Suburban kids visit the farm

Watt Farms hosts several schools each fall

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Chris Watt, owner of Watt Farms in Albion, gives kindergarteners tips on how to pick an apple during a visit to an orchard today. The students are from Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Depew.

Watt Farms hosts about 15 school visits each fall with most from Erie County. Watt said the farm used to do about 30 tours with schools, but many of the schools scaled back on field trips.

The school from Depew has been coming to Watt’s for many years. Tara McCormick, one of the teachers, said the farm is very accommodating to students and their parents. The students rode out to the orchard in a train, which is actually a tractor trailer resembling a locomotive.

“We’ve been talking about apples in the classroom,” said teacher Nicole Valint. “Here they see you actually have to grow them. They don’t just come from the grocery store.”

One of the classes is pictured by the train. About 60 students from Cayuga Heights rode the train out to the orchard.

Each student picked four apples. Mary Krawczyk, center, walks in the orchard with her daughter MacKenzie, right, and Alivia, one of the kindergarteners.

Besides picking apples and riding the train, the students learned about the importance of bees and pollination from Karen Watt. Another station at the farm showed students how to make apple cider.