My Real Life

Last week, I had to go to a meeting in a different school building.

I’ve been in and out of this building a million times before, and I usually park on the side of the building and go in the front door.

This day, I carpooled with the other two Vice-Principals, and one of them needed to talk to someone about something after the meeting, so the other turned to me and said, “You want to go out back and see the farm?”

I had known there was a farm behind the school since it had been planted, but I had never actually been there.

We walked out back and I was stopped in my tracks.

It’s beautiful.

We went back and talked to Farmer Shaun, who is in charge of the entire project, in conjunction with Grow it Green, and as we stood, talking to him in the sunlight, with a gentle breeze and the sound of the sprinkler softly watering the crops, I couldn’t help but think that this guy got it right.

What a way to spend your days.

The project puts students, townspeople, Girl Scouts, and so on, to work.

They learn about farming, get their hands dirty, and grow a ton of crops.

The majority of the crops are donated to the local soup kitchen.  Others are sold at a low cost to low-income townspeople, and some go to the high school to be used in the school lunches.

It’s amazing.

It has recently doubled in size due to donations, which include a chicken coop.

We are going to start our own, small patch of farm at our school, and I am so excited about the process.

To walk through those crops and see them growing and know that the food is being put to such good use, and that kids are learning about sustainability…I just love it.

If you are local, you should definitely head on over and check out the Urban Farm, if you haven’t already done so.

And if you aren’t local, you should talk to your town about doing the same.