both the increase in temperature and the wild swings in precipitation have a significant impact on the soil, said dr. margaret walsh, a senior ecologist in the u.s. department of agriculture’s office of energy and environmental policy.

“for pretty much any crop, yields go up as the temperature goes up, until a certain point when it goes down fast,” said walsh. this increase in yields is also assuming that the nutritional deficiencies and amount of rainwater are sufficient, which often is not the case. 

soil nutrition is key

temperatures are not the only factor impacting crop yields. walsh highlighted that the long period of drought, followed by the heavy rain events, have also led to soil erosion. as a result, according to experts, soils are depleted and unable to sustain abundant yields, and even affect the crop’s nutritional levels. 

“soil erosion degrades the soil, meaning that the soil will lose most of its organic matter in the topsoil,” said dr. richard anyah, a natural resources and environment professor at the university of connecticut. organic matter is important for the protection of water and nutrients reservoirs within the soil that animals, plants, and microorganisms need to grow. 

dr. anyah points out that the combination of an increase in water run-off and the disturbance of the soil will lead to a decrease in topsoil. “the increase in precipitation leads to more frequent floods. so, that will mean that we have more run-off, that especially will take away topsoil.”

these impacts did not remain unnoticed by local farmers. diane dorfer, owner and full-time farmer of the cobblestone farm, employs a variety of methods to keep her soil healthy and productive. 

dorfer uses compost and organic soil amendments to maintain high nutrient content in her soil, such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. these inputs were mainly agricultural byproducts like soybean meal and fish emulsion. with a smile on her face, she said her kids particularly liked the latter.

“when my kids were little, i would come into the house and smell not so great, and they would ask me: ‘what is that smell?’ and i am like, ‘fish emulsion.’ and they thought i was saying ‘fishy lotion.’ ‘oh, mom just put the fishy lotion on.’” 

another local farm employing similar practices is spring valley student farm. it is a one-acre vegetable garden owned by uconn dining services and run by uconn students. jessica larkin-wells, farm manager and old inhabitant of the student farm, explained that soil health was of high importance. 

“as an educational farm, we have the opportunity to pay a lot of good care and attention to our soil health,” said larkin-wells. “that is a central part of our mission. we can center that in a way commercial farms are not always able to.”

like cobblestone farm, they use organic inputs instead of chemical fertilizers. they also try to keep the soil covered to avoid soil erosion and nutrients loss due to long-term exposure.

“we never leave the soil exposed. there is always something like either cover crop, mulch, or whatever our vegetable crop at the time is,” larkin-wells said. “cover crops are an extremely important part of our growing rotation here and can do some pretty amazing things for the soil.” 

she defined cover crops as anything that is grown in the soil not to be harvested. they can prevent erosion, maintain nitrogen levels, or increase aeration in the soil. dr. anyah explains that nitrogen is important for the plant to develop healthy and more nutritious fruits. without these high levels, the nutritious levels of crop yields will be limited. 

changing temperatures, increasing pests

similarly, to protect their soil, both farmers do not use any damaging chemicals to fight increasing pests. according to walsh, the increased pest population is an example of an indirect effect of changes in temperature and precipitation. every vegetable is impacted by insect pressure, making them harder to sell. many bigger farms use aggressive pesticides to fight these infestations. 

dorfer used two different methods instead: insect-inclusion netting to cover some of her vegetables, and an organic pesticide to disrupt the molting cycle of larva. she explains that this organic pesticide is very specific. it will not affect the soil or any important pollinators like bees, just the larva growing on the plants. the adults will survive but their reproduction cycle will stop, limiting the hungry larva on crops. 

at spring valley student farm they scout and pick the insects by hand, and spray their vegetables with garlic spray. this is a mixture of garlic water and soap, to make each plant less attractive for animals. 

when confronted with the question of the future and the concern of climate change, both farmers seemed confident they would be fine, if they continue the methods described above. however, they also realized climate change is unpredictable. in the words of dorfer: 

“every year gives me more experience, expands my database, and i do adjust.”  

mansfield, connecticut – confronted by the growing unpredictability of precipitation patterns caused by climate change, small-scale connecticut farmers are facing significant losses. but they are learning to adapt their practices and focusing on maintaining soil conditions.

dr. michael dietz is the director of the connecticut institute of water resources and an extension educator for the university of connecticut’s extension program. he explained in an interview that tracking the flow levels of connecticut streams and rivers over the past three years shows extreme variation in summer rain levels.

“we’re still in a moderate drought, but the swing we’ve taken is dramatic,” dietz said. “there was a drought two years ago, last summer was a wet summer with huge rains and record high flow levels for streams and rivers, and this summer again the drought has brought record low flow levels.”

local farmers have had to adapt their agricultural practices in accordance with these varying precipitation rates. this includes the spring valley student farm, a collaboration with the university of connecticut’s residential life, dining services and ecohouse learning community.

“it’s so nice now that it rains,” said jessica larkin-wells, the farm manager at spring valley student farm, in an interview detailing the “brutal” growing season the farm faced due to the recent drought.

spring valley student farm occupies a one-acre plot of land, owned by uconn. the small farm handles drought by building their soil to resist variable precipitation ahead of time, larkin-wells said. this protects their crops against both drought and extremely heavy rain, before either occurs.

larkin-wells explained that spring valley student farm plants at the bottom of a hill to better collect water runoff. they also use organic practices and keep their soil covered at all times. these practices help to maintain overall soil health, she said.

“we also use a cover crop that is not for harvest and use compost on our soil,” larkin-wells said.

however, many of these methods are expensive practices, she said, and spring valley student farm can only afford them because the farm is entirely funded by uconn’s dining services.

“we can build up our soil health each year because we don’t have to break even; we’re an educational farm,” larkin-wells said. “it is expensive to maintain moisture in your soil; it is expensive to even stand a chance of surviving a drought like this.”

other farmers in the area are forced to find other ways of maintaining some sense of financial stability while also having to deal with varying precipitation levels. diane dorfer, owner of cobblestone farm in mansfield, connecticut, is in this situation currently.

cobblestone farm relies on a community supported agriculture (csa) system where customers pay up front for a share of the season’s harvest, dorfer said. the csa spans about 20 weeks during which it provides fresh produce for members.

csa members at cobblestone farm pay either $400 for a half share or $780 for a full share, dorfer said in an interview at her farm. a half share feeds about two people, and a full share feeds three to four people. some vegetables included in the csa are pick-your-own and others are pre-harvested prior to pick up. csa members may choose from one of three days each week when they can pick up their produce, dorfer said.

a csa arrangement provides a financial cushion for farmers like dorfer.

“the csa cuts out variability in income, which is good for me because, frankly, shit can happen,” dorfer said.

dorfer acknowledged that paying up front before the harvest may seem like a risk to the consumer. nonetheless, she said, “it has never happened that csa members have not gotten the full value of their share.”

no local farmer escaped the drought this year. all experienced detrimental effects on their growing season, despite finding ways to work around the lack of precipitation.

“we’re not going to get the growing season back,” said larkin-wells, describing spring valley student farm’s losses this harvest season.

dorfer also expressed difficulties with watering her crops this season. she said she stopped planting earlier than usual, and will therefore have fewer fall crops and fewer crops in general for farmer’s markets this fall.

“there comes a point where you have to decide what to water,” said dorfer, also explaining her increased costs of irrigation this season. she is not the only person in the field of agriculture noting increased expenses nowadays.

margaret walsh is a senior ecologist at the united states department of agriculture. in a presentation, she said farmers continue to incur increased costs to combat drought.

“climate change trends require that farmers learn to adapt,” walsh said. “there are a lot of adaptations or options that farms can do, but this doesn’t make them cheap.”

farmers throughout the nation – and even on a global level – are learning to change their practices, often with expensive agricultural tools or methods, said dietz, whose work at the water resources institute has informed his perspective on innovations in agriculture.

“added heat in the atmosphere is beginning to impact our food supply and part of the problem is learning to adapt to that now,” dietz said. “for example, in connecticut, farmers in the past didn’t need to rely on watering their crops through means other than precipitation; now they have to learn and implement other irrigation techniques almost immediately.”

however, farms like spring valley student farm that are not reliant on a profit, or like cobblestone farm that benefit from the added financial security of a csa, are better able to adapt to varying levels of precipitation. both larkin-wells and dorfer said their growing seasons were not complete losses.

“the fact that we had anything still grow this season despite the drought is an illustration of what healthy soil can do,” larkin-wells said.

“sorry i kept you waiting!” said a slim man in a worn baseball cap, jeans, and a t-shirt, as i approached the gate. i was here to meet moses thompson, the director of the community school garden program (csgp) in tucson. his laid-back appearance and friendly demeanor was like a breath of fresh air. 

gardening + community + education = impact

the community school garden program, led by moses for the past two years, is run by the university of arizona’s school of geography. under his leadership and the guidance of the founding director sallie marston, it has become an internationally recognized program. its mission is to enable tucson teachers and the community to develop and sustain gardens at school and at home. focusing on the culture and politics of food, the program connects students to their communities and the world around them. it has trained more than 700 tucson unified school district k-12 educators and has produced over 8,500 hours of service. they estimate to have impacted over 600,000 students. 

moses is the heart of the program. his authenticity, humbleness, and kindness have cultivated a phenomenal csgp team, many of whom grew up in the communities they now serve. moses began his career as an elementary school counselor who integrated his love of nature into his counseling. he typically conducted sessions in an outdoor space at his school where the therapeutic qualities of nature made his students feel safe and at ease, allowing them to feel vulnerable and connect with him. 

what made moses — who had no previous gardening experience — take the leap from being an award-winning school counselor to running an equally awarded garden program?

“i knew close to zero about gardening before i started working with the csgp,” he said. the project’s founder sallie mentored him, and that expanded his idea of who he could be. her advice to him was, “what you want now might not be what you want in five years,” which opened his mind to the idea of leadership.

i asked him how he handles the mantle of leadership and he said, “it feels heavy at times and i doubt myself, but the garden has taught me that skill sets aren’t static and with support and persistence i can navigate challenges. and at the end of the day, my love for the work and my love for the people i work with tamps down the fears and anxiety.”

going for the mari-gold

walking around the garden beds, it was hard to miss the big bushes of marigolds that demanded attention. “we plant a lot of marigolds,” moses said, because the flowers prevent root pests, attract important pollinators, and deter caterpillars. these multitaskers are also beautiful.

reflecting on my time in the garden, i realized that the program is just like the marigolds. the program produces crops, addresses social injustice, and encourages connection with heritage. the garden program is a source of food security, community knowledge, and a safe place for students and teachers. it also has the magical beauty that green spaces provide. it is a multitasker — just like the marigolds. moses and the garden open doors to the most vulnerable among us and teach them to care for the earth and themselves.

“how did you build all this? what is moses thompson’s mission?” i asked.

“what gnarly questions,” he said. 

he leaned on his shovel and took a minute to think and then said, “i think when you get in a garden, something profound can happen. growing food and eating consciously can make you feel different physically, and make you feel different about yourself. there is an unmatched capacity for change in a garden and i want to harness that by making gardening accessible to as many people as possible.”

i couldn’t help but smile.

“that’s incredible. did you prepare all that in advance?”

“oh god no,” he said, with a humble and embarrassed chuckle.

a solution for a hungry nation

the community school garden program is not something that can only bloom in tucson. moses emphasized that this program is a framework, one whose frame can be copied, rebuilt, and placed in other food-insecure areas looking to reconnect with their cultural heritage. moses said the csgp’s methodology is “throwing gas on a grassroots fire.” if the program expanded, it would be seeded with the unique heritage of that new place. a foundational part of the program is that each garden is rooted in the community so that when it develops its fruits, they are useful and familiar to those local to that place.

what is abundantly clear about moses is that he cares deeply about our youngest generation. we talked about the climate crisis, how to fight it, and how to stay joyful doing it.

“having no agency and feeling hopeless can make you paralyzed,” he said. “here in the garden, you learn how to grow your own food, and sustain your own life, in harsh and demanding conditions. that gives you agency. it gives you self-confidence and self-worth. from a young age, you can see biodiversity and its benefits here, you can see ecosystem services.” 

moses’ philosophy seems to be working. many of his students have gardens at home, too. he believes that the physiological and community benefits of gardens will build resilience and fight climate change.

slideshow by halley hughes

moses also gave me one of the kindest gifts i’ve ever received: the csgp’s 2022 almanac. however, this is no normal farmer’s almanac. it is an anthology soaked in the heritage of the sonoran desert and community love. every page, every drawing, and every inclusion is so intentional in delivering cultural and ecological knowledge. moses and his team knew they didn’t want the almanac to be a top-down intellectual product from the university of arizona. he wanted kids to use the almanac, and to see their moms and other relatives in the pages. 

that beautiful almanac now sits on my coffee table so that my home’s visitors can soak up the beauty of sonoran heritage. what the csgp has accomplished can be accomplished anywhere. by connecting with their communities and food, the generation that will experience climate change more prevalently than any other will be the navigators who lead us toward a hopeful future. moses taught me that gardens are tools that can sow a generation of empowered children. 

the rebirth of the santa cruz river in tucson, arizona is an ecological miracle. the santa cruz river flowed year-round until human intervention dried its banks more than 110 years ago. recently, the city of tucson decided to pump water back into the river. 

after only two years of consistent flow, the river has bloomed to support dozens of mammal, amphibian, and insect species, 135 bird species, 149 plant species, and one very special endangered minnow. 

the growing interest in the river has sparked reconnection with tucson’s heritage. the city is expressing renewed interest in native ecosystems, sustainable gardening, and water conservation.

the southwestern united states is entering its 22nd year of a megadrought, making water resources more valuable and more scarce than ever before. lawmakers, scientists, agencies, and governments alike face the challenge of finding innovations to use the smallest amounts of water for the greatest total benefit. a solution to this major challenge flows through the heart of tucson. 

water conservation in the desert 

in 2001, arizona received its first delivery of colorado river water through the central arizona project canals, allowing the city to move toward more sustainable water use by using less groundwater and investing in stormwater.  in 2013, wastewater treatment plants began releasing reclaimed water into the santa cruz north of the city as a groundwater reclamation project.

reclaimed water is a way to recycle the water that comes out of a city as sewage. water treatment plants clean the water with chemicals and release it so it can soak back into the ground to recharge as groundwater.   

the water in the santa cruz is cleaned further by natural processes and eventually soaks into tucson’s aquifer. the city of tucson says that groundwater recharge with reclaimed water is a safeguard for drought for tucson. it’s a water bank for times of need.

in 2016, the director of tucson water, tim thomure, pitched a new project –– expanding the existing santa cruz recharge effort. he wanted another pipe to release reclaimed water in the heart of downtown tucson.

the idea came to life three years later as the santa cruz river heritage project.

sciences elevate the river’s health

the dragonflies weren’t the only surprise attendees at the “opening day” of the heritage project. organizers projected the event to be tiny; it was barely even advertised. there was one small tent with one crate of water bottles. more than 300 people –– and a mariachi band –– came to celebrate water returning to the river.

“it’s a trickle of water really, but such a small amount of water has created such enormous change,” bogan told me.

he wasn’t kidding; the santa cruz outflows about 1,500 gallons per minute as of 2022. for comparison, the mississippi outflows around 266,159,000 gallons per minute.

bogan and his team do continuous monitoring through species counts, species abundance surveys, and remote monitoring, which provide resources to the city of tucson to keep it healthy and prosperous. almost in disbelief, he said that, “after only 2 years of continuous flow, we’re seeing an incredible amount of biodiversity.” the rapid recovery of the santa cruz river is a beacon of hope to ecologists and citizens alike.

it seems to me that the santa cruz river has had a certifiable field of dreams moment –– with michael bogan as ray kinsella. except, in our desert narrative, the iconic line goes, “if you water it, they will come.”

the cultural significance of the heritage reach

the base of sentinel peak (known more often as “a-mountain”) has been sustaining life for over 4,000 years, making it one of the oldest sites of continuous agricultural activity in the country. the tohono o’odham and their ancestors, the hohokam, have been stewarding the land for uncountable generations. 

in 1910, businessmen drilled 20 wells at the base of sentinel peak, drying up the river completely in just five years. deprived of water, the trees that stood sentinel along the banks of the santa cruz for hundreds of years perished. for 100 years, the santa cruz has been dry and forgotten, its once-raging waters are now caged in a narrow channel of concrete. it remains as a dry scar on the landscape, like an artery with no blood to pump. 

the heritage project chose the new pipe location based on the rich history. but why is the return of water to the santa cruz called the “heritage project” and not the “recharge project”?

“returning water to the river is just one part of what ‘heritage’ means,” kendall kroeson told me as we walked the grounds of mission garden together. to kendall, the heritage project will be complete if the people, food, and history that santa cruz supported for centuries are highlighted along with the ecological success of the river.

the history of tucson’s birthplace is kept alive by the spirit of resilience and the hardworking volunteers at mission garden.

“tasting history”

kendall is the outreach coordinator for mission garden, a living agricultural museum of heritage fruit trees, traditional local heirloom crops, and edible native plants. it stands on the 4,000-year-old agricultural site.

as i spent time in the quiet walls of adobe around mission garden, i spotted hawks soaring in the crisp morning air and petit gambel’s quail scuttling under the underbrush. native habitat met flourishing gardens in a brilliant display of desert beauty.

it felt like a sister location to the santa cruz –– a sister that is upholding the heritage, biodiversity, and sacred knowledge of crop cultivation alive as she waits patiently for the river to flow again. 

mission garden is more than a connection to the past, it is an active facilitator of the future. kendall showed me a fallow plot that would become “the garden of tomorrow”.

“we need to make more food, with less land, and less water,” kendall told me. “it’s a huge challenge.”

the garden plans to showcase drought-resistant plants and drought-tolerant garden practices. it will be an example of sustainable urban agriculture for tucson and the southwest. they educate people on how to grow food themselves. backyard gardening makes food more nutritious, decreases the use of pesticides, and decreases carbon dioxide emissions.

“it is important to know what happened in the past to know what is possible for the future,” says kroeson. “here at mission garden, we’re here to help people ‘taste history.’”

generational change in tucson

“four to five generations of tucsonans have disengaged with the river,” luke cole told me.

luke is the director of the santa cruz project at the conservation nonprofit, the sonoran institute. he and dr. bogan expressed the same sentiment when i asked them, “what’s one of the most important impacts you’re seeing from the santa cruz?” they both answered that it’s the community change they’ve seen.

i talked to charles giles, a lawyer, and avid cyclist who has lived in tucson for more than 70 years. when i asked him about the santa cruz, he immediately responded that “oh, it had been dead for quite a while.” he’s right. before the heritage project, tucson’s relationship with the water that once sustained it was all but gone.

new generations of tucsonans will come to know the river as a place to learn about the value of biodiversity and the importance of water conservation. dr. bogan revealed to me that he is approved to create a program that will build a curriculum for educators of all grade levels in tucson and train 30 teachers over the next three years. he will endeavor to reconnect the newest generation with the river through the power of science and cultural awareness.

the soul of tucson

as the world faces massive challenges stemming from climate change, it is more and more important to find the most impactful solutions that need the least resources. the brilliance of the santa cruz project is that by adding water, a multitude of benefits have sprouted. cole noted the importance of this in urban ecosystems, telling me that we need to ”celebrate the multi-uses when they’re there.”

the santa cruz heritage project is making tucson more drought resilient, conserving water resources, supporting critical biodiversity, connecting a city to its heritage, and educating a new generation. the flowing river is changing the heart of tucson.

something about the sound of water in the desert sings the song of survival to the human soul. massive change can come from the tiniest of sources, just as a mighty river can be reborn from the smallest trickle. 

in addition, she believes in the importance of crop rotation as well as leaving parts of her farm alone, not cropping, so the natural environment can take shape and replenish the earth. it takes an entire community to be involved and passionate about where they get their food from for these things to continue to change. so as discussions of sustainability progress the connection between local farms, local communities, and their environment must be at the forefront. 

founded in 2000 by nigel savage, hazon has impacted thousands upon thousands of people, jewish and non-jewish, across the united states and israel as the “largest faith-based environmental organization in the u.s.” their work takes many forms and contexts over the last twenty years as they continue to be a resource and teacher to the jewish community on the path to sustainability. hazon’s mission is deeply rooted in the jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world, as evidenced by their mission statement: “we are in a global environmental crisis. jewish tradition compels us to respond.” calling themselves “the jewish lab for sustainability,” hazon uses jewish traditions and values, innovation, education, and community to bring environmentalism into the jewish community.  

i spoke to two people who work at hazon, wren hack, director of hazon detroit, and shamu sadeh, managing director of education at the isabella freedman jewish retreat center in falls village, ct, to talk about their work and the work of hazon as a whole. 

hazon has a presence in a number of cities across the country, including detroit. wren hack calls detroit a “lab for hazon,” where they have the opportunity to “create and execute new programs here that we believe and hope will be replicable for other communities.” they have had several events focusing on local and sustainable food, grains and beans in particular. at an event last year called “breaking bread together,” they were able to support a local farm and its regenerative farming practices by bringing in community members to learn about the grain they grow and the process of making bread, from grain to loaf. they also built an outdoor bread oven on the property and donated bags of flour and grains back to the community. another group hazon has worked with is the oakland avenue urban farm, a local nonprofit. here, hazon serves as a supporting partner, helping them to write grants and get funding for various projects. hack talked about the role of hazon in this case of asking what the community needs and making sure to really listen. hazon is mostly made up of white suburbanites, and the farm is an urban, black community organization. they focus on providing support and resources, approaching from a place of building a relationship as neighbors, acknowledging the imbalances. with the successes of these and similar programs, they are looking at how they can be replicated in other communities.  

the hazon jewish food festival is one of their most popular events every year. more than 7,000 people were in attendance in 2019. the main attraction, of course, is the food from local farms and vendors, but they also have sustainable arts and crafts, opportunities to learn about things like composting and rain barrels. it is a chance to expose many people to ideas and possibilities of sustainable food. organizations who have participated in the hazon seal of sustainability program, one of hazon’s major national programs, and received the seal of sustainability also table at the event and have the opportunity to show the community what projects they are working on. 

hack also spoke on the seal of sustainability. through this program, “sites” like synagogues, jewish community centers, and jewish day schools can undergo a series of audits that determine their sustainability strengths and weaknesses. from there, the site can choose an area they want to improve on and can receive a grant for $1000 to put towards a specific project. projects can include anything from changing to led light bulbs, going from plastic foam cups to glass cups, or buying local organic eggs. at the end of the year, the site is expected to take up the continuing costs, but can apply for a grant towards another project. the program also provides staff and community resources to support the effort. detroit is home to over 20 sites, with plans and funding to reach many more in the next few years. since the first year in 2016, there have been over 80 participating sites across the country. 

the isabella freedman jewish retreat center, which became part of hazon in 2014, is another major part of what hazon does. the retreat center is located in rural connecticut on 400 acres of land. the highlights of the grounds include the main building with beautiful art, cozy chairs, and a dining hall that serves incredible food, much of it grown on the farm on the property. there are cabins and more hotel-like lodging for guests to stay in, as well as a few yurts. there are trails and a lake to enjoy, and, of course, the farm and animals. they host various events throughout the year, including many centering on jewish holidays as well as yoga retreats, and other interest-based programs. 

the retreat center has been doing jewish, educational outdoor programming since 1994 when it started the teva (“nature”) learning center in conjunction with surprise lake camp. for over 25 years teva has provided thousands of jewish children with the opportunity to learn about the importance of nature and ways that they can help take care of the earth in their own lives. shamu sadeh co-founded adamah (“ground” or “earth”) in 2003 at isabella freedman. adamah is a three-month residential leadership program for jewish young adults interested in exploring the relationship between their judaism and the environment, particularly through stewardship and farming. “it was a way for us to put all these things together,” sadeh said. “intentional community, creative jewish spirituality, greening this institution, farming, celebrating [sabbath] after a week of hard work in the field, experiencing blessings over food when you’ve grown the food yourself, a real kind of do-it-yourself and empowerment oriented version of jewish community.” the jewish outdoor, food, farming & environmental education (jofee) fellowship is another similar program. fellows spend two weeks at the retreat center learning from hazon staff and field experts before going out into jewish communities where they help develop and lead programs that integrate the focuses of the program. sadeh noted the impact that the many alum of these programs have had in the international jewish community in camps, jewish community centers, and other similar settings, saying it is “[t]he biggest shift in the world we helped create.” 

one of the most surprising things to come out of isabella freedman, sadeh said, was the christian groups who have been coming to them to ask how to build something like isabella freedman in their own communities. sadeh attributes this outcome to the chapter that highlighted them in “soil and sacrament: a spiritual memoir of food and faith,” by author fred bahnson who came to the center for a week to write about it. christian groups look to them as a model of how to integrate faith, food, farming, and community and want to replicate what they have done. one relationship that has been created is with the wake forest divinity school. for two years, students were brought to isabella freedman to learn, and for the third year, sadeh went and taught at the school in their food and spirituality program. other groups include other retreat centers, a farm in the midwest looking to incorporate faith, local churches, and documentary makers, all interested in learning about what isabella freedman is doing. 

i asked both hack and sadeh what they felt the impact of hazon has been. “hazon catalyzed jewish food movement,” sadeh said, referring to the infusion of ancient values and ideas about food that the organization has brought and adapted to contemporary life. he went on to say that “people can connect to food and earth and evolve their tradition,” a sentiment that hack echoed. she spoke to the effect that hazon has through all of its different programs and locations, and all of those conversations “[have] an impact because we have an impact on thousands and thousands of people” and it all adds up, especially when they bring those conversations back to their communities and continue them. 

the climate is at a tipping point. hazon provides jewish people and communities, opportunities to take actions that not only coexists with but amplifies jewish values and living. it has built a foundation of education and community organized around shared identity, experiences, and values to address the most immediate crisis the world is facing. the potential for religious organizations to take these actions is shown in hazon’s work, and others are following their lead.

***

in 1981, carol anne sayle and her husband larry butler began farming in milam county, an austin suburb. they sold produce to whole foods, a local grocery store, and opened a small farm stand in front of wiggy’s liquor store in clarksville, texas. sayle and butler were not only ahead of their time as urban farmers, but also as early voices in austin’s locavore movement, encouraging austin residents to see the benefits of eating locally.

“when we first started selling in front of the liquor store, we had to explain what ‘organic’ meant,” sayle said with a smile.

although milam county farm thrived, it was a long drive to austin to sell their produce. in 1992, sayle found a five acre piece of fertile land in the boggy creek watershed, and their urban farm was born.

“we found this property, and we thought ‘ooh!… this would be a farm’,” sayle said. “we could make it a farm, and we could live in the farmhouse, and just step right out the door and go to work! this is great!”

***

nearly two decades later, but just around the corner from boggy creek farms, a former restaurant owner named dorsey barger had a similar vision. faced with an empty, two-acre farm in the heart of east austin, she saw an opportunity to sow and harvest. her vision became reality. hundreds of chickens provide fresh eggs to the farm. baby bunnies abound, and a pet goose named gustavo quacks amicably at passers-by.

the farm, named hausbar, is an ideal model for many who dream of sustainable food systems. barger has a rainwater collection bin that has 30,000 gallons of storage capacity, which they use to irrigate their crops. according to their website, they are currently expanding their solar panel capacity, so that 90% of their electrical needs will be powered by the sun. and, perhaps most delightfully, barger uses donkeys instead of lawn mowers to mow and fertilize the pasture.

to top it off, barger is often credited with spearheading austin’s locavore movement. “people often say to us that we…. really started the locavore movement in austin,” barger said. “i do think that we did; we were there at the beginning, of what became, i think now, a true locavore movement.”

but before barger opened the farm in 2009, things looked much different.

“it was pretty much two acres of trash with three crack houses on it,” barger said. “we figured if we just cleaned the place up enough… it would be something pretty amazing here.” after purchasing the property, barger embarked on a seemingly impossible task.

“in our quest to be sustainable we wanted everything to be improved by our being here, so we dug the 51 beds of vegetables that you see out there, with pitchforks and shovels, instead of tillers and trucks,” barger said with an expression that she still could not believe what she accomplished.

***

both barger and sayle started their respective farms for one principal reason — they believed in the importance of locally grown food.

“the reason we wanted to do it was to give people good, clean food,” sayle said. “if you don’t have fresh food, it’s worthless… (our) arugula is sparky and fierce.. but in the store, it was just, ‘bleh!, this is arugula?’ it’s flavor, see. there’s no flavor there, and there’s flavor here, and that flavor tells you that it’s fresh.”

the minute a vegetable or fruit is picked off the plant, the flavor starts to fade away. and flavor, sayle explained, is a direct indicator of nutrition. the c, e, a, and some b vitamins deteriorate over the days, or even weeks, it takes to pick, package, and ship produce all over the world.

“in california or in chile or china or wherever that vegetable in the store came from, it was probably once wonderful,” sayle said. “but when you go through refrigeration — almost freezing, for weeks on end — it all goes away.”

according to barger, local produce is vital not just for the health of austinites, but for the health of the planet and the local economy.

“there’s so much pollution that goes on in bringing that organic produce from california, to texas, let’s say, that it’s not enough just to eat organically,” barger said. “not only is it it not enough for pollution reasons, but it’s also not enough because it doesn’t make any sense to depend on somebody else for your food, and so we need to be supporting local farmers.”

when one buys produce from a grocery store, a very small percentage of revenue goes to the farmer, barger explained. the rest of the profit the packager, the middlemen, and the processor. but when a customer buys produce from a farm, most of the revenue goes directly to the farmer. that farmer will have much more money to spend in the same economy.

“by spending locally we are actually supporting everyone who lives in our area,” barger said.

***

in the midst of a global pandemic and a plummeting economy, it is vital now, more than ever, to invest both in local businesses and in our own well-being. visiting your local farm can have that dual benefit. and on a cool october morning, nothing is more pleasant than to wake up early, drive across town, and walk among rows of dew-flecked kale. nothing is more uplifting than to gather with friends, neighbors, and strangers, all distanced during the pandemic, but united by their love of carol ann’s flowers. that, i believe, is well-worth the mask.

but locally, peace came in the form of a grass-roots memorial garden dedicated to the victims, called project grow love.  

on christmas eve of 2018, former stoneman douglas psychology teacher renit reoven called senior tori gonzalez, asking if she would help place some holiday plants in front of the school to pay homage to the victims during the holiday season, acknowledging the fact that holidays can be especially hard for people grieving. 

at first, they placed silk flowers down so they would not wilt. 

 “as we stood there, i started thinking of how beautiful it would be if we actually dug up the dirt and made a little garden,” gonzalez said. “then the idea of inviting the community to take part came to mind. it was the perfect domino effect.”  

soon after that, project grow love was born. members across the parkland community came together to pack the garden full with various plants and continuously help to maintain it.  

“sometimes people leave all kinds of special surprises, like painted rocks and garden signs,” gonzalez said.

over a year after its inception, project grow love continues to thrive. the plants in the garden vary on a day-to-day basis; members of the community can plant whatever they would like to. 

once the proverbial, quiet suburban high school in one of the 2017 safest cities in florida, according to the national council for home safety and security, marjory stoneman douglas high school is named after a prominent journalist and conservationist who fought fiercely against attempts to drain and develop the fla. everglades in the mid 1900s.  but on feb. 14, 2017, the school garnered national attention when an ex-student broke in and opened fire. 17 faculty and students were killed; 17 more were injured.

gonzalez lost her longtime boyfriend, joaquin oliver, in the shooting and has since looked to the garden to bring her joy. many students at stoneman douglas do the same, turning to project grow love in difficult times.  

“this garden is so important to me because it is impossible not to smile at the beauty of it. i can’t tell you how many people have personally thanked me for initiating this project,” gonzalez said. “and it wasn’t until then that i realized how healing it could be- to watch something grow in honor of what was lost. i couldn’t ask for a better way to memorialize our fallen eagles.”

this is not the first time that communities have leaned on the therapeutic effect of gardening after a mass shooting tragedy. 

after a gunman took the lives of 58 people at a country music festival in las vegas, nev. in october of 2017, volunteers placed dirt in an old parking lot miles from the crime scene, turning it into a memorial garden. now, 59 oak trees stand in the garden- one to commemorate each victim and one symbolizing life.

“from gardening at home to visiting a public garden, connecting with nature can improve human health and wellbeing,” devin dotson, public affairs and exhibits specialist at the united states botanic garden, said. “ gardens can serve different roles for different people – a place of gathering, learning, reflection, and more.”

recent studies from michigan state university confirm that gardening builds mental clarity and relieves stress. local gardens have a positive impact on the environment as well, drawing in pollinators. 

“i believe that being out in nature is very healing. the aesthetic, the beauty of looking at stuff, makes us smile and probably start noticing something that one has not noticed before,” professor hartmut doebel, assistant professor of biology at george washington university, said. doebel specializes in pollinators. “more pollinators will be attracted to local gardens because they find food sources. in cities, there are not too many food sources and we do not have many native pollinators.”

as the gun violence epidemic in america continues to reign, local gardens give the community a private space- away from the protests, large movements and news coverage- while also giving back to the environment. in the case of project grow love, just a small patch of grass in front of a high school has allowed the city of parkland to cope and heal from the tragedy.

“the parkland community has been grieving for almost two years now. there is no way to describe our pain. the events of that day continue to affect the entire community every day,” logan rubenstein, a current sophomore at stoneman douglas, said. “project grow love has given us an outlet to find peace with nature. it has helped me a lot through these tough times.”

—

around 60 million years ago, a large asteroid called chicxulub made impact with the earth along the coast of the yucatán peninsula of present-day mexico. the asteroid’s impact resulted in dissemination of geologically young, thin soil across the peninsula and formation of a massive underground system of freshwater cenotes, which are natural sinkholes exposing groundwater. over a thousand years ago, the maya built their main ceremonial city, chichén itzá, along the edge of chicxulub’s crater. the soil was thin, but freshwater was plentiful. to sustain chichén itzá’s large population, the maya cultivated crops through an agricultural method known as milpa.

milpa is a type of sustainable farming historically practiced by the maya in the yucatán and other parts of mesoamerica. the polyculture milpas are planted with numerous crops, such as beans, corn, peppers, and gourds, for local community consumption rather than supporting a single crop for economic value like modern monoculture commercial farms. milpa agriculture requires no agrochemicals, thus keeping groundwater clean. the ancient maya empire survived on milpa farming. some 60% of the population on the yucatán peninsula today are of maya descent, and numerous modern mayan communities practice milpa.

adolfo rodriguez, a professor at the autonomous university of chapingo, is a milpa farmer in the maya community of maxcanú. dressed in a traditional straw hat and white, long-sleeved guayabera, rodriguez proudly recounted the history of his farm. back in the 1800s, the farm was a large plantation growing henequen, an agave plant used to make twine and ropes for ships and other fiber-based products. most of the global supply of henequen, also known as yucatán sisal, came from the yucatán peninsula. demand for henequen eventually decreased due to the rise of synthetic fiber, thus the plantation converted to milpa farming.  

rodriguez walked past bright magenta pitaya, or dragonfruit, growing on small cactus-like trees between rows of short, spiky agave plants. in typical milpa formation, there were rows of different crops interspersed within rows of other crops, with ramón trees sprinkled throughout the landscape. ramón trees, whose use dates back to the beginning of the maya empire, are well adapted to the climate and distributed throughout the yucatán. rodriguez explained the strong link between the maya religion and milpa farming, which “has been the base of the culture of the maya, of the religion of the maya, of the (preservation) of the maya. (to work) in the forest, you need to ask for permission (of) the owners of the forest. you need to ask to the gods for the rain, and when the people harvest, they need to say thank you with the special rituals to the gods.”

modern maya face challenges to their milpa system. irregular weather patterns due to accelerated climate change have made predicting rainfall prior to the planting season increasingly difficult. seasonal changes to rain cycles affect crop choices and planting schedules. “the maya have different strategies to these changes,” rodriguez said. “they have different species, different seeds, for the different seasons.” however, this adapted methodology might not succeed in modern polyculture milpas. farmers determine when to plant one variety of corn based on the date of the first summer rain, and then plant other crops accordingly. delays in the initial planting due to late seasonal rains result in changes to the rest of the crops for that season.

more problematic for 21st century maya is generational loss of knowledge of milpa farming. “now the youngest people are not working in the milpa, (and) there are generational breaks in which the parents don’t want to know about the milpa,” rodriguez said. “the (grandchildren) want to know it but the parents don’t know how to manage the land, so all of this knowledge is (being lost) and the people nowadays cannot manage the land (the) way that the old people (did).” a new program teaches younger maya about milpa farming techniques and continues to pass down generational knowledge.

farmers are taking actions to make milpa farming more sustainable for the future. in traditional milpa farming, an area of forest is cleared, planted for two years, then allowed to lie fallow for eight years as secondary-growth vegetation before being replanted. by repeating this process continuously, land can be used for crops almost indefinitely. some maya farmers no longer clear new land and let their land recover for 10 to 15 years instead of eight to increase the fertility of the land for the next crop cycles. “i’m working with another 15 farmers and i am trying to figure out better ways to cultivate my crops, but (it is) very difficult because we are many farmers and not all of us want to conserve this jungle,” said don francisco puuc, a farmer and leader in his maya community of yaxunah. his goal is to adopt more organic methods and cut as little of the forest as he can.

modern milpa farmers plant domesticated varieties of native jungle species. the germplasm bank is a seed bank in the mexican state of mérida that stores massive collections of seeds and other viable plant samples, including historical collections of seeds of crops the maya have planted for generations. “if you can’t preserve the whole areas with the forest, you can preserve the seeds,” said dr. maria pulido-salas, co-director of the germplasm bank at the yucatecan scientific investigation center. the seed bank created a partnership between local farmers and the scientific team to give seeds of certain species to local farmers for planting to keep those species resilient and adapted to current climatic conditions in the yucatán. if seeds cannot be saved from harvests due to drought or other conditions, then the seed bank stock can be used for crop restoration.

milpa farming sustained the ancient maya for centuries. as modern maya adapt their ancestral farming practices to counter accelerating effects of climate change, they seek not only to preserve their traditional farms and crops, but to maintain their way of life and culture for generations to come.