Summer Farm Camp at Stratford Ecological Center ended Aug. 7 with counselors and AmeriCorps members leaping into a prairie pond, and now the Liberty Road nonprofit is asking Powell-area neighbors to help keep the mission going at its signature fundraiser later this month.
The Give to Grow Gala returns to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's Africa Event Center on Aug. 28 from 5 to 9 p.m. after a one-year hiatus from the venue. Sponsorships, table packages and individual tickets are still available, and the evening will feature live and silent auctions with an emphasis on experiences. Jennifer Rhoads, Stratford's event contact, can be reached at (740) 363-2548 for sponsorship inquiries, or residents can visit the event page.
The gala caps a busy season on the 236-acre educational farm at 3083 Liberty Road in Delaware. Garden Gang volunteers spent the summer teaching campers where their food is grown, giving kids hands-on time digging in the soil. Each counselor supervised about eight campers who stayed together as a group for the full week.
On Aug. 6, volunteers organized the first-ever "Grateful Farewell Potluck" beside the farm's prairie pond. Counselors and AmeriCorps members shared stories about their first contact with Stratford and their plans after the season. The celebration ended with several jumping into the water for a swim.
"You can see it in their eyes after they have experienced a hands-on connection with animals that they have rarely, if ever, seen in real life," Maddie, a summer intern identified only by first name in the column, said in a Delaware Gazette piece published Aug. 15. "… They become fully aware of the environment they share with other living things, and it affects them in a positive way."
Beyond camp, the farm stacked 333 square bales of hay this season and planted sunflowers, buckwheat and Marco Polo clover behind the garlic and asparagus beds in field 3 to build pollinator habitat. A new 500-pound platform scale will be used to weigh lambs in September before processing.
Stratford operates without state or federal funding, relying on more than 250 active volunteers and community donors. Pauline Scott, a farm and nature guide at the center, writes a regular column updating the community on operations.
The farm shop is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with farm tours available on Saturdays. The center will be closed Labor Day weekend and reopens to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Sept. 8.
Coming up
- Friday, Aug. 28: Give to Grow Gala, 5–9 p.m., Columbus Zoo Africa Event Center, 4850 West Powell Road, Powell. Tickets and sponsorships at givetogrow26.givesmart.com or (740) 363-2548.
- Saturday, Oct. 3: Harvest Fair, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Stratford Ecological Center. Registration $5 per person; details coming soon.
