A week of sharing knowledge at Fulton’s Sugar Bush (Mar 16-20)
Over the past month, our learners have been on The Great Fulton’s Sugar Bush Expedition Mini-Quest during our weekly outdoor education days.
That journey reached a peak last week, when learners spent the entire week immersed in the life and work of Fulton’s Sugar Bush.
They have been learning about sugaring, about the Fulton family, and about the rhythms of the land.
At Acton, we believe that learning to do, learning to be, and learning to learn are more important than simply learning to know. We live that every week in the studio, and our time at Fulton's has been no different. The learners were offered a hands-on, project-based learning experience rooted in real responsibility every week.
With that experience behind them, learners were invited to take on a new challenge last week: to choose something that had captured their interest, and to share it with others.
While children all around us were on March Break, families and tourists flooded the farm during one of its busiest seasons. The Fulton's team invited our learners to participate in their guided tours by sharing what they have learned.
Every single learner chose to.
Monday: Beginning with curiosity and a plan
Monday was spent getting to know the land, the work, and the stories of the farm.
Learners explored the property, gathered information, and began identifying an area of interest—something about sugaring or Fulton’s that they felt drawn to and wanted others to understand. They also contributed to hands-on work on the farm, including staining flip-up informational boards.
The day also continued a rhythm that had been established with our previous days at Fulton's, and it carried through the entire week.
Each morning, learners began by planning their day:
when they would work
when they would play
what they aimed to accomplish
They worked as a group, creating a shared plan and holding a common understanding of how the day would unfold.
Many learners wore watches, and where they didn’t, others stepped into the role of timekeeper—supporting the group in staying on track and moving between activities with intention.
Tuesday: From interest to Explorer’s Report
On Tuesday, learners turned their tour topics into a script of what they would say.
They chose topics that had sparked their curiosity, including:
the habitat of the maple forest
the process of labelling syrup bottles
animals that help and hinder syrup production
the Fulton family history
settler history on this land
Indigenous stories connected to sugaring
They wrote and refined what they would share, then presented their plans to a member of the Fulton’s team.
Each report needed to be “green-lit” by Fulton's before being shared on a tour.
Throughout the day, learners returned to the plans they had set in the morning—managing their time, staying aware of transitions, and ensuring they moved their work forward.
Wednesday: Showing up and adapting
By Wednesday, learners began sharing their knowledge with visitors during guided tours.
They chose which tours to participate in and managed their own time to ensure they were in the right place at the right moment. Along the one-hour tour route, learners positioned themselves at different points along the trails, ready to speak when groups arrived.
Some tours ran as expected. Others had few participants—or none at all.
Learners adjusted. They used the time between tours to revisit their plans, choose new work, and play outside. Play included visiting the forest nook with a campfire to roast apples and sledding and sliding down snowy hills.
They continued to track time carefully, relying on one another to stay coordinated and ready.
Thursday: Flexibility in real time
Thursday brought even more opportunities to adapt.
A tour that had not been scheduled was added with only a few minutes’ notice. Learners quickly organized themselves—moving into position, preparing what they would say, and ensuring the experience for visitors remained seamless.
While one tour was cancelled, there was an opportunity to ensure visitor safety by blocking off a trail that had become flooded. Our learners gladly trekked out to the spot and blocked off a trail with caution tape.
There was also time for play, including a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the forest—woven naturally into a day that balanced responsibility and joy.
Friday: Rising to the moment
On Friday, learners were invited to give a private tour to Shirley Deugo, the fourth-generation of the family managing Fulton’s Sugar Bush.
They gave her the tour, received feedback, and also received many nuggets of information from Shirley that might enrich their tours further.
Later that day, a final tour that had been expected to be cancelled went ahead when visitors arrived late. Once again, with only minutes to prepare, learners organized themselves and delivered the tour. Several learners adapted and expanded what they said during this last tour based on what they had learned from Shirley.
By this point, learners moved through the farm with confidence and familiarity.
They knew the trails and where they needed to be.
They arrived on time, ready to contribute.
They spoke about different parts of the property with ease.
Their connection to the land, the work, and the people at Fulton’s had grown quickly—and naturally.
And yes, there were many opportunities to sample syrup along the way… purely for research purposes.
