Where the Wild Things Are
Trip Start
Unknown
1
Trip End
Ongoing
Pocola, Oklahoma
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wild Things Farm in Pocola, Oklahoma is a bit out of the ordinary. The Greene family, Jim, Cathie and children Jennifer and Taylor, owners of Wild Things, harvests thousands of pounds of produce each year, all the while opening the farm up for a little something special.
What makes this farm extraordinary is that they do all of the hard work and harvesting with a steady stream of tourists, school groups, educational tours and summer camps entwined throughout, from April through October of each year.
Wild Things produces a huge variety of garden vegetables, from cool crops like Asparagus and Strawberries, to warmer bearing crops such as peas, squash, sweet corn and tomatoes to name just a few. This fruit and vegetable producing, goat and chicken bearing, pumpkin patching place of good things is a fantastic place to purchase your produce and teach your kids about life on a working farm.
Kids are everywhere at Wild Things Farm and I'm not just talking about the family’s goat herd. This 90-acre agri/eco-tourism farm includes activities, and a lot of them, for kids to fish, pick, shear, plant and harvest.
The farm also hosts birthday parties where children can take a hayride, pet the farm animals, pick berries and pumpkins, when in season, and even enjoy pony rides.
Summer Camp is a special time for kids ages 6 to 11, and this year’s camp runs from June 4 through 8th, 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Kids learn about good bugs and bad bugs, animal care, seed germination and planting, making salad bowls and birdhouses and even get to have a cookout on the last day of camp.
Jacques Adams and Alexa Vera, Wild Things Summer Camp alumni, have both attended prior camps and Jacques tells me he loves it! In fact, he’s already got his reservation in for this year. He says, "It’s really fun. I like to do the “bug hunt’ and chase the goats." He went on to say, “In the bug hunt you pair into teams and try to find the most and cool bugs.”
Jacques also says, “I like to pick blackberries, cause they’re really good to eat.” It’s evident by the hundreds of photos taken at the camp that kids are in their element in the outdoors. There is a certain camaraderie and joy evident by the smiles on their faces.
Cathie Greene, farm owner states, “We do this (the summer camp and opening up the farm) for the community. The kids love coming so much and they get to do everything hands on.” Greene also states each camp allows for 15 participants. If you are interested in your child participating in the camp call early for reservations and pricing.
Jacques enthusiastically reports, “On the last day we get to shear a sheep – It’s fun cause you shave it and the hair comes off and it’s like shaving a head with more hair.”
Jacques mother Jenny Adams says, “Of all the camps Jacques participates in, he love, love, loves the Wild Things Farm camp the most.”
Sheep shearing, strawberry picking, bug hunting, seed planting, fishing and a host of other fun filled farm activities serve as an education easier to learn on a farm than in a classroom.
If you’d like to learn more about Wild Things Farm, check out their website at wildthingsfarm.com or give them a call at 918-626-4053. For the ultimate produce shopping experience or Wild Things adventure, check out the farm at 700 Beaty, Pocola, Oklahoma, and be sure and take the kids with you.
