Bowers School Farm
Reshaping Our Relationship with Food from the Ground Up
A CASUAL PASSERBY of the I-75 and Square Lake Road interchange might not notice that just beyond the busy thoroughfare sits a 93-acre working farm.
This isn’t just any farm. Its sprawling grounds boast vegetable-filled gardens, meadows of grazing sheep and an old-growth oak forest, alongside horse, poultry and livestock barns, a learning center with a kitchen and retail store, and even a historic farmstead available for rent.
Owned and operated as part of the Bloomfield Hills School District, Bowers School Farm serves as a respite from the hustle and bustle of nearby suburban life. The aim is clear at Bowers, named for a former School Board President Charles L. Bowers. Grounded in agriculture and education, this true working farm strives to create and nurture an environment of acceptance, collaboration and community. With immersive school and community programming for all ages— not to mention public events like “open barn,” family craft projects, activities, hayrides and more—Bowers is available for all to enjoy, not only those in the school district.
“This is where learning is most real,” says Director Alan Jaros, himself a former Bowers camper. “This is where we need [kids] to start. This farm is for everyone.”
From understanding where food is sourced to the magic of harvesting (and enjoying) food, Bowers Farm takes pride in its keen ability to spark joy by creating unique, hands-on and much-desired refuge from screens and electronics.
The farm is perhaps best known for its array of animals, from Tamworth hogs to horses, chickens to peacocks, and goats to cows. That’s what drew in 11-year-old Ella Tesluk, who takes part in their 4-H program, and her family.
“She learned how to show a goat this year,” says Ella’s mom, Beth Ann Tesluk. “For us, it’s amazing to be able to have the experience of working with animals in that environment—on their own turf—given that we cannot have a goat in Royal Oak.”
But it goes even further, says Tesluk, referring to the levels of responsibility and maturity that the kids tap into there: “It’s like a light switch that turns on. They get there and they’re all business. They know what to do. They know if the animal is looking healthy or if something’s wrong. It’s really amazing,” Tesluk says. “All the parents kid about it. These are the same children who won’t clean their rooms or put away the dishes, but out there they’re perfectly happy shoveling manure.”
For Ella, it’s all about being able to hang out with—and take care of—the animals.
“It’s really fun,” she says, before going into detail about taking care of Jules, a Boer goat, and how she’d go to Bowers “every day of the week” if she could. “It was really cool that I got to train a goat for the first time she was trained too.”
Before long the farm’s garden space will double with hoop houses to extend the growing season to year-round capability. On the northwest corner of the land, Bowers has a 75-plot community garden that opened in the 1970s. Interested newbies usually spend a year or two on a waiting list.
Bowers has a campaign under way to fund an additional garden project. The “Discovery Garden” would provide dedicated outdoor play space to engage kids of all ages with natural playscapes and diverse gardens, everything from edible flowers to fruit trees to herbs.
“The idea is to bring science concepts to life to create meaning,” says Jaros. “And there is meaning in community.”
Bowers aims to provide true experiential learning with a keen focus on extended exposure times to instill true discovery. In-district (Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham schools) and out-of-district programming during the academic year including field trips, integrated school curriculums, Scout and community programs, as well as the 4-H Club. One popular program has local first graders hatching chickens in classrooms and then bringing the chicks to the farm to live.
Since 1998, Bowers has also served as the backdrop for Bowers Academy, which provides an unconventional environment for students to earn a high school diploma while gaining a sense of community and social-emotional health.
In the summertime, the farm staff swells to some 40+ for Bowers’ wildly popular summer camps, open to ages 3—14. While camps vary in specialties and focus—and sell out within hours—all help to educate on the farm ecosystem, including interdependency, animal welfare and horticulture. Campers can often be found harvesting ingredients right from the garden and creating fresh and healthy snacks. A financial aid fund is available for campers based on need.
“In this case, the learning is real,” says Jaros.
Bowers School Farm Fall Festival— featuring wagon rides, animals, pumpkin picking and live entertainment—is 10 a.m.—4 p.m. Oct. 15—16. Tickets are $14 for members and $16 for nonmembers. Free for children younger than 2.
Bowers School Farm—and kitchen and farm store—is at 1219 E. Square Lake Rd., Bloomfield Hills. For more information, go to schoolfarm.org. The farm store is open weekends through October.
