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Big Red Farm

Big Red Farm

The mission of the Big Red Farm is to enrich our community by growing nutritious food that connects hands, heads, and hearts to the land. In the words of Lawrenceville alumnus Aldo Leopold (class of 1905), we seek to instill in students a Land Ethic that "enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land."

The Big Red Farm helps ensure that the School meets the experiential learning goals of our 20/20 strategic plan. Led by dedicated faculty and staff with experience in farming, gardening, and experiential education, the Big Red Farm empowers students to make sense of outdoor learning by turning the Farm into another Lawrenceville classroom. Opportunities abound for gaining a deep understanding of sustainable agriculture through participation, dialogue, and reflection.

Big Red Farm

 

Farm-Based Education

The Farm consists of 4 acres of tilled land, 20 acres of pasture, and 3 greenhouses. Together, these spaces offer numerous learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff, such as internships, volunteer fieldwork, curriculum connections, house events, and community service.
Big Red Farm

 

What We Grow

The Big Red Farm supplies the School dining hall and area food pantries with 15 varieties of vegetables including tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, kale, eggplant, and squash. We also produce pork, lamb, hot sauce, maple syrup, honey, herbs, and cut flowers.
Big Red Farm

 

Community Outreach

Through our outreach and education efforts, the Big Red Farm inspires the community to support local agriculture, food equity, and sustainable land use practices. As part of farm outreach, Lawrenceville students and staff teach area children about growing and harvesting food, donate to food pantries in Greater Trenton, run a public produce stand, and host farm-to-table events.

News and Reflections

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Big Red Farm Intern Gabriel Vermut ’27
You Can’t Outsmart a Big Red Chicken

By Big Red Farm Intern Gabriel Vermut ’27

Every morning, just as the sun starts to rise, I head to the Lawrenceville Big Red Farm with four other Big Red Farm student interns. Eager for another day of farm life, we usually begin with the discovery that a few chickens have escaped from their coop. Taking care of them is a big job, but it's been one of the most rewarding parts of my time at the Farm.

Christabelle Sutter '23 and Lead Carpenter Ryan Yura doing honey extraction at the Big Red Farm.
Big Red Farm Honey Harvest a Sweet Success

Things got a bit sticky in the Kirby Science and Math Center last week as Director of Sustainability Steve Laubach scraped and spun honeycombs from the Big Red Farm to extract honey. The Farm has two active hives containing around 50,000 bees that are capable of producing up to 60 lbs. of honey twice a year. Harvests are collected in July and October.