August 2011
What a summer! It's not over yet but we're wrapping things up here at Field Trip. Due to some very busy work/life schedules in the fall we had to cancel our last two trips. It's disappointing but the trips we did run were excellent and rewarding.
The season started at Rowe Farms with a small group of city folk connecting with their farmers. We drove to Harley Farm near Peterborough and toured the gorgeous property with Roger Harley and his family. Roger is an ambitious farmer who believes in raising his animals with traditional sustainable methods while still being competitive in the food market. Being early in the season we were fortunate to see many piglets, always a crowd pleaser! (see photos link) The Harleys also have a rare breed of cattle called Belted Galloways that originated from The UK. We lunched on a few Rowe Farm products off the barbeque, relaxed in the garden and had a great day out of the city.
In July we had our inaugural Organic Winery Tour to the Niagara Region. Our first stop was Frog Pond Farm Winery. We were toured by the owners daughter who was well versed in her farming and wine making skills, even though she was not 19. This is a family operation where everyone gets involved in the production. We sipped wine and snacked on Monforte Dairy cheese and Evelyn's crackers. 
We were then onto Southbrook winery. This is an impressive LEED certified facility, a real testament to the possibilities for Green Initiatives and Development. We toured the property and fermentation room and then settled into their hospitality pavilion for a private wine tasting. We sampled their CONNECT series of wines. All excellent. We then lunched on delicious wood fired pizzas prepared by the Treadwell Restaurant.
It was a wonderful way to spend one of the hottest days of the summer. I'm sure a few of us considered diving into the Frog Pond pond!
In August we took a longer than normal journey to Michael Schmidt's Glencolton Farm. Michael is well known for his on-going court battles to protect our rights to raw milk. Glencolton is located in Grey County near the town of Durham. Upon our arrival we were offered homemade pretzels, right out of the oven. Who could resist? We toured the cheese room, the property, the gardens and took our lunch break under the shade of the trees at a lovely harvest table. We snacked on homemade pizza and coleslaw, fresh from the garden. The afternoon included a casual talk with Michael about biodynamics and the philosophy behind his farming methods. Dessert was an apple cake made by Michael himself. Our last moments were spent walking out to pasture to bring in the cows and then an opportunity to see them being milked. It was an amazing experience. Having the opportunity to see the farm, the facilities and meet the people is what Field Trip is all about. When we know who is producing our food and how, we can be confident in the quality. It was a long day but well worth it.
The next day we were back at it, off to Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Centre! Everdale is always impressive. There is so much going on here; organic farming, farmer training, summer camp, development of a food forest model, an off the grid house, education, a farm store... it's a busy place and they always welcome our tours. Our tour started with Robert, potentially the most enthusiastic farm tour guide out there. He's a city kid who caught the farming bug. After our delicious lunch fresh from the garden we jumped on the back of a wagon to see the organic fields. Deter, the field manager, took advantage of the extra hands and got us weeding and spreading row cover. Needless to say, we got a little dirty! Another perfect day!
Thanks to all the farmers and friends of Field Trip who made these trips possible.
September and October we will be busy with student Field Trips with the Institute of Holistic Nutrition as well as group and corporate events.


01.05.2010
Field Trip Launches New Website

Welcome (back) to Field Trip Toronto. You may have noticed that there have been some improvements and upgrades made for the 2011 season.

First and most obvious is our new website! It’s a bit more colourful, easier to navigate and now you are able to book your trips online! Thanks to our good friend Shaun O’Neill for his design talents and creative input!

We have also added a few new trips to the schedule this year. We will visit some old faithfuls like Everdale, Cookstown and Wheelbarrow Farm where the tours are always entertaining and enlightening. However, we have added some new locations for you devoted Field Trippers.

Kawartha Ecological Growers is a collective of small-scale family farms in the beautiful Kawartha Lakes district. We call this the 3-in-1 trip because we will be visiting 3 different farms involved in the KEG group. The day starts at The Tin House which features naturally grown herbs, vegetables and flowers. You won’t believe how much food can be grown in a small space. Next stop is lunch at Elm Tree Garden. Our last stop is the Norman Zehr family Farm. This is a local Amish Farm with an impressive farm stand where you can pick up some fresh local produce before we head back to the city!

Another new and unique trip is the Hockley Valley Honey Farm. Join us on this trip to learn more about the importance of bees to the human race, the basics of bee keeping, a delicious lunch with honey on the menu and a chance to get up-close and personal with the busy bees.

Arouse your inner sommelier on our new organic winery tour. This trip takes you into the Niagara Wine region to two very different organic operations. Our first stop is Frog Pond Farm, a quaint but ambitious winery. Relax and stroll around the frog pond before or after trying a few samples. Only a few minutes down the road is Southbrook Winery located in it’s impressive LEED certified building. Here we will sip wine and dine on homemade stone baked pizzas prepared by Treadwell Restaurant. This is going to be a great day out of the city and into organic vineyards!

We’re looking forward to a busy and exciting 2011 schedule. Every year we reach more people with our goal to ‘connect city folk to their food’. Take a look at our rave reviews or watch the Field Trip video on our home page. If you have been on our trips before check out the photos link to see if we captured you kissing a cow or digging carrots!