By Rachel Goodman, Cohort 5
As a continuation of the our "Spontaneous Summer of Service" the Diller Fellows volunteered at the Needham Community Farm. When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by Larisa, the head farmer. She explained the Needham Community Farm’s goals, and why it was so special: the farm donates all of its “best” produce to food pantries, so that people who could not necessarily afford organic food in a grocery store could still have access to freshly grown food.
Then, we
headed over to the garden beds to start our first project. We split up
into two groups and weeded two garden bed sections. By doing this, Larisa
explained, we were making room for more people to come and have their own
personal gardening spots. After we completed this assignment, we came
back as one group to conquer a larger challenge: to weed the compost pile.
Larisa explained the importance of this project: if there were weeds in
the compost pile, their seeds would drop in the dirt and then next year when
that dirt was laid out, weeds would grow all over the farm. By doing this
job, we were ensuring that the farm would have a “weed free” start to the next
season. We climbed the large pile of compost and weeded almost everything
in sight, big or small.
As we worked, the pile of weeds in our wheelbarrow
grew bigger and bigger, until we couldn’t fit anymore. After two hours, the job
was complete! The weeds were gone, and the compost pile looked much
healthier. We thanked Larisa for the fun opportunity, and left feeling
happy that we had been able to help the farm and those who it serves.
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