Last year, the Huss Project hosted a variety of experiential learning programs which opened doors for learners of all ages to engage, explore, and grow. Through hands-on activities and nature-based play, participants built new skills, discovered fresh interests, and connected more deeply with the land around them. From new programs to expanded partnerships, 2025 held many opportunities for our neighbors to feed their curiosity and strengthen their confidence.
The Huss Experiential Learning Partners (HELP) is a partnership of local nonprofits who meet monthly to co-create experiential learning programming for youth and families in Three Rivers. Partners for HELP are the Huss Project, Three Rivers Area Mentoring (TRAM), Three Rivers Public Library, and the St. Joseph County Great Start Collaborative. We expanded the HELP partnerships in 2025 to also include the City of Three Rivers Parks and nature-based preschool The Connection Station, and we are excited to see what possibilities will be in store with these new collaborations.
This May, we hosted field trip groups from Ruth Hoppin Elementary (first grade), Norton Elementary (second grade), and Community Action Carol Shippy Center (preschool). Students explored stations throughout the farm where they met the Huss sheep and baby lambs, created nature art masterpieces, learned about honeybees and their hives, and experienced the disgusting and amazing world of compost first-hand!
TRAM’s after-school program resumed on Fridays at Huss during the warmer months of the Spring and Fall in 2025, and this year saw the highest number for enrollment: 50 students! The TRAM kids electrify the Huss Project each week with their enthusiasm, excitement, and eagerness to learn. Whether they are hiking our woods and exploring new trails, harvesting cherry tomatoes from the People’s Plot for an after-school snack, or finishing homework projects outside under the shade of a tree, we look forward to these students returning each year!
This summer, we also partnered with TRAM again and hosted their expedition-themed science camp. A week-long event with 21 kids participating, campers had a blast gaining bird and plant identification skills, participating in a tent-assembling challenge, making DIY compasses, and even writing and performing their own plays about historical explorers.
In partnership with the St. Joseph County Great Start Collaborative (SJCGSC), the Books, Blocks, and Balls playgroup met weekly at the Huss Project in 2025 from April through October. This nature-based playgroup for children six years old and younger spent Wednesdays in our Children’s Area playing in the mud kitchen, digging with construction vehicles in the sandbox, and picking blackberries for a fresh snack. Funding for SJCGSC was recently cut from Michigan’s budget, meaning the Books, Blocks, and Balls playgroup will no longer be meeting under that official title in 2026. We’re hoping to work with parents to bring the group back to Huss in the Spring.
Once referred to as Youth Engagement at Huss (YEAH), the program re-launched this summer as The Hive. This free, 30-minute activity would come to a close each morning when our summer lunch program, Meet Up & Eat Up, would begin serving free lunches to school-age children. This made it easy and convenient for families to take advantage of available resources. Just a few of this summer’s favorite Hive activities were bird and insect identification, nature scavenger hunts, and art activities.
Opening day for the market this June was also the launch of the Huss community bike shop – the newest addition to our campus. The bike shop was funded by the $50,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant we received last year, and this summer it was open each Saturday during the market for neighbors to shop for bikes or receive repairs/tune-ups. In 2025, the bike shop fixed about 30 bikes, sold about 30 bikes, and had just over $3,000 in revenue. We are currently seeking grant funding for an earn-a-bike program for in partnership with TRAM.
Community Action of Allegan County’s Diaper Bank program provides individuals and families the opportunity to receive a free supply of diapers, pullups and wipes from varying local distribution sites. These distributions were recently facilitated and managed by the St. Joseph County Great Start Collaborative until SJCGSC was suddenly and unexpectedly cut from Michigan’s budget in October. To ensure our neighbors still have access to these crucial distributions, The Huss Project now hosts Community Action’s diaper bank every third Wednesday of the month and provides clean, dry diapers/pullups (Newborn – Size 6) and wipes without age restrictions. In November, we distributed supplies for 75 kids!
These experiential learning projects in 2025 didn’t just simply teach — they inspired, empowered, and helped shape the next generation of thinkers, leaders, and problem-solvers. We’re proud of all we accomplished and we are excited to continue expanding these opportunities in 2026!