Service Learning - Edmond's Farm

On Monday, April 8, I took Gwen's advice of getting my service learning project done early so that I did not have to wait until finals week to do it. So on Monday, April 8, I decided to do some work at Edmond's Farm which is past the Seaview Gym by the parking lot in the back. I worked for two hours, doing what ever the instructors were asking of me such as pulling weeds and planting cabbages. I worked with some students from my Marine Biology class and with some students from a Geology class (I think). Gwen was also there helping out and she even took this picture of me planting cabbages.

 Farmer Frog was the organization that managed this activity and their goal is to bring a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty around sustainable living practices and to take advantage of an underutilized space. While on the farm, I got to learn and experience what it was like to be in a green house and to witness all of the beautiful fruit and vegetables that were still growing. In the green house, I pulled any invading weeds and I planted some cabbages out in the garden. 

I actually had a great experience working on the farm. Some may think that pulling weeds is boring and a pain, but I took it as a time get away from all of the school stuff like homework, projects, and exams. I actually found it as a way to meditate and focus at the task that had a good cause. I also enjoyed meeting new people and being part of great cause. After all of the hard work, we were rewarded with homemade muffins, and we were able to pick from the list of vegetables: spinach, lettuce, and cabbages. My experience of working at Edmond's Farm reminded me of the symbiotic relationship two organisms share. This kind of relationship is known as mutualism where both organisms are benefited by the other. In this case, the volunteers had a mutual relationship with the farmers that worked there because the farmers had some work done on the farm and the volunteers were able to take some vegetables and try some delicious homemade muffins. This event was rather fun and relaxing, despite the few times it rained, I learned what it was like to work with my community and grow healthy crop and bring them to urban places that are struggling with getting food. The culinary class is one of the groups that the Edmond's Farm produced food for as well for locals around Edmond. The Edmond's Farm also teaches students the basic ways of agriculture. 

Some questions that came up were:

How do the farmers keep critters out of the garden?

If no pesticides are being used, how do they keep bugs from eating the fruit or vegetables?

What is the proper way of managing a green house?

What is the biggest issue farmers are dealing with today?