Group Tours
Throughout the growing season, we welcome senior groups, preschool classes, school groups, and other organizations to Bushy Hill. Organized groups of at least twenty people can enjoy our beautiful farm and learn something about how food and crops are produced and handled.
During the autumn months, we provide apple and/or pumpkin picking tours with freshly-made apple cider and cider donuts as refreshment.
Our tours include educational information suited to the interest and age of the group. We know, from years of experience what appeals to kids...and how to make their visit both fun and educational.
We schedule tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays only and reservations must be made in advance.
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APPLE PICKING
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In September and October, we offer apple-picking tours. These are very popular with elementary school groups as they integrate well with classroom teaching blocks. We take the group out to the apple orchard in our custom-built wagons. Each participant receives his or her own drawstring bag in which to pick a half-peck of apples. Our trained farm workers show the kids how the apples are to be picked. We explain about flower buds, bee pollination, etc. and teach about how to handle the fruit. After the apples have been picked, the group returns to our store where they are treated to fresh home-made apple cider donuts and a glass of all natural apple cider. When the refreshment break is over, we take the kids into our apple sorting and grading room where they watch apples being cleaned, polished and graded to size. Finally, we send a one-peck bag of apples back to the classroom, so the teachers can use them in a post-tour activity. (For example, they can make applesauce with their class.) The price for this tour is $6.00 per person with 30 or more paying participants. With 20 to 29 participants, the rate is $6.25 a person. This tour takes about 45-60 minutes. |
PUMPKIN PICKING
This activity is similar to the apple picking as described above and is offered throughout the month of October. The difference is that the kids go to a special pumpkin patch, where each can select "the very best pumpkin". These pumpkins are small Sugar Pumpkins. This is very popular with pre-school groups and with afterschool groups such as Cubs, Brownies and Girl Scouts. The youngsters get the same tractor wagon ride, refreshment break, and tour of the apple sorting room. The price for this tour is $5.75 per person with a minimum of twenty participants. This tour takes about 45-60 minutes. |
DO IT ALL
Occasionally we get requests for both apples and pumpkins and we are always glad to oblige. The cost is $8.25 per person. (The entire group must participate, we cannot do splits.) The combination apple and pumpkin picking will take 70 to 90 minutes depending on the age of the participants. |
Tips for Teachers and Leaders
We want your time here at the Orchard to be fun-filled and hassle-free. The following are a few tips to ensure an enjoyable tour.
- Make sure your group arrives with appropriate footwear. While we mow frequently between the rows of apple trees and around the pumpkin patch, this is a working farm and the ground your group will be treading is not as manicured as a household lawn. Old (but sturdy) sneakers are ideal; flip-flops, though popular, are not.
- Particularly for very young groups, it is helpful if name tags are made up in advance and affixed to each participant.
- If your group is picking apples and/or pumpkins, bring a few magic markers. If picking pumpkins, you can write each child's name on his or her pumpkin bottom. If picking apples, you can write each participant's name on his or her bag so there is no confusion as to whose sack is whose.
- Plan to bring some empty cardboard boxes that can be used to store your picked apples and/or pumpkins on the ride home, particularly if you are a larger group traveling by bus. We simply don't have enough empty containers here at the orchard for this purpose.
- Bees are important to our orchard, but bee stings can be dangerous to those who are allergic to them. Please be aware of any bee sting allergies among those in your group and come with the appropriate medication in the event that it is needed.
- Please arrive about 30 minutes before the start of your scheduled tour. This will allow you to organize your group, pay for the tour, and count and distribute the apple sacks (if apple picking is your group's activity). If you arrive late, we will make every effort to give you a complete tour, but you may have to wait until other scheduled groups have completed theirs.
- Although we have very rarely had a problem, we ask that teachers and chaperones be responsible for the behavior of their children. In particular, we will ask that two adults sit at the rear of each wagon to make sure that the children remain seated at all times during the tour and ensure that no one "plays" with the rear security gate.
- Bushy Hill Orchard offers many more products beyond what we have contracted to provide your group and we would be happy to sell them to any of your group members. Please make sure your group knows what is being provided as part of the tour, so if any member wants anything in addition (say, a larger pumpkin, a one-peck sack of apples, fresh honey, or a fresh-baked pie), they'll understand that we will expect payment for it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Click here for answers to some of the frequently asked questions concerning our tours. |
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