Why Farms Like Flint Hill Depend on Community — and What You Learn by Showing Up

When people hear the word volunteering, they often imagine lending a hand for a few hours and heading home feeling helpful. While that’s certainly part of it, volunteering at Flint Hill Farm and Educational Center is something much deeper. It’s about becoming part of a living system that depends on care, consistency, and community to thrive.

When I first began working at Flint Hill, what struck me most wasn’t just spending time with the animals or the deep breath from being in nature, it was how essential every task felt. Before we take anything from the animals we must give to them. Feeding them, ensuring they have water, petting them, showing them some love, providing them a clean place to rest in the barns; none of it is “extra.” It’s the work that allows the farm to exist, to teach, and to continue to welcome people through its gates.

At Flint Hill, volunteering means stepping into the rhythm of daily farm life. Some days are physical and muddy. Others are quiet and reflective. You might help care for animals, support an educational program, help make ice cream or cheese, or simply help maintain the spaces that make the farm more welcoming and safe.

There’s no single version of a “typical” volunteer day — and that’s part of what makes the experience so meaningful. Each task, no matter how small it may seem, plays a role in supporting the animals, the land, and the people who come here to learn.

Volunteers aren’t observers. They’re participants. They are the backbone of what helps keep the farm running.

One of the most surprising parts of volunteering at Flint Hill is how much it gives back...to you, the volunteer. Spending time on the farm offers something many of us don’t get in our daily routines: a direct connection to where food comes from and how much care goes into producing it. That was the direct motivation for why I chose to become a volunteer. I'm someone that drinks A LOT of milk and eats a ton of cheese and ice cream that I felt like I really wanted to understand what happens with milk and cheese before it gets to the grocery store.

Every week I leave with:

• A deeper understanding of farming and dairy practices

• A renewed appreciation for food and the work behind it

• Confidence from learning practical, hands-on skills

• A sense of belonging and shared purpose

• The grounding feeling that comes from meaningful physical work

And don't get me wrong, there are definitely days that are really tough. It might be 25 degrees and the ground now has a thick sheet of ice covering it making it hard to do farm chores, sometimes you're lifting and carrying heavy equipment, or maybe you forgot to turn a water hose off all the way on the other side of the farm.

There’s something powerful about doing work that has an immediate, visible impact — I can walk through the farm store after milking and see jersey cow half & half and goat cheese sitting right in our fridge. Those are products I helped get to the shelves. And if I sit around the store for an hour, I get to actually help feed our customers. It shifts perspective and reminds you that your time and effort truly matter.

As a nonprofit educational farm, Flint Hill operates with care and intention, and like many farms, with limited resources. Volunteers help make it possible for the farm to continue offering educational programs, summer camps, tours, and hands-on learning experiences for families and children.

In short, volunteers help ensure that Flint Hill remains a place where learning, curiosity, and connection to agriculture can continue for future generations. And over time, the farm feels less like a place you visit and more like a place you belong as you begin to recognize familiar faces and the names of all the cows and horses.

Volunteering at Flint Hill Farm isn’t about perfection or prior experience. It’s about curiosity, willingness to learn, and a desire to be part of something meaningful.

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to slow down, work with your hands, care for animals, or better understand the food systems that support our communities volunteering on the farm offers that opportunity!

We’re grateful for every person who shows up, lends a hand, and becomes part of the story here. The farm grows stronger because of it.

To volunteer or just plan a visit to the farm, please email Farm-Coordinator@flinthillfarm-edcenter.org