SPEAKER DETAILS
Leigh Merinoff
Leigh Merinoff is a farmer, artist, educator and activist who founded Meadows Bee Farm in 2006 in the mountains of Vermont. Inspired by agricultural homesteading practices and small farm skills she learned while visiting rural communities across Asia, Africa and Central and South America with Heifer International, she began with gardens and a few beehives and gradually helped build a thriving farm and community.
As the farm grew, Meadows Bee Farm expanded to include a raw milk dairy, arts center and educational programs. At the same time, the surrounding community grew to include a farmers market, café, thrift shop, post office and other local enterprises that supported rural life and connection.
Leigh’s passion for hands-on learning led her to create the Young Farmers Badge Program, where children develop practical skills in agriculture, cooking, animal care, homestead crafts, forestry and regenerative farming. Through experiential learning, students earn badges in more than thirty subjects while connecting academic concepts to real-world experiences. The program fosters curiosity, resilience, confidence, critical thinking and a lifelong understanding of healthy food and sustainable living.
Today, Leigh is developing Young Farmers Starts, an online initiative designed to help bring practical life skills, home economics, and shop education back into schools while continuing her advocacy for small farms, children’s health, and educational innovation.
PRESENTATION
INSPIRING CURIOUS AND CAPABLE CHILDREN THROUGH HOMESTEAD EDUCATION
FRI., OCT. 16 AT 1:45 PM
Join Leigh Merinoff for an exploration of how homestead-based learning nurtures resilience, independence and intrinsic motivation in children. Through practical, hands-on experiences, including cooking, sewing, gardening, herbal medicine making and meaningful daily work, students develop real-world competence alongside academic understanding.
Leigh will share the philosophy behind the Young Farmer Starts curriculum, which emphasizes observation, nature study, artistic documentation and experiential learning over passive memorization and abstraction.
Leigh will speak on how her educational approach utilizes personalized learning binders, checklists and merit-based rewards to foster a strong work ethic, self-motivation and lifelong curiosity in young learners. Perfect for homeschooling families, educators, homesteaders and anyone interested in alternative educational models rooted in practical life skills and connection to the land.