Roots & Boots

What is a forest adventure program?

A forest adventure program is one that takes place primarily in - you guessed it - the forest. Forest programs are typically child-directed and allow children to develop themselves through taking healthy risks, problem-solving with peers and discovering their strengths. Forest programs believe that dirt is part and parcel of childhood and that children should likely be getting dirty when they are adventuring. Forest programs hold a view of children as competent and able to direct their own learning and development, while also still needing adult guidance regarding social emotional skills and risk management.

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Where is Roots & Boots located?

Roots & Boots takes place at Belle Vie Farm in Chapel Hill, NC. Our farm is about 2 miles from downtown Carrboro. During our program, children and their caregiver spend some time with our farm animals. Most of our morning, however, is spent in the forest playgrounds, mainly Rock Village and Swingtopia. Both forest play areas are surrounded by fencing to ensure the safety of children.

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Is parking available?

Belle Vie Farm has ample parking for families near our barn and forest play areas.

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Are bathrooms available?

We have bathrooms for children and adults available indoors as well as outdoor travel potties for children. We also have indoor and outdoor changing stations for children in diapers.

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What do children do at your forest adventure sessions?

Our space is set up to invite open-ended and child-led play. There are various play "stations" such as a construction zone (giant dump trucks, shovels, etc), an outdoor kitchen with tons of accessories, lots of different sizes of swings, a baby play area, a low-level rope web, outdoor weaving loom, maker space, covered play fort and more. Each session also includes visits with our animals, story and singing time, and maker activities.

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What if my child doesn't want to listen to the story or sing with the teacher?

That is completely fine! We never require children to engage in activities they don't want to do.

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Will you cancel if there is bad weather?

We play in all kinds of weather! However, we also place safety at the forefront of all of our activities. If there is considerable wind, that will prompt us to offer a "rain date" for your session. If there is a driving rain or any kind of lightning, we will also offer a "rain date".

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Can I bring my 12 year old?

We ask that you bring only children up to 5 years old for Roots & Boots sessions. This is because babies and toddlers are little, as you know. We want caregivers to feel relaxed and not worry that their toddler will get run over by an energetic and speeding older child!

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What do caregivers do during the sessions?

Hopefully, you are able to relax, have fun, connect with other caregivers, immerse yourself in the peacefulness of the forest, sit for a bit, have a little snack, play with your child, have a sing-a-long - our hope is that you leave feeling centered, calm and reconnected to nature and connected with your child!

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How long does each session last?

Sessions last for 90-minutes. After your session is over, you are invited to play with your child in Swingtopia for 30 minutes. This will be independent play, and a staff member will not accompany families to Swingtopia. After this time, your session will be finished! If you want more time at the farm, we'd love to have you back!

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What should children and caregivers wear?

Because our time is spent outdoors, it's a great idea to check the weather before your head to the farm. Rain gear is great if the day might include rain. Thankfully, the forest canopy mitigates a good amount of rain, and we can all play happily even on not-so-sunny days. Bug spray and sunscreen are essential (we recommend picaridin for bugs). Close-toed shoes are a must unless you really enjoy the feeling of dirt and sand in your birks! A picnic blanket is also great to have, although we have plenty of adult and child seating in the forest. Sometimes, though, you just want to lie on your back and watch the trees sway in the wind.

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Should we bring anything?

A water bottle and snack are always a good idea. Backpacks are great for caregivers so that you can be hands-free. A picnic blanket if you choose. Bug spray and sunscreen.

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Do you have bugs and poison ivy?

Yes we do! We have some pesky gnats, but not too many mosquitos, thanks to our frogs and dragonflies. We have a lot of other little critters like worms, tons of beetles, some weird things that we don't know the name for and such. Sometimes we have flies around the animal area, but we've gotten pretty good at tamping that problem down. Most likely, you won't see too many flies. We do have red ants - some years they are really bad (2024 has been pretty good!). We keep our walking paths mowed and encourage you to keep an eye out when walking in the meadows. We don't typically have red ants in the forest, but we also never say never.

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Now about poison ivy. Poison ivy is plentiful around Chapel Hill. We pull it, chop it, yell at it sometimes. Much as we abuse it, poison ivy never tires of Belle Vie Farm. We work hard to keep it out of our play areas, but we can't guarantee that you won't see it. Please let us know if you do so we can tag it to snag it later. One solution we have discovered: Dawn dish washing soap. Dawn, as you know, takes grease out of your way. The poison ivy oil can easily be washed off with a good scrubbing of Dawn within 2 hours of contact. That's why we make Dawn available to farm visitors. We scrub down if we even suspect we have come in contact.

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