Two Sisters Farmstead School Promotes Naturalist Skills & Compassion for Nature
Story by Teryn Worsham | Photos by Megan Authement
Although Jessica “JP” Potter-Bowers and Lauren Brown are not related, they consider their bond to be nothing short of sisterly. Cofounders of Two Sisters Farmstead School, JP and Lauren met in 2010 while attending a program on outdoor education. Each was in school for her master’s degree in education.
“We were honored to be part of a small intentional community where we learned the joy of educating children outside,” says JP. “(The program) allowed us to practice creating and delivering natural science content with the aid of peers, mentors, and an exemplary crew of educators.”
It was during a nonprofit management class that JP and Lauren came up with the idea to run a farm school. For one assignment, they created a business plan for an organization named “Sprouts.”
“As we developed lessons and created a budget, it began to call more strongly,” says JP, who was interested in farm education and later completed her master’s project with Seattle Youth Garden Works.
Lauren Brown with campers
After graduation, JP returned to her hometown of Asheville and Lauren moved to Utah to teach at a boarding school. JP enrolled in a class for start-up businesses at Mountain BizWorks. She had a concept for a farm school and called her new business plan “Building Roots Farm School.” In 2012, Lauren decided to join JP in Asheville, and together they began searching for the perfect property to house the business they envisioned: a school that fused both their ideas. They decided to call it Two Sisters Farmstead School.
In May, Two Sisters held an open house event. “It was so inspiring to have families out at the school laughing and talking about nature,” says JP. “We love the natural world and are always grateful to share that love with others.”
JP and Lauren’s dreams finally came true when the school officially opened in June. Nestled in a cove on a 25-acre tract of land in Candler, Two Sisters Farmstead School is surrounded by fields and forests. The stone schoolhouse that overlooks the permaculture garden contains a reading room, science lab, and garden kitchen where children enjoy nutritious snacks.
In this green cove, Lauren runs Sprouts, a preschool program for children ages three to five, while JP teaches science classes in Explorers, a program designed to provide homeschool students ages five through 18 with natural science education in an academic outdoor classroom. The school year is divided into semesters that coincide with the changing seasons and each class meets once weekly from 12:30–4:30 p.m.
This month, Two Sisters will host several sessions of Camp Farmstead—a series of themed weeklong summer camps, including a Water Wonders session August 1–5; a Naturalist Skills camp August 8–12; and a Friend in the Forest camp August 15–19. During sessions, campers will learn naturalist skills while participating in games, scavenger hunts, mystery solving, and lessons on local plants and animals.
The school also hosts free monthly Family Discovery Days where families can get an introductory tour on the farm, learn naturalist skills, and enjoy a picnic. The next Family Discovery Day will be Saturday, August 13. Families can choose between a morning session from 10 a.m. to noon and an afternoon session from 1–3 p.m., with a bring-your-own picnic from noon to 1 p.m. No registration is required to attend.
“We believe in stewardship,” says JP, “tending to this land in a way that protects its natural characteristics while also using it gently to provide for us and our students. We also steward the youth we serve, by showing them how to care for our resources, our community and ourselves.”
Two Sisters Farmstead School is located at 218 Morgan Cove Road in Candler. The Sprouts program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Enrollment is $35 per day. All summer camps ($300 per session) run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Two Sisters offers sibling discounts, scholarships, and last-minute deals. For more information on the school’s programs or registration, visit twosistersfarmstead.org.
