Getting to know the space

Hosting youth programs on a working farm with access to wooded trails enables us to expose kids to endless inspiration for learning and curiosity during our outdoor sessions. However, this setting also comes with inherent risks. In addition to being a site for education programs, this is a working farm with tools, machines, delivery trucks, and other unpredictable elements that add unique challenges. 

To ensure your child is able to participate in farm programs safely, it’s important to have an understanding of the program in which your child is enrolled before the program start date. This will help you determine if our educational offerings are a good fit for your child. During programs we are engaging with variable terrain, from flat gravel paths to steep rooty trails, in all weather conditions. We explore the space alongside domestic animals and wildlife, agricultural workers, and tools. The farm also hosts a variety of private events and is open to the public. We highly recommend that you and your child visit the farm prior to participating in programming if at all possible.

Risk management and participant behavior expectations

Our youth programs team believes that measured risk-taking builds resilience, self-esteem, and good judgment. Educators will supervise children at all times and set boundaries to keep kids safe. They will encourage and teach the development of risk management skills that correspond to our program activities and environments. Intentional group pairings and manageable student to teacher ratios are of the utmost importance to us. We strive to keep a student-teacher ratio between 5:1 to 8:1, depending on the ages of the children in the group. 

To ensure the safety of all children, everyone enrolled in youth programs are expected to follow the same overarching rules independently or with a few reminders and redirection from educators:

1. Stay together: children must remain within sight and sound of their teacher(s). Eloping (wandering or running away) creates a major safety hazard and is not acceptable.
2. Safe bodies: children must follow teacher directions to keep themselves safe; they must respect others’ personal space. Physical behaviors like hitting or pushing are not acceptable nor tolerated at farm programs.
3. Keep it fair: as participants at Wright-Locke youth programs, all children have the same rights ; they are expected to treat teachers and staff with fairness through behaviors like sharing materials, taking turns, and treating everyone at the farm with the same basic respect. Children can expect to be treated with respect and fairness from all farm staff.
4. Respect the environment: at Wright-Locke Farm our programs are built upon a love, respect and curiosity for the natural world. We ask that participants respect all living things, the farm building and materials, and surrounding wooded areas. Abuse of these things will not be tolerated.  

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s ability to understand and adhere to any of these rules, please contact the Youth Programs Manager, Emily Allen, via email at eallen@wlfarm.org as soon as possible to avoid unintended interruptions to your child’s experience at farm programs.

If education staff have questions or concerns about your child’s behavior or ability to adhere to the rules of the space after programs begin, the Youth Programs Manager will reach out to the child’s primary contact, as provided on UltraCamp.

Accommodations and One-to-One Aides

We strive towards serving all of the children and families who wish to participate in our programs regardless of identity or ability. Many children who require extra behavioral support, have IEPs or 504s in school, thrive at Wright-Locke programs. If your child receives services as part of an IEP, 504, or requires extra behavioral support, please reach out to determine if the farm is an appropriate fit for your child by calling our Youth Programs Manager, Emily, at 781 369-9099 or emailing eallen@wlfarm.org as soon as you register. 

There are some behaviors that inherently create a high safety risk for your child and other children enrolled in our outdoor group programs. As a small nonprofit, we do not have the resources to provide one-to-one services to children who need them. We welcome having outside professionals, such as a school-provided ed-tech/para-professional or a one-to-one aide to accompany students to provide that support. Unless a family member is professionally qualified, we cannot have family members serve as one-to-one aides for your child. Any one-to-one aide who accompanies your child will have to pass a MA CORI; the $25.00 CORI fee will be rolled into your child’s registration if the aide does not have an up-to-date CORI.  If a discussion determines that Wright-Locke Farm is not the right fit, we will honor full cancellations and refund tuition (outside a $15 administrative fee). 

Allergens at the farm

Families are asked to provide information about their child’s known allergens and history of allergic reactions if applicable. We will do our best to accommodate any allergies, but please be aware that this is a public space with a large variety of crops being grown on the farm (including gluten-containing crops, black walnuts and hazelnuts). 

We do have a history of bee stings on the farm as we keep honey bees. Additionally, a variety of bees, wasps, and hornets are present in the adjoining conservation area where groups routinely spend time. If a child is stung by a bee, we will notify the child’s primary contact on UltraCamp immediately via text. Educators will monitor the child for potential signs of an allergic reaction.

If a child is prescribed life-saving allergy medication, families are required to send it to programs with their child – even if the perceived risk of contact with an allergen is low or the child only has a history of mild allergic reactions. 

Medications (including epipens and inhalers)

Staff must keep any family’s physician-approved allergy medication in their daily backpacks while the child is participating in programs–children cannot carry medications. If an allergic emergency occurs, staff will immediately call 911 and administer any necessary care until the emergency health care workers arrive on site. Youth programs administrators are always available on-site during program hours and are trained in adult and pediatric CPR/first aid.

To ensure staff can quickly and safely administer medication in the event of an emergency, families must send: 

• Medication in its original packaging with the prescription label, including medical provider and dosage information
• a medical provider’s instructions or prescription of how to administer the medication
• an allergy action plan signed by a physician
• a medication authorization form signed by a physician
• written permission from the child’s legal guardian for staff to administer the medication if-needed.

If epinephrine is required, the family must include a double pack of epipens or Neffy inhalers. If families send Benadryl with their child, it also needs to be in its original packaging and included within your child’s allergy action plan. This is also the case for any children with asthma who are being sent with inhalers to the program. You must send a medication authorization, asthma action plan, and, depending on the child’s age, whether they are allowed to self-administer (teachers still must carry all medication in their backpack).

If your child requires medication to be administered during program hours, please contact our Youth Programs Manager to discuss a plan as soon as you register. 

Payment & Refund Policy:

• Online payments can be made via the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover
• Payment for a youth program, made by credit card, check, or cash, must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the program’s start date. Failure to comply may result in the loss of your child’s spot in the program for which payment is owed.
• Tuition refunds are guaranteed up to 30 days prior to the start date of a program minus a $15 administrative fee. Cancellations within the 30 days prior to the program are nonrefundable if the child’s spot cannot be filled. (If the spot can be filled, a full refund minus the $15 administrative fee will be given.)
• There will be no tuition refunds for cancellations made after a program has begun.
• No full or partial tuition refund or credit will be given for a child’s failure to attend any part of a program for which they are registered.
• We will make every effort to adapt programs to the weather or reschedule if possible. In the event that we must cancel a program due to weather and we are unable to reschedule, the program tuition is nonrefundable.

Updated January 17, 2024.

Photo & Video Policy:

• The Conservancy may take photos and digital video footage of activities throughout the educational program season for record keeping and publicity purposes. Participant names are never used in connection with these photos or videos.

Liability Statement (Permission for the Conservancy to handle emergencies):

• I realize injuries can occur from participation in Farm programs. I hereby waive, release, absolve, indemnify, and agree to hold harmless the Wright-Locke Farm Conservancy, Inc., their Board of Directors, instructors, or assignees, and the Town of Winchester from any claim arising out of injury to my child or myself. Should my child be taken to the hospital for emergency purposes, I hereby grant permission to the attending physician and staff to administer anesthesia, medical, X-ray, and surgical procedures as may be deemed necessary or advisable. I understand that every attempt will be made to contact me in an emergency.

Please use this link to log in or create an account in our system.

Once you have logged in and created an account you will be able to browse our available sessions!

If you encounter any issues, please contact our Youth Programs Manager with any questions.

As part of Wright-Locke Farm’s goal to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization, we have instituted tiered pricing across all of our youth education programming. This allows families to choose the price that works best for them, reducing the cost-barrier to our programs. The tiers are calculated as follows:

• Tier A: 30% above the standard cost
• Tier B: 15% above the standard cost
• Tier C: The standard cost (minimum cost to run our programs)
• Tier D: 15% below the standard cost
• Tier E: 25% below the standard cost

This year we need your help more than ever! We are no longer receiving grant funding for our tiered pricing program. If you are able, please consider selecting Tier A or Tier B prices. Families that register at these prices are vital to the continuation of our tiered pricing program and allow for more children to learn at the farm. Thank you for helping create such a robust education community here at Wright-Locke Farm – we truly could not do it without you!

In addition to our tiered prices, limited financial assistance is available for all farm education programs. To request additional assistance, please email FarmEd@WLFarm.org.