В Рутланде магазин Garland's Agway переходит новым владельцам, которые открывают лесную школу

Rutland supply store changes hands, forest school coming to property RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) - A longtime Rutland supply store is changing hands, and the new owners are bringing a nature-based early childhood education program with them. Garland’s Agway has been a fixture on Park Street for decades, but change is on its way. “Well, it’s been my whole life. I’m not sure what the heck I’m going to do now,” said owner Paul Garland of Wallingford. Garland took over the store in 1984. “That we’ve survived through good times and bad. It’s a kind of business that doesn’t suffer terribly during recessions and we’ve certainly had them,” he said. Now he is passing the torch. Two longtime employees and Rutland local Claire Purcell are taking over. Purcell is also setting up shop at the Vermont Achievement Center with the new Fox Hollow Forest School, a nature-based approach to early education. “When you think about the forest school being nature-based, and then a garden center-- a lot of garden centers these days-- and it’s what in our hearts for this place. It’s a destination,” Purcell said. Purcell says the store isn’t changing a thing, but extra buildings around it could be used to expand the school in coming years. Now, the school is using parts of Garland’s 3 acres to give children new woodlands to explore, with play areas and walking trails, all in the middle of a city. “It’s harder to find in a city, so the fact that we can bring that to, you know, people and families that are living in the city, the kids will get an opportunity to have better emotional regulation,” Purcell said. While the store remains the same, the new school nearby opens Sept. 1. Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.