Educational farms

The farm is located in the municipality of Charvensod, on a promontory that looks down onto the city of Aosta and offers views out over the surrounding mountains.
His own extremely positive experience of allowing his children to help with the everyday work on the farm prompted Fabio to offer a similar opportunity to other children. Following the example of an adult engaged in common-sense activities, children have the opportunity to learn about the age-old connection with the land, tuning back into the natural rhythm of nature through manual work, as well as contact with natural materials and with animals.
The farm is surrounded by fields, woodland and vineyards.
The main activity is cattle rearing, and the farm also has a vegetable and flower garden, orchard and walnut trees.

Educational activities
A day with the farmer to observe how jobs on the farm vary from season to season:

• sowing crops and the pace of growth of flowers and vegetables;
• taking care of the animals indoors;
• out in the pastures with the farmer;
• preparing the meadows in the spring;
• gathering and baling hay in the summer.

A journey through nature: the chance to discover our body on the move with the numerous routes around the farm during the various seasons.
A number of activities take place in the barn, in the hayshed or in the farmer’s home, but most are outdoor activities, sometimes involving the animals.

How to reach the farm
In the Turin-Aosta direction, take the “Aosta Est” motorway exit and follow the indications for Pila. When you reach the village of Charvensod, take the first road on the right that climbs up to the centre of the village. At the top of the climb, turn right again and go along the road for about 400 metres until you reach the private road that leads to the farm.

NaturaLys is a family-run mountain farm specialised in bee-keeping and growing fruits and vegetables, situated in Gaby in the Lys Valley.
Acacia, chestnut, rhododendron and mixed mountain flower honeys are produced and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, courgettes, cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, French beans, lettuces, etc.) and small fruits (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, currants and blackberries) are grown. In the summer, these are sold fresh in the shop and or transformed into jams, juices and other delicacies produced without using additives, preservatives, or colourings in farm workroom. Naturalys is also a holiday farm where you can taste sweet or salty snacks prepared daily with the extra-fresh raw material from the farm.

The spacious outdoor area is equipped with a wooden playhouse for the children, which contains a wooden toy kitchen and all what children need to play.
Vegetable gardens, fields of potatoes and small fruit patches surround the farm, which is entirely flat ground, and can easily be visited.
Inside there is a television room to project videos and photos, and a guest bathroom.

Visit to the farm with product tasting

The farm owners love to tell people about their work, especially those who live in the city and want to get to know the life of mountain farmers and the fascinating world of honey and the life of bees.
Cost of the visit + tasting per person: 16 € adults, 10 € children 4-12 years, free for children under 3 years.
Number of visitors required for the visit: min. 8 paying visitors.
Duration of the visit : about 1 ½ hours.

Educational workshops

Workshops are organised for schools and summer centres, tailored to the needs, interest and age of the children.

How to get there

Exit the Torino-Aosta motorway at Pont-Saint-Martin; follow signs to Gressoney for around 15 km. The farm has a large car park; it is also possible to park in an unattended, public car park situated a few metres from the farm. A few metres from the farm there is a bus stop of the Pont-Saint-Martin / Gressoney line managed by V.I.T.A. 

The farm breeds around 90 cattle in the stables, including steers and calves, most of which are dappled black and chestnut cow breeds, the nèyre and the dappled red breed. Each cow has a name, a cowbell, horns and above all its own character…! This farming familt has been preserving its tradition for over 50 years.
On the farm you can also visit the henhouse and rabbit hutch. The orchard and vegetable garden next to the farmhouse produce fruit (pears, apples, peaches, figs, kiwis…) and vegetables (courgettes, carrots, lettuce, green beans…) used in the farm's menu. Ileana, the person in charge of the farm visits, together with Barbara, Michel, Didier and the whole family, try to show children and adults the passion with which they carry out their work by giving their guests the opportunity to know something more about the agricultural reality they experience every day.

Activities

You can choose between a half-day or a full day. For school educational visits, in addition to lunch at the farm restaurant, you can also use the indoor hall or the meadow for a packed lunch.

Educational farm prices:

• Half day: 10 €
• Full day with packed lunch: 15 €
• Full day with lunch at the farm: 20/25 €

Educational farm activities are run exclusively for groups of children.  

In July and August, activities and workshops are also offered to discover the farm, visit the farm website to find out more.

How to get there

From the SS 26 state highway, follow the signs to Pollein-Pila. At about 1 Km from the centre of Pollein, the agritourism farm, a peach coloured building, is on the right, just after the petrol station. The company is easily reachable by private coach (parking adjacent to the farm), and by bus (Saint-Benin bus stop).

The Ambiente Grumei beekeeping farm is located in the municipality of Verrayes, in the Cherolinaz hamlet (just 4 km from the valley floor) at 800 metres above sea level and dominates the central valley at its widest point; in front of it are snow-capped mountains of 3,500 m and in the distance the first glaciers of the upper valley.

Entirely organically run, operational since '91, it is multifunctional: in addition to the prevalent beekeeping activity, it also practices fruit growing and horticulture, thus completing the entire supply chain, from production to processing up to the direct sale of products both at the point of sale and at the main trade fairs in the Aosta Valley.

It is also an educational and social farm and collaborates with professional guides offering nature-hiking activities throughout the Aosta Valley.

All products can be purchased at the company shop (we recommend giving advance notice by calling the numbers listed in the "Contacts" section).

The visit

• Farm visits for families or small groups: either short (about 45 minutes) or long (about 90-120 minutes)
• Farm visits for larger groups or schools: half a day or full day (with personalized programs to be agreed)
• Paid visits: discounts for children or organized groups
• Languages spoken: french, english, spanish

The apiary of well-being, an immersive experience:  give yourself a moment of absolute relaxation inside a large and comfortable hut: observe the bees in safety and appreciate their beneficial scents based on propolis, honey, wax with the pleasant background of their buzzing.

Honey tasting and visit to the honey extraction and transformation laboratories.

It is also possible to visit the orchards, vegetable gardens, and aromatic plant cultivations.

Possibility of having a packed lunch or tasting company products in equipped outdoor spaces.

Games and recognition of birds and flowers are organized for younger visitors.

Also proposed are excursions with a nature-hiking guide suitable for all age groups and throughout the region. Snow excursions with snowshoes in the winter. In the area, excursions along the "ru", ancient irrigation channels between larch and Scots pine forests, are worth mentioning. In May, the mid-mountain moors turn pink: it is the flowering of wild thyme.

Period of activity: from March to October for both structured groups (school or otherwise) and for families and/or tourists

Reception capacity: for structured groups (min 10 max 25)

How to get there

Traveling on the A5 motorway, exit at the Châtillon - Saint-Vincent toll booth and take the S.S. 26, following it for 8 km in the direction of Aosta until the Champagne di Verrayes roundabout. Turn right onto the regional road 42 (signposted Verrayes - Colle San Pantaleone) and go up to the 4th Km, where you will find the car park and a wooden sign indicating the hamlet of Cherolinaz.