Visit / Contact Us
By mail:
The Good Life Center
372 Harborside Road
Harborside, Maine, 04642 USA
Telephone: (207) 326-8211
Email: information[at]goodlife[dot]org
Visiting
Forest Farm is open to visitors year-round. Tour the Nearings’ organic gardens and their last hand-built stone home, purchase Nearing books, or attend a seasonal program.
Suggested admission is $5; since we are not endowed, we rely solely on donations and book sales to support our work.
Location:
The Good Life Center
372 Harborside Road
(on Cape Rosier in Brooksville)
Harborside, Maine, 04642 USA
–click here for driving directions–
2009 Hours:
June 21st - September 7th
Open Thursday - Monday: 1-4 pm
(closed Tuesday and Wednesday)
**We are willing to work with you and/or your group to schedule visits at other times. Please call us at (207) 326-8211 or 374-5386.
We Also Welcome Schools and Groups!
Along with the visitors who come for a tour and to enjoy the scenery, we welcome groups who come to learn and to be of service. Though it takes some extra planning by the Resident Stewards, the effort is well worth it.
The Nearing homesteads have always been places where people come to learn. Helen and Scott had a long history as teachers, both formally and informally. In their lifetimes thousands of visitors, many of them young people, arrived at their doorstep in order to hear about their philosophy, learn practical homesteading skills, and gain inspiration. The Schools Program at The Good Life Center has been created to keep the Nearing spirit alive, inspiring each coming generation and exposing students to an alternative worldview and way of life.
The Nearings represent a unique and timely piece of Maine history that is not often taught. However, in our unsustainable and violent society, Helen and Scott’s principles of simple and purposeful living remain as crucial as ever. At The Good Life Center we continue to attempt to live a lifestyle in harmony with the earth and with a strong commitment to social justice. Like the Nearings, we find value and meaning in good hard work and love to share its rewards.
The program is designed for high school and college students, but we are willing to work with teachers or facilitators of younger groups. We invite groups for a day, or even an overnight to truly experience life on the homestead. (We usually begin with an introduction to the Nearing¹s philosophy and lives, tour the gardens and house, show an optional film, and have a work party.) The Nearings understood that learning happens by doing. Jobs are seasonal but include gardening, weeding, compost making, seaweed collection, wood stacking, etc. This is an incredible opportunity for young people to experience another way of living, that is often not presented as an option to them. It always inspires much self reflection and good discussion.
Usually, the group- college, camp, or Outward Bound- will arrive early in the day and have a talk and a tour with the Resident Stewards. Lunch is followed by service work around the homestead. Its always amazing how a crew of people working for the fun of it can get so much done. One Outward Bound group stacked the year’s wood! Another OB group cleared a spot for some hazelnut trees, then stayed the evening for a Monday Night Meeting with artist Robert Shetterly. Groups from Colby, Bowdoin, College of the Atlantic, The Chewonki Institute and Hidden Valley Camp have all come and helped out with weeding, mowing, and clearing out around the yurts, among other projects.
Of course, the Resident Stewards are grateful for all the work that gets done! But they also get a lot out of being around so many enthusiastic and interested young people. And the campers, sailors and college students are able to become part of Forest Farm by giving of their labor. We hope that they will take a little of the spirit of the place and the people who built it out in to the world.