CHARLEMONT – The curriculum at Hawlemont Regional School has all the basics one might expect math, English, arts and music – and, beginning a decade ago, more unique ones, like taking care of sheep and growing plants in the greenhouse.

Those agricultural lessons are part of the Hawlemont, Agriculture and You (HAY) program, which provides hands-on, experiential learning by combining agriculture, community involvement and traditional curriculum. It brings students together with local farmers and other community members and allows kids to care for animals, nurture gardens and develop new skills in a farm setting.

To mark a decade of the HAY program, the community was invited to Hawlemont Thursday afternoon in celebration of those instrumental in bringing the program to life and helping it succeed over the past 10 years.

“We were able to do all that and a lot of the reason we were able to was because a lot of people stepped up and donated,” said Jean Bruffee, a retired educator of more than 30 years and the first HAY program teacher. “It really was a community project, everybody just pitched in and helped us.”

Community collaboration has been baked into the program since its beginnings, as Bruffee said the school applied for a $325,000 grant to build a barn, greenhouse, chicken coop and farm kitchen. The district, though, was only able to het a $130,000 grant and Bruffee said community members stepped up to make up the difference by donating time, material and labor.

The results has been transformative for students, according to Bruffee, school staff and other people in the program’s orbit.

“We’ve found that kids who might not be interested in all kinds of regular classroom learning can get really hooked,” Bruffee said. “We’re teaching good work habits that carry over … and we’ve found that’s carried over [to the school.]”

Hawlemont Principal Amber Tulloch said the program creates “a sense of persistence and perseverance” in students, which carries over into regular classroom lessons. She added HAY creates a “holistic, well-rounded,” curriculum for kids.

“There’s a willingness to take on challenges,” said Tulloch, noting the HAY program was a major attraction to the district for herself. “That translates to the classroom.”

Budge Litchfield, a Heath resident and member of the Friends of HAY group, said the program has created myriad opportunities for students, as they get exposed to agriculture at school and then have a chance to join the 4-H group if they want to explore further. Hawlemont’s 4-H group is the largest in Franklin County, according to Bruffee.

“The kids really love it,” Litchfield, who, along with his wife, have loaned two goats to the school this year.

As part of Thursday’s celebration, the school honored Erwin Reynolds and Eric Dean, who has given more than 1,000 volunteer hours to Hawlemont, for their dedication to the HAY program. Reynolds, a Charlemont resident who died in 2017, was integral to getting HAY off the ground and will be honored with a plaque expected to be installed in the coming days.

“This is just special here and he was was always so excited about what we were learning and what we were doing,” Bruffee said of Reynolds. “We’re all very proud and I know Erwin’s looking down and is very proud, too.”

For more information about the HAY program, visit hawlemont.mtrsd.org/HAY.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.