. Learn more.
FAQs
At this time, Coastal Roots Farm is not accepting general Field Trip requests from individual schools or groups. Our school Field Trips are currently offered through district-wide partnerships and select Jewish schools, groups, and organizations.
Why did the Field Trip model change?
We are committed to offering high-quality, accessible, and impactful educational experiences. Field Trips require significant staff time, materials, planning, and program support. In many cases, even when schools paid the suggested program rate, the fee did not cover the true cost of the experience. Other schools required scholarship support, which depends on philanthropic underwriting.
Moving to a partnership-based model allows us to minimize program losses, ensure scholarship needs are adequately supported, and continue to serve local students.
We are grateful for every school that has learned with us on the Farm. At this time, repeat visits are available only through current district-wide partnerships or eligible Jewish schools, groups, and organizations. Schools outside of these categories are encouraged to explore our public programs, including Farm Tours, Nature Play, Sprout Sessions, Internships, and other community learning opportunities.
Because our Field Trip calendar, staffing, and curriculum are now structured around district-wide partnerships and Jewish educational opportunities, we are not currently offering one-time Field Trips to individual schools or groups outside of those categories.
If your school, district, funder, or organization is interested in underwriting a larger partnership, please contact Sara K. Blodgett, Director of Philanthropy.
Yes. Philanthropic support is essential to sustaining and expanding Farm-based education. If you are interested in funding Field Trips, scholarships, transportation, curriculum, or a district-wide partnership, please contact Sara K. Blodgett, Director of Philanthropy.
Yes. Coastal Roots Farm continues to welcome Jewish schools, synagogues, youth groups, and Jewish communal organizations for onsite educational experiences rooted in environmental learning, agriculture, and Jewish values. Please contact Megan Freeman, Education Manager, to learn more.
Community members and groups are encouraged to explore our public programs, including Farm Tours, Nature Play, Sprout Sessions, internships, volunteer opportunities, and seasonal events. These offerings provide meaningful ways to connect with the Farm, learn about regenerative agriculture, and experience our mission in action.
