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Article:

A View from the Barn
by Jessica Green

Not everyone wants or should be a farmer. Yet why is it that I was taught about certain careers and not farming or how to grow my own food? In the past the children would learn about it through their family’s garden or the knowledge of other community members. Today, most of the older generations are made up of people who fled the hard life they had, having no choice but to grow their own food. The knowledge and stories aren’t passed down anymore and we have no memory of farming. Maybe this stark void hit a nerve in many of my fellow peers about the same time and sent many of us searching out how to re-learn all of those ancient memories.

Last year I taught at-risk youth sustainable agriculture and ecological design. We mixed together building a garden with a curriculum that crossed all subjects. Although this was “school,” really it was a prescription for healing. Life had been pretty tough for many of them. They hadn’t gotten what they needed somehow and had become dangerous to both them and the community. But for me they were some of the sweetest, funniest, smartest, and most creative people I’ve met. Out in the garden something happened with them. They let the weight of the town and past go and were able to be happy. Their faces would have new light and expressions. Their voices would loose the edge. They would want to sweat and create something.

Seeing the way these kids changed made me wish that they could live and work on a farm. Just one season could change their life forever. It is an option for a life style that I wish all kids knew. Working with the earth can give a feeling of connection and responsibility. If California can be true to its goal of a garden in every school the consciousness of the children will be changed. Just like my co-apprentices, an education of farming can be used in a life that helps sustainability prosper. And I know that my time here at Horton Road will undoubtedly reach me closer to my dream of living sustainably.

*Jessica was an Americorps volunteer in Santa Cruz last year after graduating from Pitzer college. We were impressed at how she thoroughly researched every available apprenticeship before settling on Horton Road. Jessica completely dives into her work and continually invents new ways of doing things. We are fortunate to have her. She looks forward to meeting ya'll at the farmers market.