Volunteering: We currently host a young adult volunteer through Montgomery County Public Schools who is completing community service learning by providing animal care and assistance with small maintenance projects. Many Montgomery County and other Maryland students have completed volunteer community service learning hours and a number of Boy Scouts have completed their Eagle projects here at Dream Catcher Meadows. Our ongoing renovation work and staffing constraints limit our capacity for new volunteers at this time.
Board Membership: We are currently seeking positions on our Board of Directors for active, engaged community members to assist with fundraising, community outreach, volunteer coordination, and animal care.
Fridays on the Farm: This will be one of our main programs for groups of up to 10 special education students, including home schoolers, to visit the farm. Participants enjoy age-appropriate agricultural activities (designed in collaboration with the school or program) ranging from composting activities to planting/gardening, animal care and grooming, interacting with the goats, pig and chickens, and other multi-sensory experiences. Parents, volunteers and/or staff are required in a 1:1 adult to child ratio. To learn more or schedule an opportunity for your organization to visit the farm, please contact Jeremy@dreamcatchermeadows.org or Dr. Rich at 7thGenerationFoundation@gmail.com.
Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture: We host events at the farm for youth development organizations and their participants/clients to participate in hands on agricultural development activities. To learn more or to schedule time for your organization, youth group, or agency to experience biodynamic farming at Dream Catcher Meadows, please contact Jeremy@dreamcatchermeadows.org or Dr. Rich at 7thGenerationFoundation@gmail.com.
Past Events & Programs
FASD/ND-PAE Presentations and Programs: Our Founder and President, Dr. Susan Rich has chaired programs on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and treatment at the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 2009 in Hawaii, 2011 in Toronto, 2014 in San Diego, 2019 in Chicago; at the 2015 American Psychiatric Association annual meeting in Toronto; at the 2015 International Congress on the Law and Mental Health in Vienna, Austria; and at the 2016 World Gene Convention in Shanghai, China. She has given grand rounds at the University of Minnesota; the University of Mannitoba; Georgetown University; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Kentucky; Kaiser Permanente (California). She gives an annual lecture at the George Washington University Department of Psychiatry and The Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychiatry and has lectured at The Child and Parent Resource Institute in London, Ontario; the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, DC; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA; and at the Ministry of Health in Vilnius, Lithuania. Her advocacy efforts assisted with ND-PAE being recognized under ICD-10 Code F88 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published in 2013. She has published widely in the FASD field and is author of a book (www.prenatalalcoholexposure.com) as well as articles, including a recent algorithm on ND-PAE/FASD treatment. Many of her talks can be found on her YouTube Channel about the Silent Epidemic of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyYrUND4b2caRJME7GU7l0A/about
Spring Renewal: Dr. Rich and 7th Generation board member Sarah Schain are hosted a farm wellness event on April 24th, 2021. See more information: lu.ma/kkibd3pp
Saturdays on the Farm: Our primary volunteer-oriented program has brought together neurodiverse and neurotypical residents of Montgomery County and surrounding regions to earn Student Service Learning Hours (SSL), Community Service Learning hours (CSL), or others seeking volunteer experiences. Some of the projects included: building a chicken coop; building structures for the goats; feeding and caring for the animals; clearing brush and invasive species of plants from the property; creating a community garden to produce crops; cleaning and improving animal areas; and making repairs to the original split rail fencing.
Little Earth Keepers - Kinder Gardening: Hands-on gardening sessions with Dr. Rich, open to neurotypical and atypically developing children ages 3-7 and their parents at Dream Catcher Meadows. The program began in May 2019, with a series of 6 weekly 90 minute sessions held on Saturdays. Due to the Pandemic, we have not offered this program during the 2020-21 season.
Introduction to Agrotherapy: Events for parents, therapists, allied health professionals, and special educators to experience hands on agricultural activities designed to improve emotional regulation, attachment, and adaptive functions (i.e., social, vocational and life skills). The first of these meetings on May 18, 2019 included a presentation reviewing the literature for agrotherapy in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e., FASD/ND-PAE, ADHD, ASD, sensory issues), anxiety, depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric conditions.