November Note from the Founder: “What’s a Harvest?”

Fall JFC Flower Harvest

Fall Junior Farm Crew Member After a Successful Flower Harvest

 

Last summer we embarked upon a new program here at EarthDance: our Junior Farm Crew (JFC). In an effort to meet the community demand for more meaningful job opportunities for youth, we were thrilled to put together the resources to offer not only farm-based work experience and exposure to fresh vegetables many teenagers have never even heard of, but also: paychecks. This summer we had another incredible group of JFC members, and we are pleased to announce that we are in the midst of our first ever FALL session of Junior Farm Crew. Led by our intrepid Youth Programs Specialist (and Farm Chef!) Erica Cunningham, Michael, Sean, Jayda, Cameron, and Christopher take on a myriad of farm tasks after school and on Saturday mornings: from tending the flock of 40 laying hens to harvesting radishes and turnips to readying the greenhouse for our Farm to Yoga workshop.

While developing the hard skills of growing food, the JFC members also work on ‘soft skills’ (or what I might call ‘harder skills’). This includes working on interacting effectively and harmoniously with other people, including giving and receiving constructive feedback, and communicating in front of groups.

On a recent afternoon we discussed some “do’s” and “don’ts” of public speaking, one being to refrain from using terminology or acronyms that everyone isn’t familiar with. We brainstormed some examples of our farm lingo: JFC (Junior Farm Crew), North 1 (a certain section of the North field), and Yang Ming (a shipping container we use as a storage shed). Then Sean said “Harvest.”

“Well harvest is something we refer to on the farm, but it’s a word that people are generally familiar with already, right?” I responded.

“No, I told some of my friends what we do here on the farm, and they didn’t know what a harvest was.”
Sean went on to tell us about the conversation he had with his friends (who are seniors in high school) about what his after-school job entailed, and their varied responses. But yes, many of them were unfamiliar with the term ‘harvest.’

Working on an abundantly productive organic farm, the ‘harvest’ is something I take for granted. It’s conversations like this one that pop that bubble and bring me right back to the reality of how far many of us are from the source of our nourishment. We eat without knowing what it’s called when you take something from the
field. I’m so grateful that Sean was able to have that conversation with his peers and teach them something about farming, simply by letting them know what kind of work happens on a farm. And I’m also grateful that we have regular conversations like this one with our Junior Farm Crew, to help us better understand the gap that exists. Every day we are realizing how deeply needed this re-connection to the land and our food source is.