Historic Virginia Farm Grows Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies

Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, Virginia-just an hour south of Washington DC-offers farm-based fun and education while supporting Project Fit America for area schools.

(PRWEB) September 16, 2005 -- In a world consumed by digital music players, video games, hundreds of television channels and the ever-expanding Internet, kids dont often get to experience what we older folks used to refer to as the simple pleasures" of life.

Most children living in urban and suburban areas have never walked through fields of corn where the stalks whistle and crack in the breeze. Theyve never seen first-hand that pumpkins and strawberries and other produce are borne by the earth-and not the grocers shelves. Many youngsters have never seen a goat or a cow or a horse anywhere except in a picture book or through a picture tube.

Were losing our connection to agriculture and the farm," says Donnie Fulks, owner of Belvedere Plantation near Fredericksburg, Va. Were seeing kids today who are several generations removed from the farm, and neither they-nor their parents-have experienced the peacefulness or the fulfillment that comes from being around a farm."

While the proliferation of technology certainly has its value in the world-even on the farm-many agrarians like Fulks believe that a return to nature plays an important role in balancing out the increasingly stressful life in which kids live today.

Out here, a kid can be a kid," Fulks says. No day planners, no cell phones, no pagers or iPods. They can explore the natural world using their five senses, and they can learn how agriculture plays a role in their everyday lives. But in a farm setting like this, it doesnt feel like learning-its more fun."

For farms like the 245-year-old Belvedere Plantation, promoting agritourism events-such as the upcoming Fall Harvest Festival in late September through October-not only ensures the continuing viability of the farm, but it also promotes a healthy frame of mind and fit bodies for kids and their families.

Folks come out here to the Maze Maize or the pumpkin patch looking for farm entertainment," Says Fulks, But they also get a healthy dose of fresh air, conversation, laughter, walking-things they might not experience as frequently at home, if at all."

Taking the concept of fit bodies a step further, Belvedere Plantation has recently teamed up with a national program, Project Fit America, to help bring fitness programming to area schools. Throughout this October, Belvedere Plantation will donate a dollar from each redeemed Project Fit America coupon combo admission ticket to help provide fitness equipment, curriculum, and two years of training and support to Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania.

This is just a first step," says Colleen Hairston, general manager of Belvedere Plantation. Wed like to invite other area businesses to join in this effort so that we can expand the number of schools served here."

To learn more about Belvedere Plantation, visit www.belvedereplantation.com.

To learn more about Project Fit America, visit www.projectfitamerica.org.

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