News

June 27, 2022

Foraging for CT Food and Farms Scavenger Hunt – until August 14, 2022

Welcome to the inaugural “Foraging for Connecticut Food and Farms Scavenger Hunt.”

WHAT IS THE SCAVENGER HUNT ALL ABOUT?

Connect with other families or register on your own for access to over 30 missions that will prompt you on farming-related experiences to learn, explore, and create in our state from July 21st through August 14th. We’ve designed and tested the “missions” of this Scavenger Hunt to be especially appealing and educational for families with young children (5-12 years old).

In addition to being fun and educational regarding CT farms, it is designed to be COVID safe too! We anticipate 200 people taking part this summer, but YOU have control over how many people you interact with because the “missions” and submissions are shared on the free virtual platform, GooseChase. All this and only $25/team! The low inaugural price is thanks to our sponsors, listed below, big thanks go to these businesses which support connecting more CT residents to farms!

More information about the Scavenger Hunt below, or please email Kimball Cartwright at [email protected] if you have questions about registration or how to play.

SCAVENGER HUNT REGISTRATION

Registration

The cost to register is $25 dollars per team and one person must register for the team with their email, to be our contact person.
There is no limit to the number of people on a team, and we recommend 4-6 people for maximum fun.
Registration will give you access to the game from Thursday, July 21st through Sunday, August 14th. However, you can tackle the missions at your own pace and submit your findings as you please. There are no requirements that need to be completed on specific days.

For the game, at least one team member will need to have:

Access to the internet
A mobile device with a camera
Ability to download the free GooseChase app to their mobile device

How to play

The missions range from learning about animals and plants, to cooking with local veggies, and traveling to farmers’ markets. Access to a vehicle is needed for some of the missions, however missions are designed to be inclusive by allowing most activities to be done at home or on the go.

All missions were designed to be achievable for elementary school ages. Missions range from being able to be completed independently by kids and others provide an opportunity for involvement of adult guidance, for cooking, transportation, or clarification of a more complex idea. Overall this is an activity that provides fun learning opportunities to engage with your team and to have some valuable discussions about the information that you gather.

CT Food and Farms Web-based Resources

WEBSITES YOU CAN USE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CT FOOD AND FARMS	This is not an exhaustive list of resources. We offer these to help get you started learning about, buying from, and going to CT Farms!
Map of CT farms, farm markets and farmstands (CT Northeast Organic Farming Association resource)	https://guide.ctnofa.org/
CT Grown crop calendar	https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOAG/Marketing_files/2019/Crop-Calendar-Updated-2022.pdf
Northeastern CT food and farming	https://www.grownconnected.org/
Southeastern CT food and farming	https://www.knowyourfarmers.org/
CT Grown – A Way of Life	https://ctgrown.org/
Where to pick your own fruit in CT	https://www.pickyourown.org/CT.htm
Connecticut Maple Syrup Producers	http://www.ctmaple.org
Honey in CT	https://www.localhoneyfinder.org/CT.php
Connecticut ice cream locations	https://www.ctinsider.com/projects/guides/ice-cream/
Indigenous Lands map – visualization tool helping identify which people originally occupied (and farmed) the land where you live	https://native-land.ca/
Food Solutions New England – Just, Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems	https://foodsolutionsne.org/what-we-believe/
Food Solutions New England – Focus on Connecticut	https://foodsolutionsne.org/category/new-england-states/connecticut/
CT Department of Agriculture	https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG
What is CT Aquaculture – shellfish, seeweed and more	https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG/Aquaculture1/Aquaculture/What-is-Aquaculture
UConn Zwick Center report on economic impact of ag	https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOAG/Commish_and_Gov/UConnAgEIS2015pdf.pdf?la=en

Prizes

All teams will receive a prize for participating in the scavenger hunt. The six top scoring Scavenger Hunt teams also have the opportunity to win exclusive Connecticut Farmland Trust totes, hats, and locally curated cookbooks. The number of top teams will be determined by the CFT Scavenger Hunt judges in the event of a tie.