WIC-ity Whack!

My time here is half over and I move home in something like 5 weeks? Say what? Psh, that's trippin.  Things are really starting to pick up and the days and weeks seems to be going by in a blur.  So let me try and continue from where I last left off.

That Friday was Mitch's bday and after work I decided to make an impromptu trip back to the mitten. I stopped in GR and picked up Justin and Tessa and then we surprised Mitch by showing up at his place that night.  He was kind of shocked and we went downtown Mt. P to celebrate.  The next day we decided to have a 4th of July celebration with all the American things we could think of. Flags, baked beans, 3 liters of off-brand Diet Cola, and an inflatable pool in the front yard. Sounds about right. =)

The next week at work was a pretty standard week with lots of farmwork and a community lunch. It was also a short week because we had the 4th off.  Which I celebrated with sweatpants, air conditioning, and falafel. Beautiful. That Friday we had a "Ladies Night" at my apartment with the students from the farm. The other intern came as well as a small group of students. We hung out, made za, jammed to Beyonce and watched the 90's masterpiece Fear.  It was a lot of fun and a cool opportunity to hangout outside of the farm.

This past week at work a lot of new things started up.  Now once a week, the kids at our farm have an opportunity to cook for our site. A small group of about seven students goes during the work day and prepares a meal using farm and non-farm ingredients for all of us to enjoy. This week we had stuffed zucchini, salad, and homemade strawberry shortcake. Shwing! It was delicious and, for some of the students, their first time working in a kitchen.  Helping to become more comfortable with food prep is a really valuable component of this program and it's an added bonus that they make delicious recipes.  Our farmstands also started up this week, which are an opportunity for the community to come and buy our produce. It's like a one booth farmer's market and here the students get to work on their customer service and money handling skills.

Another thing that got started this week was our WIC demos.  I am the staff member that works on these and the whole shabang consists of 2 work days with the students.  The first work day is speech prep and from 9-noon we go over the outline, talk about public speaking, and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.  On this day the kids are seeing the outline for the first time which consists of nutrition education, giving info about Green Youth Farm, and also a cooking demonstration.  Then on the next day, the kids and I go to a health department in the area and give the presentation 3-4 times to different groups of WIC recipients.  During these times we take some of our fresh produce and they have an opportunity to use their benefits and purchase items from our farm.  Overall, the day was a huge success! The students did great, the audience was receptive, and we were able to help provide fresh, local, sustainably grown food to over 20 families that may not have received it otherwise. We have 4 more weeks of these presentations and I am really looking forward to this aspect of my job. =)

Thursday we took a field trip to the local community college and the students were given information and a tour.  Also they learned about possible horticulture careers they could pursue.  After the college visit we went to Prairie Crossing for a tour.  Prairie Crossing is an 80 acre organic farm that has a lot going on, including a youth program similar to GYF.  It was interesting to see organic farming on a larger scale and both stops of our trip were filled with new sites and information.

Also this week, big news in the visitor department! Mitch came to visit and we went out in downtown Evanston with a group from work on my birthday, which was a blast. He was here from Wednesday until Friday morning and then Tessa was here from Saturday morning until Sunday evening.  I never forget how lucky I am to have such wonderful family, friends, and people around me.  Thanks for making this such a killa birthday! I am all smiles.

Lotta things

Holy crap. So much has been going on.  =)

The rest of last week finished up strong and we had a wee bit of mercy with the weather on Thursday and Friday, which always helps. And Friday after work a group of us went to Six Flags, ya know, riding coasters and singing kareoke.  Afterwards I was sore from screaming, "singing", and laughing nonstop.

On Monday the other intern and I presented the workshop for this week. The topic was diversity and we took the 45 minute slot to have large and small group discussions with the students.  We talked about crop diversity, diversity among our group, and also diversity throughout the world.  It was a great opportunity for people to share their thoughts, opinions, and views.  And also hopefully some of them left having a better idea of the benefits of diversity on a farm versus monoculture.  Raise the roof for sustainability, ya'll!

Tuesdays we have community lunch days and one of the other Green Youth Farm sites joins us for teambuilders, farmwork, and lunch.  This week the Washington Park site came and including staff there were about 50 of us working together.  While most of us are working on the farm, a small group of students goes and prepares the lunch.  This is a good opportunity for them to become more familiar in the kitchen, following recipes, and working together.  It was a high energy, productive work day that ended with some cheesy chard, salad with homemade strawberry vinaigrette and a deeeelish peach cobbler. Success.

Today we took a farmers market field trip to Green City Market in Lincoln Park.  While we were there the students were challenged to shop on a budget and prepare a healthy, nutritious, raw lunch for 8 people.  They had $24.  Needless to say it was a challenge indeed, but the groups were creative and made smoothies, sandwiches, salads, etc.  For some of the students this was the first time they had been to a farmers' market.  One of the best parts of this program is that we are all exposed to so many new things and new concepts.  As a group, we are constantly becoming more educated. =)

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 101 degrees. And with the heat index they are predicting it will feel like 110 degrees.  Uh, I don't know what that feels like but I'm pretty sure ma and pops keep their hot tub at like 105, so....really?  Well that means lots of water breaks for us and whatever else it takes to not have anyone pass out.  At least we work in the morning! Then on Friday, in addition to farmwork, we are having a guest speaker from the bank come and talk about checking/savings accounts and financial planning.  Good stuff! And how convenient that it falls on payday.  Hahah, fiiiiine I get it, I will try to cut back on Target trips and buying Pita Inn treats.  Psh, yea right. Live a little!

Happy Summer Solstice!

I've lived in Evanston for about 4 weeks  now. And I love the farm.  I work with really great people.

The high school students are working with us everyday now and that has been going well so far.  The past few days the temperature has been creeping up close to 100 degrees, but that aside it has been mostly positive attitudes and production.  Sometimes I feel like I am literally in a steaming pot of hot water, being blanched or something.  But, what are ya gonna do? =)

 Just to give a better idea of what I do here, this is a typical workday:

6:35 - Leave Evanston to drive to Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe

7:00 - Pack up the truck with coolers, supplies, etc.

7:30-8:00 - Drive to the Green Youth Farm site in North Chicago/Waukegan

8:15-8:45 - Optional free breakfast for students.  Thanks to a donor, the kids can come early everyday and get a healthy meal before work. 

9-9:20 - Students work day starts with a group teambuilder

9:30-12:30 - Farmwork

12:30-1 - Lunch and end of day activity, students work day ends

1-2 - Finish up tasks on the farm

2-2:30 - Drive back to Chicago Botanic Garden

2:30-3 - Unpack truck, recap the day, prep for the next day, etc

***There are also farmstands, WIC demonstrations, and field trips that the students participate in.  Also, once a week the staff puts on a workshop for students.  Each workshop takes about 45 minutes and we cover different topics each week such as sustainability, composting, diversity, public speaking, personal finance, etc.

It's a dense program and there is always stuff going on and work to be done.  Hopefully this gives a better idea of what I'm up to.  And, on a personal note, I have been able to see so many important people over the last week! Mitch came to visit, and I also was able to visit family in Joliet!  Then on Sunday I took the Metra into downtown Chicago to meet up with a couple of friends from CMU.  It's been a wonderful week. And I've been falling asleep early. =)

Beach weekend! Hollar!

Rejuvenation!  After a week spent on the farm, I was looking forward to some downtime this weekend.  And woo hoo, I cleaned my apartment and enjoyed myself hanging out around Evanston. Success!  My first weekend priority was going to the farmers market in town.

I stocked up on some really great produce as well as pickled mushrooms, which are freaking delicious.  This was my first time trying them, and I kind of feel addicted.  So so good.  Better than green olives.  Which I didn't know was possible.

I went to the beach Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed Lake Michigan in the 80 degree weather.  The beaches are a bit different here than back home because they are much more controlled.  The beach areas are fenced off, fairly small, and lifeguards enforce swim zones.  Which isn't a bad thing, just different.  And in no way did that alter my ability to completely enjoy myself and the lake.  Oh and I was able to sit under the shade of a tree in the blazing weather, which at the time just made it seem even more perfect.

I also spent some time enjoying the downtown Evanston area, walking around shops, getting some reading in, things like that.  I found an especially great place, Unicorn Cafe, which reminds me of Kaya from Mount Pleasant.  Great atmosphere, great music, great coffee...that's really all I am usually looking for in a coffee shop.  It looks like I will probably end up spending quite a bit of time there. I'm currently reading 'Grub' by Anne Lappe and Bryant Terry.  It's a book which focuses on ideas for an urban organic kitchen and  I recommend it to anyone interested in the topic that doesn't feel like reading Michael Pollan's 100 pages on corn.  I mean, I know, he writes great stuff.  But to me Grub is much more of a leisurely, friendly read. Which I can appreciate. =)

Finished off the weekend with a glass of wine and a skype dinner date with Mitch. Thank goodness for skype. And wine. Hahah, back to the farm tomorrow morning.  Looking forward to it!

Farmalicious

Farmalicious definition, make them crops go crazy...=)

Spent the last two full days on the farm.  And the work days go by fast when you're weeding, thinning, harvesting, processing, making up catchy new songs inspired by Fergie. Ya know, the usual.  I could go into a lot of detail about what we did, the crops, the techniques, etc. But I'll just leave it at the part about how much I enjoy being out there.  It has clicked recently that my previous farm/garden experiences have been on a volunteer basis, and those experiences were so exciting and encouraging to me.  So I'm ecstatic that this summer when I'm done working outside I don't have to come home, change, and ask someone if they want any egg drop soup with that. That is a real big "woo hoo!!!".

Also this past weekend my parents and sister came to visit, which was great.  I am so appreciative that they were able to make the trip and that we could spend some time together!  We explored the downtown Evanston area a bit, which was fun and bigger than I expected.  In the weeks to come I am looking forward to becoming more of a regular at the shops, cafes, and restaurants down there.  While my family was visiting we also checked out the other side of Lake Michigan.  All sorts of pumped to be by the lake this summer!

Tomorrow we will be working with the high school students again.  Some of them are still in school so for now we just work with the students once a week, but come mid-June we will be working with everyone Monday-Friday.  It's about to be another sunny day in Chicago. =)

Rain or shine, we're feeling fine

First week of work is done. And, hello! I love it so far.  Okay, so I know that I am just really excited and probably getting a lot ahead of myself.  But still, nothing wrong with going in a little extra optimistic. I am working in a good environment with good people. And the mission of the program is great.  Green Youth Farm uses farming to help teach high school students greater confidence, maturity, motivation, work-readiness skills, awareness of the impacts of foods and food systems, increased interest in community development...etc, etc. I kind of cut and pasted some of that from the program's mission, but you get the idea. =)

The weather was all over the place this week on the farm.  Rain and 49 degrees one day and sunny 75 degree weather a couple days later.  On the rainy day we took advantage of the situation by sharpening some tools and taking care of some stuff back at the office at Chicago Botanic Garden. The other days we were able to spend on the farm which is in North Chicago/Waukegan.  One of the days was mostly consumed with harvesting and processing about 40 pounds of mixed lettuce.  Side note, this experience is different from my last community gardening experience because we sell the produce from these farms oppose from Five Loaves last summer in which everything was donated.  That aspect is pretty cool not only because it helps make the program more sustainable, but also because the high school students get to help out with the farmstands.  This gives them more exposure to farmers markets as well as cash-handling and customer service skills.  

I met the students for the first time this Saturday and that greatly contributed to me having such a positive outlook on this summer.  We only worked together for a few hours and I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it's an encouraging and diverse group of kids. More later. =)

p.s. I would like to pass on a website that my mama passed on to me. If you are interested in buying local, check out farmplate.com to see what orchards, farmers markets, restaurants, vineyards, etc are near you. Making buying local a real walk in the park if ya know what I mean.

More community gardening? Yes, please!

I am as eager as asparagus in May! Hahah, it is summer time again and I get to be back on da faaaarm.  Last summer I got to test out my green thumb in Cali and this summer I'll be in Chicagoland.  I will be working for Chicago Botanic Garden's Green Youth Farm program.  This program consists of three different sites spread throughout the city and I have been assigned to work on the North Chicago site.  We are just getting started now...ya know, security badges, orientation, shtuff like that.  Stay tuned.  It's going to be a great summer.

Oh, well yes you can come visit! I am living in Evanston and have a couple of couches looking to be crashed on. Hollar! =)