At the heart of 350 acres of fertile land, just southeast of Thessaloniki, is the American Farm School (AFS) with one of the loveliest campuses you could hope to find anywhere. The school is a working farm – nearly a third of the total acreage is teeming with agricultural abundance, including olive groves, vineyards, field crops, orchards, gardens and greenhouses.

Contented hens roost in an immaculate coop, and the hatchery next door is a delight (a favorite with the many schoolchildren who visit the farm each year). Nearby, a gorgeous dairy herd of purebred Holsteins grazes in a lush pasture. It’s literally a land of milk and honey – there’s even an apiary (and a snail farm).

And it’s also a land of wine – Greek varieties such as Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko and Mavrodaphne are cultivated alongside international varieties like Syrah and Grenache Rouge in the vineyard (a gift from prominent former wine producer Yiannis Boutaris, now Thessaloniki’s mayor). At the Perrotis College Krinos Olive Center, innovative olive-planting systems are evaluated, olive oil is extracted, stored, processed and analyzed, and students learn how to taste olives and olive oils and assess their quality.

This working farm provides experiential, hands-on learning. The dairy produces milk (AFS introduced Greece’s first pasteurized milk in 1935), yogurt and butter, and just a few months ago students began producing a semi-hard cheese.

The hens, fed on a diet of flax seed, lay omega-3 eggs (these were another first in Greece – celebrating their 20th anniversary this year). The milk and eggs are popular items available at select supermarkets in Thessaloniki and Athens. At the winery, students make a delicious Xinomavro, from the grape variety originating in the Peloponnese. They also produce retsina, the traditional resinated wine, in both white and rosé, plus a small amount of sweet wine from sun-dried grapes. Fragrant tsipouro (a strong spirit) is distilled from the grape marc.

The school’s own hard durum wheat, milk from the Holsteins, and those omega-3 eggs are combined to create traditional Greek pastas. Students also raise limited quantities of broilers and seasonal turkeys fed on flax seed and aromatic plants (the turkeys are prized centerpieces of many an expatriate Thanksgiving table), some legumes, rice, winter and summer vegetables, oil, honey, and even aromatics and fresh flowers. 

The majority of AFS High School and Perrotis College students call the farm home. The products from the farm and from the trials they’re running (they’re always working on something new) supply the school dining hall that serves both residential and day students. The campus store sells the farm’s own products and its seasonal produce. Proceeds from the store support the school’s founding mission by helping to fund scholarships. Perrotis College students run the store, giving them hands-on experience in management and in retail.

A significant phase for the school was the tenure of Bruce Lansdale, an American philhellene, engineer and teacher who led the school for nearly 35 years, beginning in 1955. This period saw the expansion of the school’s mission to the greater community. AFS began offering technical advice and short courses for local farmers, as well as “training for trainers” programs for international groups. 

Dr. Panos Kanellis, the first Greek president of the AFS and Perrotis College, was appointed in 2010. This was a turning point for the institution, as he saw its potential through a new perspective – one that revived the school. A native of Thessaloniki and graduate of Anatolia College, he earned a PhD in Bio-Organic Chemistry in the United States. After years of teaching and research, he returned to Greece, holding managerial positions in the private sector before taking up the twin roles of Executive Vice President and COO at his alma mater Anatolia, where he worked until 2009.

At the high school, the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics) core curriculum provides a solid academic foundation for future studies. The AFS has an extensive recruitment program, visiting schools and communities all over Greece, and offers scholarships and financial aid packages. High school students participate in summer internships at affiliated universities in the US, and many of the students go on to US colleges, the immersive education and the experience of on-campus living giving them the maturity to make the most of their continued education.

The opportunity for study abroad benefits their families and their communities: they go on to take their family farms and agribusinesses to the next level, become entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector or professors of agriculture, educating the next generation.

The school’s mission leads to inspiring cooperative efforts. In collaboration with Rutgers University and the Agricultural University of Athens, AFS is participating in “New Agriculture for a New Generation,” a project funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation as part of the Foundation’s “Recharging the Youth” initiative.

“Education Unites: from Camp to Campus” is another collaborative effort that includes the United States Embassy, Perrotis College, AFS, the American College of Thessaloniki, Anatolia College and Deree – the American College of Greece. This initiative will provide scholarships for higher education to 100 refuges in Athens and another 100 refugees in Thessaloniki.

At the heart of all this stand the school’s founding values: supporting humanity and making Greece and its neighboring countries better places. Dr. Vergos sums up the spirit of the place: “Agriculture is culture. It’s not just technocratic; instead, it’s intrinsically related to human values – zeal, discipline and ethos.”