Guest Post: Cornerstones of EarthDance
By Emani Clay, Pershing Fellow at EarthDance
Emani Clay, a member of the 2026 Pershing Fellowship in Non-Profit Leadership (Pershing Fellowship), a paid summer internship program in St. Louis, is joining EarthDance this summer to deepen her understanding of community outreach, food justice, nonprofit storytelling and youth engagement. Here, she shares what she has learned thus far about the cornerstones of EarthDance.
EarthDance is an organic teaching farm that diligently works to serve the members of their community. During COVID-19, EarthDance developed the Pay What You Can Farm Stand, a farm stand where you are encouraged to pay a price for produce that works for you. As an intern, I was honored to be tasked with teaching kids at a summer camp about this unique and much-needed payment model. I opened with the question, “Whose parents have been complaining about rising prices? It did not matter if the kids were 5 or 15, each of the kids distinctly remembered what their parents had been complaining about. Most of the kids were like, “My parents complained about food and gas.” The lesson went extremely well, and it was interesting to listen to the kids’ perspective on rising grocery prices.
The following week, the summer camp kids came to the Pay What You Can Farm Stand to purchase some produce. The Pay What You Can payment model is also available at the local Ferguson Farmer’s Market. It was very rewarding to see the spark come to their eyes when I told them they could pay whatever they wanted. Some of them almost did not believe me! Some kids paid the full price, some paid more, some paid less, and a lot paid nothing at all. Regardless of the amount they paid, it felt good that they all got to go home with something. Whether you need to pay less or have the financial means to pay more, all are welcome and appreciated. The Pay What You Can farm stands meets people where they are at.
A key cornerstone of EarthDance is organic farming. Organic farming is farming without the use of synthetic man- made chemicals like pesticides and herbicides or synthetic fertilizers and additives. EarthDance uses natural remedies and methods to combat pests. EarthDance takes organic farming very seriously by honoring the methods Native tribes used, like not tilling the soil. After every harvest shift, EarthDance lets its staff and volunteers take home a share of the harvest. As a participant, it felt satisfying to taste what I had harvested. I bit into a carrot and tasted how rich, crunchy, and flavorful it was. I definitely tasted a difference. EarthDance knows that healthy soil equals healthy food, because that is where it all begins.
Pollinator health is another cornerstone that is highly valued at EarthDance. The farm grows nectar-rich flowers to attract pollinators. During my farm tour, I noticed the sheer diversity and number of flowers. I witnessed the vibrant bright orange Mexican sunflowers to the cool-toned, calming pinkish purple of the echinacea. Walking through the gardens and witnessing flowers is therapeutic. In addition, they also grow native plant species to attract native pollinators, because they are more efficient pollinators than honey bees. Native bee species like carpenter bees, bumble bees, and leafcutter bees thrive on the farm.
The last key cornerstone of EarthDance is biodiversity. Biodiversity is the diversity of different species in an ecosystem. EarthDance promotes biodiversity by growing over one hundred varieties of crops. While participating in the harvest shifts, I get the pleasure of witnessing this in person. Not just the diversity in crops, but the diversity of volunteers. They’re small children all the way up to elderly adults volunteering, showcasing that you are never too old or too young to enjoy gardening. This crop diversity attracts other types of biodiversity like insects, birds, and small mammals. Cover crops and wild plants also prosper on the farm, allowing for the native plants, soil, and insects to thrive.