By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish’s roots lie in farming and agriculture, but with the growth of industry and the continued influx of residents from parishes to the east, many in the parish have lost touch with the region’s humble beginnings.

Russell Roy and his wife, Jolene, have made it a personal mission to reacquaint children in Louisiana with this disappearing way of life. They do this through their traveling agriculture show, the Red Barn Farm Tour.

The idea for the Red Barn Farm Tour happened almost by accident.

Mr. Roy was in the process of cultivating the largest organic vegetable farm in North America — a feat he had been told was impossible — when Hurricane Katrina struck, wiping out the farm and his years of hard work.

Left with a vacant trailer and no plans for the future, the Roys set about creating what would become the Red Barn Farm Tour.

“It’s a wild, heartbreaking story, but here we are today,” said Mr. Roy.

So, for the past few years the Roys have journeyed to schools across the state with their traveling menagerie of animals to educate children about the varied and sometimes unexpected aspects of life on a farm.

“We try to build on the science and education of it each year,” he said.

This year he added an exhibit showing the different stages of development of a chicken embryo inside an egg.

The Roys also have a way of sneaking life lessons into the fun-filled class period.

During a recent visit to Lake Pontchartrain Elementary School in LaPlace, Mr. Roy, while discussing the different varieties of eggs, told the children, “These eggs are like our skin … on the inside we’re all the same.”

The Roys explained the tour has other benefits, too.

One might not think allowing young children to handle even younger animals would be a good idea, but as Mrs. Roy said, “These kids love this. It has a calming effect on the kids.”

Also, because the tour comes to the individual schools, the children get to enjoy a fun, hand-on experience without ever having to leave school grounds. This is especially notable in this time of budget cuts and escalating fuel prices.

Despite loftier academic goals of the Red Barn Farm Tour, the Roys assert a desire to reach out to the children as the main motivational factor.

“It’s our heart and our life,” said Mr. Roy, adding, “It’s a life-changing event for these kids.”