Hospital foundation-farm cooperation helps children learn, play

EPHRATA — Children played under a tree near a swing at Cloudview Farm in Ephrata on Wednesday morning after picking radishes that morning and learning about pond ecosystems earlier in the week. They’re participating in Lil’ Sprouts, a camp hosted by the farm and funded this year by grant money through the Columbia Basin Hospital Wellness Foundation.

“I wrote a grant (application) to a foundation that is for children and families to learn and grow — their basic needs must be met kind of thing, and the focus for this year’s grant funding was zero-to-three (year olds) with an unrestricted 0-to-5 (-year-old) funding,” said Susan Scheib.

Scheib, who has multiple roles in the community including Director of Communication and Development as well as Nutritional Services for the Columbia Basin Hospital and a role with the Columbia Basin Hospital Wellness Foundation, said the grant was awarded to the Foundation. At first, she said, she struggled with what to do with the funds with the given restrictions on how the two-year grant could be used. However, she heard the folks who run Cloudview Farm talking about how they wouldn’t be able to do the Lil’ Sprouts camps this year due to a lack of funding. The proverbial dominoes fell into place and the foundation and the farm were able to team up to make sure children in the area had a chance to have the camp still. 

Julie Johnston, who operates the program with help from teachers and other staff at the farm, said the combination has been a success and a big help for the farm to be able to provide it. 

“We rely on a lot of fundraising and grants and stuff like that,” she said. “And we didn’t have funding for that program this year, so we’d canceled that.” 

After the partnership was established, Johnston said Lil’ Sprouts was back on the table and has been a popular program. The first two weeks are full, but some classes later in the summer may still be available. Parents should call to check if they’re interested. She said it gives children a chance to come in and learn how food is grown, take care of animals and play and develop social skills. The setup is a sort of alternate preschool program in a way, she said, because it focuses on helping children learn and develop. 

Activities include arts and crafts as well as picking vegetables, planting veggies and flowers in the learning garden, lessons on nature, playing and just exploring the world at the farm, Johnston said. 

Katie Visker, one of the staff at the camp, said she’s been checking in with children’s parents to make sure the program is on track and provides what parents want the children to experience. 

“Parents like that it was a balance between structure and free play,” Visker said. “... I also know a lot of parents were grateful that we had some American Sign Language being taught because it’s something that doesn’t get a lot of exposure to some families.” 

Johnston said parents have also been happy that their younger children have had a chance to learn from adults outside the home and interact with children their own age. For some of them, the Lil’ Sprouts camps have been the first interaction with nonsiblings. 

Scheib said the healthy development of the children and their understanding of nutrition was an important part of the partnership. At Cloudview Farm, the children will get to understand the benefits of a healthy diet and vegetables that they might not get elsewhere.

Johnston said she’s grateful that the partnership worked out because it’s allowed the farm not only to have the program but have it grow. 

“The majority of the families here right now are kids with ages zero to five and (the grant) is providing the snacks, they’re paying for them to be here for the program, and any sort of activities. … This is the biggest camp turnout we’ve had thanks to this,” she said. 

    Children explore and learn about the plants at Cloudview Farm. This week has had them picking radishes, planting flowers and veggies and learning about pond life at the farm.