Preserving 240 Acres for Children at Garrett Williamson

Thousands of children have run across the wide lawns, explored the woods, built, and re-built their lives in the Garrett Williamson (GW) community since the mid 1980’s. That is when Garrett’s Way and Camp Garrett opened their doors on this historic property. The philanthropic founder, Elizabeth Garrett, left her beautiful farm “for the support and maintenance of poor children…as many as possible…during the spring, summer, and fall months...” Carol Kaplan Ruark, the Executive Director, and her team are still fulfilling and expanding upon Mrs. Garrett’s wishes over 100 years later.

The non-profit now runs two award-winning programs for children: Garrett’s Way Childcare and Learning Center, which serves infants 6 weeks of age through Kindergarten, and Camp Garrett, which serves youth age 5 through 15 every summer.

Maintaining the last original land preserve in Newtown Square is a challenge, but the GW staff is both resourceful and serious about their stewardship. They care deeply for the children (nearly half of whom receive scholarships), and continuously improve the facilities, all the while protecting the environment.

What inspires the staff at Garrett Williamson?

Giselle Cosentino, the Director of Camp Garrett offered these thoughts:

I love that you can literally see the impact we have had on ‘legacy families’. We have camp staff who started at Garrett’s Way, then transitioned to Camp Garrett in the summer, and are now Camp Leaders!

Jordan Foxworth is a prime example of a camper who developed into a strong Summer Camp Counselor. During her interview last year, she responded brilliantly when asked: “This can be a tough job, Jordan. You’re out in nature with children all day - you get dirty and sweaty, there’re bugs, snakes, and hot sun. The kids can get cranky and tired – how do feel about that?” Jordan thought about it for a moment. Then she smiled and said:

Sounds like home to me.

Some stories are poignant too. Carol related a tragic situation:

When I first started, I offered to help out one day in the Education Center at naptime. I was patting the back of a toddler who’d just lost his Mother to the opioid epidemic. As I soothed him to sleep, I contemplated the trauma that this child had to suffer at such a young age. I felt it was a privilege to provide a sense of normalcy, a caring environment for this child – and all children during bad times and good. A few years later, this same child lost his Dad, too – on Father’s Day. His grandparents care for him, and Garrett Williamson is proud to be a supportive, stable sanctuary as well.

Garrett’s Way faculty are incredibly supportive and highly skilled professionals. According to Jaye Norquist, the Child Care Director, “This team works extremely hard to tailor their programs for the needs of their students; they care for the children as if they were their own.” She elaborated:

Every minute of the school day is intentional and geared to meet a goal. Compassion and understanding towards the children and among the families (through our Family Connection program) sets us apart. It’s a demanding but exceedingly rewarding profession.

In addition to receiving great care and a wonderful education, students and campers hike, practice team building and leadership skills, and make friends. Oh yes, and the campers work at least an hour in the garden every week!

They work? Zoe Blickenderfer, the Farm and Garden Coordinator, explained:

Being in the garden gives children an awareness of where food really comes from – how it looks when you plant seeds in the dirt, weed them, water, and pull out fully grown plants. They learn how fresh food tastes when they eat it for lunch (which we do every day in the summer) – and how it compares to the food you get from the supermarket.

Some of our kids have no idea that vegetables don’t come in little bags, labeled “baby carrots.” When we grow “Petite Parisienne” carrots (which are small, round, and perfectly sized for kids) they are amazed!

In Camp and Child Care, we work to develop a “culture of curiosity” about food, about the environment, about how we’re all connected. Campers and students experience good, nutritious food straight from the earth – and appreciate how healthy it is for all of us.

Our next goal is to raise funds for a greenhouse right next to the garden so the children can be in a growing environment all year round!

Garrett Williamson’s team is very aware that they are guarding a priceless legacy. Until recently, there were hundreds of acres of open space in Newtown Square – but only Garrett Williamson completely preserves their founder’s mission today. In addition to Garrett’s Way and Camp Garrett, they rent space to several organizations, including 4-H of Delaware County. This is one of the only farm-based 4-H programs in the country, which gives Garrett Williamson children the unique opportunity to visit cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock in the original Garrett family barn, built in 1794.

This unique campus provides the perfect environment for hands-on learning, and relies on the support of their community to sustain their life-changing programs.

Garrett Williamson Campers welcome you to visit the Children’s Farm Stand every Thursday in July between 3:30 and 5:30pm, and purchase some home grown produce! For further information, and to learn more about how you can get involved, visit www.garrettwilliamson.org Here’s to another 100 years of growing at Garrett Williamson!

Alex Morrison is the Marketing Coordinator at Garrett Williamson. She can be reached at marketing@garrettwilliamson.org or at 610.353.7690.