Community Garden Scholar

I'll be posting more gardening and homesteading pieces in the coming days, since working from home has taken on many layers of meaning. Today I built a hugelkultur bed.  The top layer here is leaves, grass, and cardboard that I'd already let my chickens play and scratch in before raking up. Underneath is a layer of semi-rotted woody debris. The woody layer lends height and spaces for oxygen, helps with water retention, and provides a mix of soil microorganisms to support the decomposition process. The shredded leaves, grass, and cardboard mainly provide carbon as they break down. To these I added a thin layer of bedding from the last time we cleaned out the chicken coop. The chicken manure adds nitrogen. Here the bedding has been spread over the leaf layer. The right mix of carbon and nitrogen will help everything to break down, creating compost right in place where it will be available to the plants. I'll keep adding layers of carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich ...

I know none of us is alone in finding work that's challenging in "normal" times becomes next to impossible in strenuous circumstances. While I'm admittedly thankful not to be commuting 12+ hours/week, that time savings has been offset by the conversion of class plans to the online learning environment, managing around a household whose social supports and routines have been disrupted, and preparing our homestead for growing more food. Perhaps the biggest impediment has been the impact of stress on our collective ability to focus. I'm concerned for folks who are vulnerable - financially, mentally, and physically. Yet, I've also been taking the opportunities afforded by the situation to reflect, take stock of what's important and what's at risk, practice gratitude for what's been taken for granted, and develop new structures and routines. I am adapting my approaches to teaching and community work. For example, I've changed a two-week challenge ...

Sharing this piece from the  Community Alliance for Global Justice's Food Justice Project listserv.  Through political action and anti-oppressive organizing and community-building, CAGJ's Food Justice Project seeks to challenge and transform the globalized, industrial, corporate-driven food system and promote existing alternatives as we join the global struggle for food sovereignty for all! http://wwww.seattleglobaljustice.org/food-justice There will be a mass video conference call on Coronavirus, food sovereignty, and higher education this Thursday at 8pm Eastern Time.  Sign up here! Dear Community, COVID-19 has reminded us that our society and our communities are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us, and the systems we have to care for one another. The risk is high for everyone and it is especially high for those who are older and those with weak immune systems. It is also very high for those who can’t social distance - people in prisons, de...

As an environmental educator with a special focus on food systems, adapting my graduate and undergraduate courses to fully online delivery has become an urgent need. Email communications from the three institutions I work with have about tripled in the last few weeks as both the needs and creative potential of students and faculty emerge and policies seem to change daily. Managing the homestead has come a completely new game with two teenagers at home full-time. That part hasn't bad - we're getting a ton of spring yard work done, and they self-manage their schoolwork for 3-4 hours/day. It just takes a whole lot of executive functioning to create routines and structures that are conducive to both productivity and health. Keeping perspective. We are healthy, and we're privileged to have a safe home, reliable wi-fi connection, and food. Speaking of food, the situation is opening a whole new dimension of awareness for my students, family, and professional communities about ...

I'm doubling my garden this year. I have 720 cells (15 trays) of seedlings in prep. I'm selling five 8-week garden basket subscriptions to local folk. Salvaging pallets for fencing and yard material bins. Picking back up with sourdough and kombucha. Learning how to propagate elderberry. Learning how to prune apple trees. Learning how to collect rainwater. Most surprising, learning how to shoot a rifle to protect my flock.  Teaching online. For my Food, Wellness, and Social Environment course, I'm converting a two-week "ethical eating" challenge to a two-week observation and reflection period on how students' current experiences shed light on how our food system is impacted by crisis. For my Food & Environment class, I'm asking students to come up with their own questions about the content, collaborate on discussion threads, and have these questions inform the final exam. Talking to people on the phone. Enjoying the interview process as a way to buil...

February activities: Co-presented Feeding Monadnock: Gardening as Learning, Conservation, and Partnership at the   Campus Farmer Summit hosted by Farm to Institution New England (FINE)  Discussed community gardens and sustainable agriculture with Community Garden Connections (CGC) colleagues and National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) colleagues on the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture podcast Developed an "Autoethnography Dissertation Peer Power" group discussion using Google Classroom ( contact me for an invitation!) Completed a second month teaching Food & Environment in the Food Studies program at University of Southern Maine and Food, Wellness & Social Environment in the Dietetic Intern program at Keene State College Planted basil in the kitchen and ordered bare-root blueberry stock through Cheshire County Conservation District Launched a gofundme campaign for summer semester tuition ( Please donate or share! ) Coming up in March: Doctoral...

With about twelve hours of driving each week this semester, I've committed to making the best use of commute time. If you've ever looked for podcasts or audio books on dissertation research, you'll know there's not much out there; even less so for autoethnography. There's a lot on writing generally, but the topic is so broad, it can be overwhelming. Same for gardening and food systems, which is where my personal and research/writing goals intersect. And, it's important for educators, researchers, and likewise busy people to be able to draw on resources that support mindfulness and such. So, here is what I've selected (of what's available through Spotify) to focus and motivate me this spring: The Dissertation Podcast Dining Room Dissertation Dissertating Academic Woman Amplified (Cathy Mazak) Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach Tricycle Talks The One You Feed The joe gardener Show Food Sleuth Radio Know of other podcasts or audio books for dissertation...

I am excited to be teaching two courses this semester: Food and the Environment , in the Food Studies Program at University of Southern Maine, and a new course,  Food, Wellness, and Social Environment , in the Dietetic Intern Program at Keene State College. I co-presented a session, Feed and Empower: A Network-Based Approach to Regional  Food Security and Justice,  at the Universities Fighting World Hunger   (UFWH) Summit at USM last March, and have hosted KSC students at workplace and community gardens during my doctoral fellowship. It's a pleasure to be active in my educator role again, and I'm looking forward to a great journey with my fellow learners. Join me for side-by-side writing, research, and related work this spring: Tuesdays, 6:00 - 8:00 PM in Antrim Wednesdays, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM in Keene Fridays, time & place TBD Let's connect.

Join me at the 2020 NH Food System Statewide Gathering hosted by NH Food Alliance on March 10, 2020 ​at Plymouth State University. This year's theme is Climate and Community Resilience. Register here .

As of this month, I've officially joined the  NH Food Alliance  (NHFA) Network Leadership Team and  The Community Kitchen  (TCK) Board of Directors. I was honored to be invited to serve by both fantastic groups, which are doing excellent work across New Hampshire and the Monadnock Region, respectively. I look forward to using our collective capacity to build more thriving, community-based food systems and aligning efforts between higher education and neighboring partners. On a related note, dissertation research is now in full swing as I round out the last phase of my doctoral program and welcome teaching and research opportunities in 2020.  Connect with me  any time!