COUNTRY LANE TREE FARM’S
2012 SPRING FARM ANIMAL TOUR
Hello! It’s hard to believe that Spring will be “springing” up all over our farm soon!
Our Animal Tour is a wonderful way to celebrate it. There will be Baby Chicks, Ducklings, Goat Kids, Baby Bunnies, Baby Calves, Lambs and maybe even a surprise or two waiting for you at the farm! Tours begin on April 16th, 2012 and run through July 27, 2012. We have expanded through the summer months for Pre-schools, YMCA's and home-school Groups!
NEW FOR SPRING 2012
Worm Farming
We have added an exciting new twist to your visit at the farm! Worms, Worms and more Worms! We have incorporated an Observation Red worm station and a Vermicomposting Station as well! The students will see real worms (eggs, babies and mature adults) in the Observation station. They will also be able to see how worms decompose food scraps in the composting bins. The older groups will take shovels in hand out to the field to see how many Earthworms (Red worms’ cousins) they can find and learn how they are the “underground” farmers and how they help us farm!
TOUR OPTION ONE: **Recommended for Pre-K through 3rd graders.
Students interact with the full grown animals in their natural settings. The highlight of this tour is MILKING OUR DAIRY COW! Yes, a REAL, LIVE COW, not a replica!! Students feed and pet animals including: our goat families, “Bubba” our sheep, “Violet”, “Houdini” and “Howie”, our pot-bellied pig family, our fallow deer, our Alpaca, & our Llama family will be waiting for them as well! “Jasper” and “Peaches”, our donkeys will be ready to greet the children with a BIG “EEEEEAAWWWW !” if they do not feed them quickly enough!! They will then feed the many chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and peacocks that roam freely here on the farm. The children will also be able to hold bunnies in Bunnyville. Tiny ducklings and chicks will be held in the “Duck and Chick Barn”. Our Observation Bee Hive will be “a Buzzzz” with activity and we will explain the necessity of bees for growing certain crops! Spring is the Bottle Baby Tour! The children will be able to bottle feed our newest Spring arrivals here on the farm! Our ever popular Straw Maze is included also. During the tour the children will be taught interesting, age appropriate facts about the animals, their habitats, and eating habits. They will also visit the “Discovery Barn”. This area allows the children to touch and feel feathers, various animal wools, fur & antlers; see & touch the crops native to Ohio and Michigan. For an added bit of fun, our barrel train ride will take the children around our farm or through the Christmas Trees.
TOUR OPTION TWO: **Recommended for 3rd grade and older:
This tour begins with MILKING OUR REAL DAIRY COW! In addition to the milking, the children will then try their hand at butter making! At this time, they will learn many facts about a dairy cow, about how butter is made, and other interesting facts about milk! They will get to sample the butter they make on saltine crackers with honey at lunch time! The tour includes meeting and feeding our grown up farm animals and learning about their natural habitats and eating habits. At the Observation Bee Hive Station, the students will learn about the important role bees play in pollination. They will also get to spin honey out of a honey frame using our actual hand crank honey extractor. The students will press apples into cider using an “1800’s” apple press, and learn apple facts. The tour will also go out in the field for an age appropriate explanation of the life cycle of a Christmas tree. Students will learn all that is involved in our farming operation concerning the growing of Christmas trees, Pumpkin crop, row crops and Orchard trees. We will show them our GPS System that we use to cut our Corn Maze & explain how it works! They will then head back to the “Discovery Barn” to view and identify the major crops of Ohio and Michigan. Hands on animal items are in the barn as well.
Again, Monday thru Friday DAYTIME tours are reserved for School and Groups ONLY! Families are welcome to participate in a Farm Animal Tour on Saturday or Sunday in the fall or Saturdays only in spring/summer. (No reservations are needed for this option), or by booking a tour with 10 or more paying tour participants (reservations are required).
LUNCH AREA:
We have a lovely area inside the barn for snacks or lunch. It is decorated for the season. We can heat this room if the weather is chilly. The Craft Barn and Souvenir & Candy Shops are open all day for your convenience. (We recommend shopping during lunch time or just before you leave the farm!).The Souvenir & Candy Shop offers for sale: Bottled Water, Pop, Juices, Homemade Fudge & Baked Goods, Snacks, Disposable Cameras & Farm related souvenirs. Prices range from 5 cent candy to $10.00 items. Teachers and chaperones may also want to visit the Craft Barn filled with fragrant candles and unique crafts!
COST OF TOURS:
The rates for both tours are the same: $7.00/person! Each teacher and two chaperones per classroom are free. Any adults after that are charged at the same rate as the children: $7.00. We do take Cash, Check (school or personal), Credit Cards, and if necessary, we will gladly take Purchase Orders.
We can complete a tour in 1 hour or even 2 hours, if necessary. HOWEVER, we prefer to schedule your tour based on the most amount of time you have to give us! The longer the better, we will fill the time! WE WANT THIS TOUR TO BE A FUN, LEISURELY LEARNING EXPERIENCE! DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF TOURS, WE DO ASK THAT YOU BE PUNCTUAL ON YOUR ARRIVAL TIME! Tours run rain or shine! We supply the children with raincoats if necessary!
Our address is: 3525 N. Bolander Road, Genoa, OH. 43430. We are located approx. 15 minutes from Oregon, Oh. The farm is 20-25 min. from Perrysburg; directly east on SR 795. From Oak Harbor, Port Clinton, & Fremont approx. 30 min. From Toledo: 30 min. Monroe, Mi. &. Bowling Green, OH. are only 45 min. away! PLEASE CALL FOR DIRECTIONS or visit our directions page on our website. * WE DO NOT RECOMMEND MAPQUEST, AS SOME OF THEIR DIRECTIONS TO OUR FARM ARE MISLEADING!
Booking dates & times are filled on a first come, first serve basis, so book early!!!
Please call (419)461-1298 for more info & to make reservations.
VISIT US ON THE WEB at: www.countrylanetreefarm.com!
We look forward to sharing our farm with you!
The Bowlander Family