Meet Our Farmers

Farm Manager Mike Tholen

Mike grew up in New Jersey and attended Rowan University, where he earned a BA in art and elementary education. He spent nine years working in both public and private schools, as well as environmental education centers. Mike began farming at Frost Valley YMCA in the late '90's in the Catskill Mountains, where he raised pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, cows, and a large organic vegetable garden. Mike also managed an organic farm in Colorado and the Linden Hill School farm in Massachusetts. He came to NCS in 2004, as a Level I teacher. 

As the farm manager, Mike is in charge of the vegetable and flower gardens, diversified livestock operation, maple sugaring, and composting facility.  He does everything from the daily barn chores and routine maintenance on the farm to leading large work crews of students and campers at the barn and in the garden. Mike is also an avid skier, climber, and outdoor enthusiast, and when he isn't farming, he can still be found leading hard core weekend trips with children.  

Farm Educator/ Riding Director Kat Tholen

Kat began working at farms when she was 11, cleaning stalls, feeding, and exercising horses. She attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in order to work on the school farm, then went on to Hampshire College so she could continue farming. Kat holds a bachelor's degree with a concentration in agriculture and experiential education from Hampshire and a master’s of elementary education from Antioch University New England. Kat has worked on farms in Vermont, Maine, Georgia, Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York, and has done everything from driving draft horses to making hay to producing veggies for CSAs. 

At NCS/Treetops, Kat has been a riding director and counselor, garden intern, farm manager, and Level I teacher. Now Kat’s focus is on collaborating with teachers to make the farm an accessible educational tool to enhance their existing curriculum. She also teaches riding, networks with other farm schools, seeks publicity for this amazing farm program, and does all the “behind the scenes” farm work. She also spends her days with daughters, Ada and Maeve, two avid young farm girls.

Farm Intern Laura Bill

Laura started her year-round farm internship in September. Originally from Binghamton, NY, she came to NCS/Treetops after teaching environmental education at Frost Valley YMCA and the Berkshire Outdoor Center. Laura has a degree in art education from Millersville University in Lancaster, PA. Previously, Laura also spent a month on a Lakota Sioux Native American reservation in South Dakota doing service work with high school students, taught English for a year in Florence, Italy, and substitute-taught art and English.

Laura had never worked on a farm before coming here and is excited to learn every aspect of farming. During her internship, Laura is educating herself about wool crafts, including needle and wet felting, spinning, and dyeing wool. She attended a drop spindle workshop at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival last fall. She helped lead the adult wool workshops this winter, assisted the art teacher with a wool handcrafts elective art class, and is presently creating large animal murals with children for the barnyard. Laura hopes to continue teaching art and someday have a flock of chickens and some sheep to support her wool crafts habit.