By Abigail W. Adams
Youth involved in Medomak Valley High School’s Heirloom Seed Project lead a workshop on seed saving at the Chewonki Foundation’s second annual Maine Youth Agriculture Summit in Wiscasset Thursday, July 9. Pictured are, from left, (front) Isaac and Adam Eutsler, (back) Director Neil Lash, Food Corp volunteer Arla Casselman, Ben Stevenson, Jeff Huber, and Zoe Gammon. |
The intersection of practicality and reverence is a familiar concept at The Chewonki Foundation’s organic vegetable and livestock farm. The connection felt between head, heart,
and hand as the daily tasks of farming are completed is often talked about, farm manager Megan Phillips said.
The concept of practicality and reverence materialized at The Chewonki Foundation’s second annual Maine Youth Agriculture Summit, Phillips said, as youth leaders
from across the state convened Thursday, July 9 to swap their knowledge and skills and collectively plant their roots in an agricultural movement that is working toward a
sustainable future.
According to Phillips, the inspiration for the summit came from many of the participating organizations meeting briefly at various locations. The organizations
recognized their common goals, but the opportunity to truly connect to each other and to the broader agricultural movement was lacking.
The Maine Youth Agriculture Summit was organized to provide the time and space for those connections to develop, Phillips said. In its first year, five organizations
participated. The summit nearly doubled in its second year with approximately eight organizations and 65 youth in attendance.
The facilitators of many of the workshops were the teenagers involved in the participating organizations.
“It is so powerful to hear young adults say they feel connected to the big picture,” Phillips said. According to Phillips, in its second year, the summit focused on
highlighting the skills of the youth and providing them with the opportunity to share their knowledge.
Participants in the Chewonki Foundation’s second annual Maine Youth Agriculture Summit in Wiscasset July 9 flock around Chewonki Farm’s horse, Sal, following a workshop on using draft horse power in farming. (Abigail Adams photo) |
Youth at Chewonki Farm gave workshops on using horses on farms and rotational grazing. “It was so exciting and nerve-wracking for them,” Phillips said, “but they were amazing.
I’m so proud of them.”
Youth from Portland-based Cultivating Communities led a workshop on migrant farm labor and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers fair food campaign, which is working to
ensure migrant laborers on tomato farms receive fair wages and are treated with dignity and respect.
Youth from Medomak Valley High School’s Seed-Saving Project led a workshop on how to save heirloom tomato seeds. “This is important for our community and it’s
important for the world,” said Ben Stevenson, a youth who helped lead the seed-saving workshop.
According to Stevenson, corporate farming is pushing many plant varieties into extinction. The lack of variety of plant species is leaving many crops vulnerable to
disease and failure. “If we don’t do this [seed-save] we’re all going to die,” Stevenson said.
Youth from the Erikson Field Preserve, in Rockport, taught participants how to make homemade fertilizer. “I thought it was really cool to make a more accessible
nutrient to give to plants,” said Quinlan Ashmore, of Waldoboro.
From vinegar, eggshells, or bones, Ashmore instructed participants on how to make a fertilizer that plants can immediately benefit from.
Youth from Lots to Gardens, in Lewiston, led a workshop on food insecurity and the lack of access to an adequate food supply, and brainstormed solutions to the
growing problem.
A representative from the Portland Mayor’s Initiative for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems was present to recruit youth to help in the effort to increase access
to healthy foods in the city.
Youth from the Aldemere Farm, in Rockport, led workshops on felting, knot-tying, and haltering calves. Haltering a calf is a skill Phillips has long wanted to learn,
she said. “I’m excited as an adult for this,” Phillips said. “I’m learning and it’s teenagers who are teaching me.”
The Chewonki Foundation’s second annual Maine Youth Agriculture Summit was an opportunity for youth to showcase their skills as experts in their respective fields;
to connect to each other and to a broader agricultural movement that is tackling social and environmental issues.
“It’s about community being brought together in a meaningful way,” Phillips said of the intersection of practicality and reverence. “It’s about putting your hands in
the dirt and feeling the connection to your heart,” she said. “It’s about feeling that deep connection between yourself and the land and knowing what you’re capable of being.”
According to Phillips, the Maine Youth Agriculture Summit was the living definition of the intersection of practicality and reverence.