14 Students and 10 Hens Power New Bridgehampton Farm Stand
Bridgehampton School reopens its roadside stand with student labor, selling cut flowers on a donation basis to fund an agriculture curriculum that spans the school year.
By Julia Wang ·
Fourteen high school students are currently enrolled in an agriculture elective at Bridgehampton School, a program that relies on a small red farm stand along Montauk Highway to sell produce and flowers.
The stand, known as Sprouts, has operated on the property for years. It previously functioned as a Christmas tree farm and a general farm and flower stand. The school is now reopening it to support a classroom-based agriculture program led by teacher Alexandra DeSouza.
DeSouza took over the program from Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz, who started the initiative before leaving to run the Stony Brook Food Lab. The two women collaborate on the curriculum. Carmack-Fayyaz’s Food Lab provides continuing education and internships for students who cannot attend college after graduation.
The stand is open a few hours a day, a few days a week, during school hours. Students sell cut flowers and bouquets on a donation basis. The school aims to increase operating hours and expand the variety of items sold in the coming weeks.
Christine Tylee, the school’s full-time horticulturist who started working at the site last year, manages the greenhouse and a coop housing 10 hens and one rooster named Oscar. The coop was built by parents several years ago. Tylee and DeSouza guide students through planting and harvesting. Earlier this month, younger students harvested potatoes from the school garden.
The farm produces food for the school cafeteria and culinary program. Any surplus that cannot be used in those programs is sold at the roadside stand. This arrangement is particularly useful during the summer when school is closed. The garden also includes late-season tomatoes, herbs, and loofah gourds.
The curriculum adjusts based on age. Younger students learn basic plant needs and seed planting. Older students study rooting hormones, soil sampling, and landscape design. The school also planted a pollinator garden with the help of ReWild Long Island, a group dedicated to restoring native ecosystems. Tylee noted that the garden has attracted hummingbirds and wasp species new to the area. The stand and garden serve as an open-air classroom for the public.
