The seventh graders visited Grateful Growers Farm, a 10-acre organic farm in Denver, NC run by Natalie Veres. The students learned how nutrients from manure and compost are used to feed the soil in her vegetable gardens. They picked up advice on how to create great compost, how to grow crops that will add nitrogen to the soil, and how to protect the soil from erosion and other adverse effects of the weather. Natalie also introduced the 7th graders to her egg-laying hens, her broiler hens, her hogs, and Sally May, her livestock guardian dog. When the 7th graders return to science class, they will finish preparing the soil of their gardens and begin planting fall vegetables.