Fort Ross- A Mary Farmar Elementary School Tradition

I just had the pleasure of chaperoning the 25th year of Fourth grade students from ’s outdoor education program completing an overnight field trip to Fort Ross on the beautiful California coast off Highway 1. We had a beautiful weekend at the Fort, with sunny skies, a gorgeous starry sky at night, and lots of wildlife for the students to view.

Mrs. Linda Hart, Mrs. Charmaine Wida, Mrs. Renate Emmerichs and Mrs. Kate Bonnet, all fourth grade teachers at Mary Farmar, go WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND, with several outdoor education field trips throughout the year. 

Weeks before the Fort Ross trip, the students are immersed in the history curriculum, grouped together as historical Russian colonists- the Militia, the Hunters, Gardeners, Dignitaries, Cooks and Artisans. Each group learns about the role that their group played in California history as settlers at Fort Ross. The students learn the Troika (Russian dance), Russian folklore, and Russian culture. Parents help make borscht and Russian tea cakes. Each child is issued a costume to wear and all kids and parent chaperones are a real-life historical figure; either a Russian colonist, a Kashaya Pomo Indian, or other historical figure from the era.

Then, we were off to spend two days and one night at the Fort. The kids hike in to the Fort from a nearby campground, and students and parents do ALL the work just as the Russian colonists did- chopping fire wood, fishing for dinner, planting a garden, “guarding” the fort, hauling water and cooking both a full dinner and breakfast. The children prepared skits based on Russian folklore, have to present their Russian historical figure and we all got to perform the Troika.

Parents and students slept on the barracks floors, performed night patrol (yes, 1 am, 3 am, 5am) to protect the Fort, took a nature hike and received an excellent education from the Interpretive staff at Fort Ross. All of this is financed by parent and student fundraising and ninety students attended the program this year. No child is left out due financial hardship.  

This is an incredible program that is a beloved tradition at Mary Farmar and the four teachers deserve a lot of recognition for the effort that they put into this, for which they are not paid extra. One of the teachers even sews 90 Russian “Possibles” bags so that each student has one of these unique shoulder bags for the trip to carry water bottles and special treasures found or earned at the Fort.

Because of the beautiful weather, students were able to spot wildlife including deer, hawks, harbor seals, sea lions and grey whales, see beautiful constellations and spot the night-time visitors to the Fort- raccoons and skunks. At the end of the trip, the Militia fired the cannon, lowered the Russian flag and we all stood in a circle to relate what our best memory was of the trip; what a great way for the students and parents to remember this wonderful trip.