The Work of Many Hands
A group of high school students from Medford High along with two teachers visited the farm on Friday last week. The kids had to choose a project to work on for their required community service credits. Twenty students decided to come to our farm to work for two hours. Some chose farm work last year and knew what they were in for, but some were perhaps caught off-guard with the tasks assigned to them during their visit.
Spaghetti Winter Squash
Rutabaga
Daikon Radishes
Orange Carrots
Mixed Onions
Peppers
Bok Choy
Lettuce
Scallions
Peas (larges)
Cherry Tomatoes (larges)
Thankfully, we had Linda and Roxanne on hand to help oversee the youth who were split into a number of groups. Eric had some of the kids digging and topping carrots, others were taking down old trellising, pulling vines and rolling up huge sheets of landscape fabric, harvesting tomatoes, removing vines and infrastructure from the high tunnel, and when all of that was done we all pulled plastic sheeting from the onion rows. Needless to say, we got a lot of work done in a short amount of time with that many hands moving at once.
We owe thanks to the teacher in charge of this project who happens to be a CSA member. As we conversed throughout the morning, she commented on how much the kids learn about the work it takes to grow food and farm in general. There was dirt, heavy lifting, mud and heat! Some of the kids grew tired quickly, for others the manual labor was second nature. We knew little of each one’s background but forced small talk as we got on with our day. Little did the students realize the learning experience they were taking part in.
Before the group loaded back onto the bus, we sat down for a water break while our staff began to wash carrots. Everyone had the chance to snack on the fresh veggies. We even sent a bag of baby carrots along for the ride home. Hopefully a few found the flavor to be incomparable to store bought like we do. Making an impression on these kids is an important part finding future food enthusiasts. Seeing first-hand that small farms can be a thriving business and an integral part of a community is an equally powerful lesson.
Growing for you,
