THE FARMHOUSE RETREAT INC

Programs

1. In addition to the established farming activities on the property, the farming and agricultural education program focused on evaluation of a further expansion opportunity that would impact more families in the community and provide learning opportunities for students to learn from hydroponic and container farming operation. The team analyzed the volume of production from a container based hydroponic farming and realized that it would produce 30,000 pounds of fresh food and vegetables, which would represent a 15x growth opportunity. In addition to the volume growth, the size of the container (40' x 8' x9') would also prove to be far more efficient from a space perspective. The team further thought in an innovative fashion to determine whether the operation could be powered using solar energy. Ultimately, we determined that the number of solar panels required to execute this power need would not be feasible, but provided an incredible energy analysis opportunity with eversource, the local energy provider, and for the team of students. To grow and deliver the fresh food and vegetables to local community organization sites where they were able to interact with families and deliver…

   $16,459 spent
   40% of program spending

2. In 2024, the farmhouse phase 2 solar solution was designed and prepared. This initiative provided a strong learning opportunity for community members to understand how solar can be used to offset current electricity consumption. The phase 2 solar effort would produce 80% of the required energy to power the operations of the facilities and learning spaces at the farmhouse. In addition to the phase 2 energy evaluation and design planning, the team evaluated a much larger scale solar and geothermal initiative that would attempt to power the hydroponic farming operation. This effort, as noted in the farming/agriculture section, contemplated the implementation and execution that would enable the green energy to power a handful of 40' shipping containers, outfitted with hydroponic growing capabilities to geometrically increase the farming operation's production of fresh food. The team and volunteers discovered that an array nearly the size of the back lawn area would be needed to power one container and the probability of getting this through the town process would be quite low. Ultimately, we determined it was better to partner with a local hydroponic grower and evaluate a different…

   $8,230 spent
   20% of program spending

3. The farmhouse studio was leveraged this year as a content production studio to capture the program and volunteer activities that were executed this year. We used the studio as the central content hub and created interviews with key members of the team and partners, which served as both educational content elements for community members who were not aware of our partner's and core activities. Additionally, we used virtual reality headsets and a drone to capture aerial content - teaching the ability to pilot a drone, capture content, leverage various techniques to make the content more cinematic and engaging for the viewer. The team partnered with a local videographer to create these educational opportunities. The result of the content creation in the farmhouse studio was compelling nature education content and local partner interviews that were available for sharing with a broader audience, exhibiting the power and engaging nature of content creation, editing and aerial photography/videography

   $8,230 spent
   20% of program spending

4. The farmhouse expanded on the success and popularity of its seal release program and incorporated a variety of outdoor education excursions that encompassed nature hikes, pine barren forest discovery and even a whale and dolphin exploration. In partnership with the wdc, the team walked the ellisville harbor beach, as there were sightings of humpback whales in the cape cod bay. The volunteers were able to locate and identify whales in the bay and the aerial drone footage of the humpback whales playing and feeding were dramatic and beautiful. In addition to this exhilarating experience, the team hosted hikes in ellisville state park, accessed from the farmhouse beach, and hikes included plant species identification and even a geo cache scavenger hunt using mobile technology to follow maps to unlock clues leading to a 'treasure chest' of nature education and wildlife identification cards. Finally, the seasonality of the hikes and discovery expeditions provided the opportunity to see the topography and terrain in many different environments, including snow, rain and frost, which created the optimal opportunity to look at wildlife tracks, patterns of behavior and how they move…

   $8,230 spent
   20% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $41,149.