School Tours & Special Events NEW: Expanded school tour education activities page
UMass Cold Spring Orchard Location and Orchard Store Hours Fruit Varieties School Tours and Special Events Integrated Pest Management Research and Extension Staff and Contact Information Dept. Plant, Soil, & Insect Sciences			School and Group Tours The University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard is a "working farm." During the fall, the farm crew is harvesting the fruit they cared for all year. Visitors may see workers picking the fruit, tractors bringing it to the storage area, and many other types of farming equipment and activities. Perhaps you will see red spheres hanging from trees, cone-shaped insect traps, or a "scary eyeball" used to frighten away birds. These are just a few techniques that farmers use to decrease fruit damage.
	Amidst all these exciting activities, we encourage schools or community groups to come for a visit. All tours are tailored to the age and interest of the group. A variety of educational themes are available. Farming, Fruit Harvesting & Storage Techniques, Integrated Pest Management, or "Good Bugs/Bad Bugs" for the younger children are examples of our offerings.
			Tours are given from the first week of September through the second week in October. We prefer to have a minimum of 15 people per reservation, however, smaller groups may be combined. Tour reservations should be made early; our schedule fills up quickly when the school year begins!
	Please call the UMass Cold Spring Orchard at (413) 323-6647 to leave your name, phone number, number of people in group, and the desired date.
	Video excerpt from a 2001 school tour.(QuickTime required)