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OUr Core Programs

At CEI, we create innovative, meaningful experiential education programs for people across the lifespan.

CFIN: Community of FAMILIES IN NATURe
A Community of Families in Nature (CFIN) provides fun, friendly opportunities for families to spend time together in nature. We offer a variety of programming aimed at fostering greater connection with nature and among participants, increasing environmental awareness and action, supporting the well-being of participants, and strengthening family relationships.​

Agroecology
​in action
Agroecology in Action provides participants the opportunity to collaborate from start to finish in the growing of food for our local food system. We employ and teach regenerative growing practices in a variety of demonstration gardens to model the role they can play in a community as a food producer, economic driver, and a tool to tackle climate action. The food grown is distributed to local food assistance programs and at our farm stand.

Roots & Wings
The Roots & Wings Learning Community provides children with opportunities to develop both their roots and their wings through holistic, experiential learning programs.
Roots & Wings aims to provide an educational experience for home-schooled children where their knowledge, creativity, and voices are nurtured through nature-infused lessons and activities. 

Nourishing Gardens
Nourishing Gardens transforms lawns across Howard County into ecologically beneficial growing spaces. We teach community members how to take lawns at homes, businesses, community organizations, and schools and transform them into gardens that nourish people, our community, and nature.

Green seeds Internship
Our high school and college internship program gives students experiential education opportunities in a variety of areas related to our mission - from growing food and exploring issues of food sovereignty, to learning about and supporting ecosystem health, to thinking through what it means to create a resilient community, to how time in nature supports physical and mental health. ​

Sustainable skills workshops
Sustainable Skills Workshops provide classes on how to grow food, environmental stewardship, creativity and conservation, and community and wellness (i.e. special topics include foraging and medicinal plants). We welcome guest educators!

Eco-Stewards volunteers
The Eco-Stewards form the backbone of CEI’s volunteer program by helping participate in the organization’s garden care and Maker Space work. The Eco-Steward program is open to individuals 14 and older to join at anytime during the year, and our farm and garden volunteers do not need to have previous garden care experience. CEI also hosts volunteer groups for day trips to help work in our garden space at both Freetown Farm and the Green Farmacy Garden.

Participant Privacy policy

special projects

Freetown Walkable watershed

A Walkable Watershed integrates the flow of water and people into a cohesive strategy to improve the overall health of a community and its surrounding watershed. The Freetown Walkable Watershed is an ongoing initiative uniting the community around our vital waterways.