Each spring, Liberty Prairie Farm becomes a hub of learning, leadership, and community connection through its annual plant sale and festival.
The Spring Plant Sale, led by Grayslake North CTE teacher and Farm Director Jeff Miller and his team, brings together students, families, and community members for a day that blends agriculture, education, and celebration.
Reestablished three years ago through a renewed school partnership, the event now engages over 200 students, teachers, and administrative volunteers from District 127.
“This is more than selling plants,” Jeff Miller said. “It’s about building connections and giving students ownership.”
From late February through April, volunteers assist with:
Seeding and plant preparation
Watering and greenhouse organization
Inventory tracking
Event setup and logistics
On sale day, volunteers work in shifts managing checkout, restocking inventory, and assisting families.
Proceeds from the sale support both school programs and the Liberty Prairie Farm organization, helping fund student experiences, maintain farm grounds, and expand learning resources. The plant sale has evolved into a full community event featuring:
Activities for children
Wagon rides around the farm
Sheep shearing demonstrations
Native plants
Food trucks
Student art and performances
Classes and student groups across disciplines, including culinary, modified biology, English, band, entrepreneurship, and more, are involved in the event's success.
Liberty Prairie operates as a full commercial farm. Students witness professional agricultural practices, business operations, and production cycles firsthand.
There’s nothing quite like spring in the Midwest, waking up from winter into something warm, sunny, and alive. On the farm, you feel that more than anywhere. Students find something rare here: a place that’s peaceful and buzzing with life, where they can disconnect from everything else and connect to something real. What happens here doesn’t stay here. It goes home with them, into their families and into the kind of community we’re all trying to build together,” said Jen Miller, managing director of Liberty Prairie Farm.
This partnership offers something rare: exposure to both the educational and commercial sides of agriculture. Students see what it means to work on a professional farm team while connecting their experience to coursework and career pathways.
“It gives students a realistic sense of responsibility,” Jeff Miller said. “They’re not just practicing, they’re participating.”
As D127 continues to strengthen community connections and celebrate authentic learning experiences, programs like these demonstrate what’s possible when education and community work hand in hand.
Join us at Liberty Prairie Farm on Saturday, May 9th, from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm, for the Spring Plant Sale and Festival. Come shop for plants, enjoy family-friendly activities, and see firsthand how D127 students and Liberty Prairie Farm keep learning through real, authentic, engaging partnerships and hands-on learning.