Sacred Seed Pop-Up team members engaging with our sacred soil.
Following all C19 rules for three days last week, we gardened alongside each other delivering compost, turning over soil, harvesting sunchokes and planting seeds. As I remember the sun soaking our bodies and the feel of the dirt under me, I realized that working outside with soil delights me deeply.
My dear boss, mentor and friend, Nancy Williams brought a new idea to my work with Mosaic, developing a Plant Care Team. Nancy’s learned about The Sill in NYC and it sparked an idea of hers. Perhaps, we could develop a Mosaic Plant Care Team (still looking for a clever moniker) that would take care of plants in businesses around Omaha. The beauty of this program would be for our Mosaic team members to be in charge of the plants’ care but also to be able to connect with the business people in the offices. I think this is HUGE!
While many of my Mosaic friends love to work at Sacred Seeds or in our Community Garden, the long, hot days can be daunting. Providing an opportunity for them to care for plants, away from the heat and with the added feature of getting to know the people who work there is the perfect trifecta.
In telling my family about this, my dear sister in law, Julie said, “Why not start with Capstone?” Honestly, I hadn’t seen it truly coming to life as my mind is muddling around in site plans for the garden, onboarding a new Mosaic team for Table Grace and developing Job Aides for our current Mosaic teams. For Julie to offer their corporation for our project pilot not only affirmed her belief in this work but in subsequent conversations, she has shared how excited she is to get to know the Mosaic teams.
A couple weeks ago, a couple of us looked over the new Capstone space to decide what plants should be purchased for the different areas. Another colleague at No More Empty Pots, Susan Whitfield, is also very excited about this idea and how it can be replicated. She encouraged me to meet with the staff of these businesses before Mosaic shows up to provide guidelines/expectations/etc. When Susan mentioned this to me, I realized that I hadn’t done this at No More Empty Pots and what an asset this could be for everyone involved. So, today, I’m working on a short job aid for new businesses for our Plant Care Team.
Last week, I was reading an article and found a reference to a book by Dr B.C. Wolverton published in 1997, “How to grow fresh air”. I picked it up at the library a few weeks back and felt the Lord’s hand upon me, it was a wonderful assurance. How He brought to my attention knowledge needed for this next phase. Now, onto the book to prepare for Capstone’s Plant Care Team!
When I thought about writing today, I wondered where to start. It has been raining all morning, the perfect gray day to write. In a quick walk to the back studio, I spotted robins on our patio. When I came back, they were still there so I stopped to observe. They were standing with their beaks open to the sky, drinking in the rain drops.
It was magnificent to see how they were taking what the day offered them, fresh rain water straight into their mouths. I can imagine how the fresh water may have tasted to their bodies.
What is my heart open to now? What do “these days” offer? Taking what the day offers. Since the quarantine/social isolation started last week, I’ve heard many more intentional conversations (less about TV shows and restaurants), found kids outside playing (some with unconventional toys), witnessed families with “littles”* outside walking the neighborhood and sensed a “simpler” approach as everything that used to be normal has s…….l……..o……..w……..e…….d down.
Since the social isolation policy took effect, I’ve wondering about my Mosaic friends. How do they cope without places to go and people to see? While I miss their personalities and how they transport me to new ground every time we are together, part of me feels immense relief. Stopping all programming means no lesson planning, no communications, no prep/travel time, no meeting times on site, no cleaning up/following up afterwards…this is an extraordinary amount of time given I work part time.
Even before the CD-19 pandemic, I decided that I needed to reorient my work strategy. A couple of weeks back, I sensed that I had lost margin in my life. Everywhere. If I wasn’t finalizing the seed order, developing programming objectives, meeting with a new connection, delivering programming or meeting with internal work teams/relationship building, I was working on developing the new Pilot, The Plant Care Team! It was exciting and exhausting.
Sarah dishing up the broccoli to roast and probably planning her next “dishing” out of directions to the team. She’s a leader!
In addition, I had a phone call with Mosaic the week before the pandemic to organize our schedules with all players. We finalized our meeting times easily. Several hours later, I called one job coach to confirm if I was in agreement for the desires for her and her team. When I explained I couldn’t guarantee where we’d meet every other week, we would meet every other week. She said, “Audrey, if I told the team we were going to the moon on a rocket ship, they would ask: ‘Will Audrey be there’?” It was just what I needed to hear.
I can try and replicate myself but part of the magic that we both experience is our time together. I can put grants, connections and future pilots on hold for a bit. Last year, none of this was in place until early June. This year, we are going back at it with more plants and programming options. I want to give the people my best…not development, not right now anyway. Focusing on the people will allow for more time away from the desk/strategic work. Then, after I locate this margin, I’m going to work on finding margin for being outside to enjoy God’s creation out of doors.
*Kim Nelson Ortiz
So the onion story continues from Travis’ Tears of Joy. When we started prepping onions, I explained that we would peel the onions and then chop them up. Lauren jumped at the chance to work with onions. She started peeling and by the time she was done, not only was the skin off the onion - the onion was completely peeled into layers. When I came back to her and saw her work, she looked at me and said, “I didn’t know I was good at onions. I’ve never done this before!”
Reflection on her comment provided insight into the programs I’m developing for Community Integrated Employment opportunities for these wonderful people who are marginalized without a voice.
What are they good at? What do they want to be good at? As I propose 3 different avenues in farming, restaurant work and plant care, how do we find out what everyone wants to be good at? How does anyone find out what they want to be good at? Trying and exploring in a safe place where mistakes/misunderstandings are understood and accepted, that works for me! But does it make sense for others?
Bob and Carla listening to the team talk about their favorite parts of the time together.
These were words from my counselor after I explained all the things I wanted to do with my dream. He said, “You are going to need multiple Audreys.” I immediately felt relief! When I think about one event with Mosaic, it takes creating the learning lesson, prepping by gathering tools, food, etc, delivering the learning while engaging in multiple conversations, cleaning up afterwards and then returning all tools, food, etc to their spots. It is wonderful and exhausting.
I thought - yes and I know exactly who I’ll ask to take on this role first, Carla and Bob! They both worked alongside Mosaic and me all summer long and have kept at their weekly work through the winter. Bob, especially, misses his friends when we have to forego a weekly meeting. Carla grins the entire time she’s with us and is an especially keen listener.
So, I didn’t even need to ask Bob about this. After I cancelled our Mosaic time at Table Grace and Big Garden, he asked if he couldn’t lead the group in my absence. I was thrilled and before I could answer, he confirmed that he knows how I like to engage with Mosaic and he could continue the work without me. YES! Carla and I talked about the same thing, her response: For Sure!
A dear friend in St Louis told me about a farm in Michigan, Benjamin’s Hope. In researching this farm, I spoke with Anna, a staff member who shared the history of Benjamin’s Hope and the incredible communication method they use, RPD, Rapid Prompting Method. Ben’s Hope was founded with a core value of assumed intelligence. RPM is a method for communication with those with developmental differences to connect with their world. Anna told me that RPM empowers those with nonverbal communication styles to express their intelligence and inner thoughts. RPM was developing by Soma Mukhopadhyay whose son Tito has autism. Here’s a link that shows you Tito explaining how he thinks.
Walking to Christmas eve service, Gabe spotted this cool wall!
With my nephew Gabe, I know he understands a lot but he has no way to convey his thoughts. When Anna told me about this method, I thought of Gabe and being able to unlock the door for him to communicate with his world.
Anna went on to explain the RPM training and how they incorporate it at Ben’s Hope. She encouraged me to take the training and learn it for myself. Not only for Gabe, but I think about the teams I enjoy on a weekly basis, imagine if they could have the option to communicate when/if they wanted. I told Anna about my plans and asked her for her recommendation on what to do first. Immediately she said, “Take the RPM training”. I appreciated her opinion but she went on to explain. After she had completed the training and returned to Ben’s Hope, she started working with one of her farmer friends using this method. At the end of their time together, he said to her, “Thank you for respecting me.”
Respectful communication. Assumed intelligence. Connecting with your world. Isn’t that what we all want?
As I develop programs for my Mosaic friends, I keep going back to PURPOSE. What is the purpose for me to develop these programs? Sure, I want people to enjoy gardening, learning how to grow and eat whole foods and mostly, be outdoors. But that’s my purpose. How do I find out the purpose for my Mosaic friends? I’m doing a deep dive in Jean Vanier, who developed L’Arche, communities for disabled adults. Jean believes that to understand human purpose we need to ask three questions:
What does it mean to be fully human?
What does it mean to serve other well?
How can unity be fostered among diverse people?
These questions are integral to the development of my programming. One of the things that Vanier said that resonated deeply with me about how to engage and advocate for those who are marginalized is: We must stay near them and take time to listen to them because out of fear they speak quietly and infrequently.
Preparing our Trifle!
There are some things that I’ve learned from listening to my Mosaic friends this past year, they love to eat sweets. Yesterday, the Saving Grace truck had an abundance of angel food cake and fresh berries, so we decided to make a Trifle. Putting together the dessert was almost more satisfying than consuming it. There was a purpose to creating dessert - it was for all of us to enjoy.
So my journey continues, seeking how to understand a common purpose for these delightful people who add magic to my life.
Lunch anyone?
The camaraderie we shared in the Sacred Seeds Pop-Up garden was delightful. The minute the Mosaic team climbed out of the van, the bantering and observations started. Some folks would immediately take to the garden paths, looking for ripening squash or rainbow corn silks that were drying. Others, joked with each other privately and were full of smiles and joy. Still others, would approach me and share their news. Kevin, here on the left, was one of those. Every week, he would tell me what he had done at home, with his family or what he was planning to do. He was usually so excited that he had a hard time not laughing and smiling as he spoke. Most of the team members were forthcoming with their news and only needed a moment of time and space to share and engage in conversation.
As we toured the garden and discussed work that needed to be done, each team member had certain tasks they enjoyed and volunteered for weekly. No one ever wanted to collect trash around the property with Bob, but we did that every week anyway.
Throughout our work time, team members would take water breaks as needed, find a space to rest in the shade or hang out on tailgate of a pickups. Our time together was low key and rarely did anyone need encouragement to pitch in and help. No one ever needed motivation to join in conversation, laugh along with a joke or play around with each other.
Until we left our Sacred Seeds Garden and walked to several of our partnering organizations to share our harvest with them. The Nature Conservancy, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art and Kanecko all received us warmly when we entered but I noticed a stark difference in the Mosaic team. They retreated emotionally and quickly found seats and avoided eye contact with anyone. Our partners were gracious and eager to connect with the Mosaic team but our folks kept their a safe distance, most often not responding to any direct interaction but keeping their eyes on the ground. On the first visit, I assumed that it was shyness and initial hesitancy to new surroundings and new people. As we finished our third stop at Bemis and headed back to the patio for lunch, I asked some of the team how they liked the harvest walk. Most shrugged or said okay but were quick to change the subject. The next week, I wondered if they even wanted to do the harvest walk but several members perked up and asked when we were going on our Harvest Walk. I thought there would be a bit more engagement on the second go-round, but it was the same as the first visit to each new space.
Holly loving on our team and our harvest!
Reticence, lack of eye contact and what felt like trying their best to melt into the walls. As I thought through this, I started to realize why. Our Mosaic team is used to being overlooked in public. They rarely have random public engagement that is meaningful. It is common to either ignore or be curious about someone you see who may appear different to you. We are all shaped by our experiences, our culture can be very antagonistic if we don’t walk fast enough, turn quickly enough, respond in the correct way or multiple of other reasons. I’ve only experienced a small amount of these situations, being with my Mosaic friends and with Gabriel. The response of the public is startling. So why would I expect the same type of conversation and engagement when we harvest walk compared to the personal safety and frivolity we experience after months of working together in the garden?
But there is a happy ending. After weeks of harvest walks, our team came to look forward to the times visiting Holly, Jill, Eliza, Shannon and Heather to drop off our produce. They would ask me, when do we get to give our watermelons away? So, it was an acclimation, time and space to be themselves and find how they and we all, fit in.
With our buddy, Jill, at TNC!
Seated amidst my Table Grace friends and Mosaic last week, Dustin turned to me and said. “I’ve got sunshine in my pocket”. He then pulled out a stuffed Sunshine toy from his pocket. And said, “See, Sunshine!”
I am very excited about the year 2020. First off, my love of numbers - 2020 is fantastic and I cannot wait to celebrate all of the 20s that this calendar year offers. Secondly, this is the year I plan to revamp Audrey’s Agricultural Adventures. Thanks to Sunny, for helping me craft this name 4 years ago in St Louis. Back then, I was proposing a managed health care farm on the rooftop of a parking facility that would allow members to grow food and eat together. This iteration, I’m looking for farms/growing spaces that will allow me to work with my Mosaic friends.
In considering the development of my own not-for-profit, two of my mentors coached me to not take this direction. I met with both of them and they both had the same advice, we don’t need another 501c3 in Omaha. What we do need is programs for people, so this is my directive for this year.
I plan to develop several programs that I can partner with existing organizations, seek grants and funding for these opportunities. Next week, on my drive to St Louis, I will visit The Farmer’s House, to see how they have developed a farm and orchard for specially-abled adults to learn valuable vocational skills.
So, here’s to the best in 2020! This sunset we experienced in late 2019 inspired me. While watching it, the colors changed in intensity and light.
I trust the Lord to grow and change me in intensity and light in 2020.
We launched a new Mosaic pilot in December, this one in a restaurant. Table Grace is a donation driven cafe whose mission is: To foster a healthy community by offering great food prepared and served in a graceful manner to anyone who walks through the door. Matt Weber, the man who started this ministry with his wife, Simone, wanted to have a space to serve healthy, healing food to anyone who wanted to eat.
Matt, in the background working on pizzas, Tierre preparing bananas for banana bread pudding.
When I met Matt in November, he told me the story of how he and his wife, Simone, decided to start a ministry for people to choose what they could eat. I’d never thought about the fact that hungry people don’t get to choose what to eat, they eat whatever is handed to them or available. When I met Matt’s Food Truck manager, he explained that as a homeless person when someone told him there was a place to go where he could volunteer for a bit and then choose what he ate for lunch, he was excited. Nine years later, Greg is a full time employee of Table Grace, managing their Food Truck.
Table Grace operates almost solely on Saving Grace food rescue donations. With Matt’s culinary degree in Healing/Restoration, he knows exactly how to take whole foods and create yummy goodness. He does supplement at times, but for the most part all food items he uses are rescued. Each day, there are two kinds of pizza, soup and salad to order. When folks come into the counter, instead of hearing “What would you like to order?” they are asked, “Do you want to volunteer or donate today?”. Volunteers are given a task to perform and once completed, they order and eat their lunch.
When I introduced myself to Matt, I asked if he’d heard of Mosaic, to which he smiled as he answered, “My wife’s from Axtell” where Mosaic was founded by a Lutheran pastor 106 years ago. I asked if we could consider working together and he again smiled and said, “Sure!” All he asked is that we would have lunch at the restaurant after we volunteer.
Tierre with some of the recycling!
I had been looking for a space for the Sacred Seeds Mosaic team to meet weekly since we’ve closed down the garden. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. We could meet weekly but instead of growing the food, we could help prepare it. Eating lunch together is one of the highlights of our time together. Given that the Mosaic group that has 10 members, we decided to have 1/2 the team come each week to give everyone a chance to participate.
December 10 was our first day at Table Grace. None of us knew what to expect. Matt welcomed us in, showed us the tasks that needed doing, gave us directions and set us loose. We were all excited to be together and once we’d settled in, we all got started working. We washed dishes, washed pots and pans and washed more dishes. We recycled, composted and prepped salad toppings. Others of us sorted through flowers and freshened the vases on the cafe tables.
To back up, the cafe is warm and inviting, Christmas music was playing through the space. There are 10 or so tables that seat 3 each. The cooking/prep/washing space is small so every inch is used. In addition to us 7, there were 3 full time employees, including Matt who were busy preparing lunch for the day. Throughout the morning, a couple of other folks showed up to work. One helped prepping cheese for salads and another filled napkin dispensers and salt/pepper shakers.
Timmy’s favorite part of the day, “Squirting'“!
Bob and Louis on dish detail.
Enjoying lunch together.
A few minutes before the cafe opened for lunch, Simone set up her musical instruments and began playing Christmas carols on her flute. It was magical…to be working in a warm cafe with my friends while it snowed outside, hearing live Christmas music.
Once the door opened, several other people joined our work force. A couple of guys peeled pearl onions, some worked on washing dishes and another guy swept and mopped the bathroom. So given the tight space, these new bodies were felt. Waiting for others is something we rarely get to practice.
When we had completed our tasks, we cleaned up and ordered lunch. Another magical moment for me, watching these guys mull over soup choices: meatless, beanless chili or sweet potato salmon chowder in a bread bowl was priceless. Everyone who volunteers can choose any combination of soup, salad or pizza. Once we all were seated with our meals, Katherine came around with a plate of desserts so we could choose something for dessert. Smiles abounded!
During lunch, Simone is singing and playing Christmas songs and several times some of us were singing a long. One of our team, Steven, asked if she took requests. Simone said she did and Steven asked if he could sing the 12 days of Christmas with her. She smiled and agreed, once she found the song online, the two of them sang all 12 verses of the song. I’m not sure who loved it the most…but I know my heart was bursting at this magical moment.
Bob, Tim and Louis
Incorporating others to help with this past summer’s pilot with Mosaic was a priority. Culling through my list of friends and co-workers, I asked to see if anyone was interested in joining in for the summer, volunteering weekly. Those with time to share and an interest in growing and enjoying healthy foods was a small number. Everyone who signed up was willing to commit weekly to meet in heat, pull weeds, fight off bugs and most importantly, engage with the Mosaic team.
Each of these mentors: Angelyn, Bob, Mark, Carla, Terry, Tara, Michaela and Kim had a love for the soil and for hard work but especially for people. Watching each of them carefully engage with the Mosaic team was magical for me. It’s difficult for industrious folks to wait and watch others work, extremely trying when the waiting is long and the watch includes restraining yourself from helping.
One of the imperatives at the garden was for the Mosaic team to do the work, not watch us work. This required an armload of resistance and a truckload of patience. We all slipped up from time to time, which was graciously accepted by the Mosaic team as well.
Carla carefully considering others…something she continually did.
Mark giving his goodbyes when lunch was concluding.
Angelyn directing and moving mulch!
Nancy, our master gardener and her protege, granddaughter Avry.
Terry seeding Onions with Nancy, our master gardener.
Tara tasting the chard.
Kimberly and Mallory preparing to work!
At the end of each work time together we shared what we liked the most of the day together. Most often, we heard comments about the lunch or the heat but we also heard “deadheading flowers, harvesting basil, tending tomatoes” and my personal favorite, “squirting water”.
As I reflect on this past growing season, I grew by watching these magical mentors engage intentionally and become connected to the Mosaic team in personal and powerful ways.
After 4 months away from writing, I’m back! It was refreshing to read through my drafts and see where we started back in June. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
Week 3 of the Mosaic Pilot Project was postponed due to rain so instead of Tuesday at the Sacred Seed Pop-Up Garden to start my week with Mosaic, it was initiated at the Food Hub with a different Mosaic crew and Job Coach.
This team works at the Florence Community Garden, where they have two plots, and in the Food Hub. When I saw their faces peeking in through the delivery bay door, my heart burst with different emotions. The thrill of being in their presences, the desire to engage with them and to hear their stories. Of course, some of are more chatty than others - some have LOTS of stories to tell and retell, but mostly, they want to be heard.
Taking time to sign into our experience.
As we talked through our tasks for the day, they grin constantly. Being able to sign their names on the agenda is a moment of pride and handing off the marker to the next teammate, a game. As we walked to the garden, I asked them to observe something new, as we walk this path twice a week. Some had great ideas, others noticed flower after flower after flower.
Taylor with our new tomatoes.
At the garden, we planned how we’d plant their two plots. Our plant fairy, Nancy Scott, had delivered tomatoes, peppers, herbs and chard to the cold frame and the team had stopped to buy their own seeds to plant. We decided on where things should go and created our plant markers. The levels of involvement and contribution were varied, as with any group of volunteers. When we started planting, there were all sorts of ideas about what should go where but in the end, every plants and seed found a home.
We walked a little more slowly back to the Hub, but excitement grew as we started to prepare our lunch. Since the four pillars of my projects are: grow, prep, share and explore, we use the catering supplies to set our table and supplies from Saving Grace to eat. Towards the end of the shift, I noticed two stark realities of the fragility of this team. One of my favorites felt a little sick after eating and spent time in the restroom collecting herself. Another hurt her knee when she opened the drain for the sanitizing sink and burst into tears.
Tasting the volunteer lettuce in the plot we inherited.
It is remarkable to witness their resilience and determination.
On Tuesday, June 4, 2019, the fruition of years of dreaming, stretches of work inside corporations where I didn’t feel like I fit, exploring different types of urban farming, settling myself inside the Omaha community of non-profiters and months of planning: I met my first group of Mosaic volunteers at our Sacred Seed lot. Even now, typing this weeks later, tears well up in my eyes when I remember that first day together.
5 volunteers showed up with Tom, their job coach. We had two pickup loads of limestone rock that needed to be unloaded and laid out on the pathways. After a brief introduction and review of tasks ahead, we set off to accomplish our work. Several volunteers from No More Empty Pots joined us as well as a farmer looking to work with other groups, a friend who helps with yard work and a dear friend from our gourmet group and her daughter. As we set about our work, no one asked: “Why do we have to do this?” “How long will this take?”, everyone just pitched in and became chalkier as the day went on.
Getting our tools so we can get to work!
As I directed and redirected, answered questions and pondered ideas, I reveled in the fact of what the Lord had brought to pass. A boss, Nancy Williams, who allowed me space and an umbrella under which to develop my dream; being alongside specially abled adults who just want to engage and contribute and being out of doors working in the soil.
Here I am, two months later, heading to Sacred Seeds to meet up with this team, knowing that this is what is life-giving to me now. Thank you for joining me on this journey!
Touring Sacred Seeds to see what needed to be done!
Dustin working the limestone.
Louis and Tierre getting set up for the Cup Game!
Working alongside a Native American learning indigenous farming practices is eye-opening for me. First of all, growing food doesn’t require watering. Taylor Keene of Sacred Seeds, suggests planting the seeds and letting them go to grow. He doesn’t worry about watering them. He trusts our Creator to water them as needed.
Secondly, I’ve witnessed Taylor’s deep respect and honor for the soil. The soil was created by God and given to us to enjoy and steward. In his blessing over the soil, Taylor focused on thanking the Creator for the soil and how we can show reverence and obedience to Him in caring for it well.
On our New Moon planting day, Taylor explained that the women were the ones who planted the seeds, the men prepared the soil for the seeds. He was very clear on the different roles for different people. Seeing these clearly defined roles for men and woman, given with no excuses but a firm this-is-the-way-it-is manner, was another important learning for me.
Yesterday, when we were walking the Pop-Up together, I talked with Taylor about the Nebraskan Native Americans. From where we stood at the corner of 13th and Leavenworth, Taylor pointed to where 5 tribes had met individually and within 3 miles of each other in the late 1970s. More on this after I read his book recommendation, An Unspeakable Sadness by David Wishart. In elementary school, I learned about the land where I was born being taken from the Native Americans by the settlers. The Native Americans wanted to share the earth with the new folks. Instead, the Native Americans were walked off their lands and given the worst areas in America to live. Someone else now “owned” the land.
Another concept of land ownership happens with family farms. Lives are lived on family farms and when those lives leave, it can be difficult to decide ownership of the family land. In my mother’s family, her father decided to give ownership of the family land to his two sons. The five sisters never expected to get the land because (at that time) they would not have considered becoming farmers. The sons were expected to farm the family land. While this may seem unfair, it’s the father’s land to share as he sees fit. In my mom’s case, her clever “Proverbian” mother started raising cattle and gave both cash and cattle to the girls as inheritance.
Another family handled the family land situation differently. When the father suddenly passed away at an early age, the remaining family decided that the only son who had been farming with the father, should receive all of the land. This son had worked with his dad since high school and had put in the hard labor to grow it up. It made good sense to me when I heard about it, but I was a bit shocked. When the other sisters/brothers had decided that they didn't want to farm, they expected that whoever did farm would receive the land. This family remains close and connected.
Whose land is it anyway?
This past weekend, one of our projects, 727 S 13th ST: A Sacred Seed Pop-Up came to life. We were all excited for the day, after so many months and meetings of planning, we were set to get started digging.
No More Empty Pots’ master gardener, Nancy Scott, who had been influential in helping to strategize our planting, started by organizing plants by expected height, flowering time and longevity. The Nature Conservancy donated over 150 plants, native flowers and grasses. Nancy and Jill, pictured here, came early to do the sorting. I mostly moved things around according to Nancy’s direction and enjoyed the giggles and smiles as they read the labels to each other, reveling in the beauty we were planning to plant.
It was a joy to watch all of us, and new volunteers, who’d been planning for months to get out into the dirt and dig! Taylor started the event with a Prayer Ceremony that honored our Creator and asked Him to bless the soil, our relationships and our work. It was powerful.
The rest of the morning, we were digging, planting and watering our seeds and plants. Some of us noticed the grass that was appearing around the edges of the beds. Armed with shovels and spades, we began tearing out the grass only to realize it was everywhere. Our hopes were dashed, here we were planting all of these marvelous indigenous seeds that would have grass growing around them in a matter of days or weeks. Our furor against these invasive predators grew as we tried to dig deep into the soil and eradicate all of these villains!
I asked our Kinghorn Garden designer, Nate, pictured here with his wife and girls, how deep the soil had to be to exterminate the grass. His sad reply was that the grass will just keep coming. Chagrined, Nate offered me a solution to the grass problem. I was excited but saddened with his reply of what is a dirty word to me, Roundup. He explained that there is no way to completely rid an area of grass without Roundup. Nate said someone will need to spray Roundup to get rid of the grass. He said this was the only solution.
I decided to ask some others on the team. Most admitted that yes, this was probably the best and most lasting solution to the grass epidemic. As I shared this idea with Eliza, from The Nature Conservancy she could see the sadness I felt about adding chemicals on our indigenous plot. She put her arm around me and explained how one view of conservation. Invasive species have to be contained and sometimes the best way to do this could be applying herbicides. Conservation, as Eliza shared, is how to keep the life of the land healthy and sustainable. If the grass could choke out our Ancient Watermelons or Mongolian Sunflowers, we must kill it.
Nancy, my mentor/boss/friend/advocate didn’t see why we must use Roundup. She wondered how this would affect the food we are growing here and why mulch couldn’t be applied to meet the same goal of eradicating the grass. The conservation conversation will continue, for now no Roundup has been purchased or applied.
The day was beautiful, the companionship compelling and being outside getting dirt under my nails made for a wonderful experience.
Another divine appointment I’ve had in my quest to develop an inclusive urban farm came through my new mentor, Carolyn Anderson. She emailed me one day with this directive, “You need to meet Shirley”. I didn’t question her and found time to meet Shirley for coffee. Shirley McNally and her late husband decided to create a space for their fifth son, Mikey, who was born with down’s syndrome. The first residence they built had 10 individual apartments with a large common area, kitchen and game room. When they told Mikey that he was going to have a new place to live at Sheltering Tree, he was not interested. Mikey told his Mom that he didn’t want to live in a tree house.
I visited the latest residence built by Sheltering Tree in March. This one, near 72nd and Ames, is where Mikey lives now. I met him and visited his apartment. His apartment has space for him to work on projects, draw and color. It has a nice living area, small eating area and large bedroom and bathroom. When I was there, Mikey was getting ready to do his laundry.
The calm and peace throughout this Sheltering Tree community was soothing. It reminded me of my first visit to a L’Arche setting in St Louis several years ago. Everyone was engaged and purposeful in their activities. I could only think of the many others who would benefit from having a space to call their own home and also have support when they need it.
When Shirley and I first met in December, she was enthusiastic about a new property that Sheltering Tree had just received. Someone donated a large portion of a farm near 180th and Fort street to their non-profit. The rest of the farm will be developed into 450 or so new homes.
Fourth Sheltering Tree Residence and Farm to be created just above the intersection on this map.
In addition to another Sheltering Tree residence, Shirley wants to create a community farm. She envisions space for Sheltering Tree residents to connect with other new residents, to work and learn together on a farm. When we meet, we discuss how we are going to create a learning farm that will not only create community but produce food that residents that enjoy together. Since both of us have a Montessori educational background, we agree on learning exploration and how to create an environment that encourages this.
Each meeting goes long as Shirley’s quick laugh, sparkling eyes and contagious enthusiasm encourages great discussion. She’s another gem in Omaha, working to break down the barriers from the state and public opinions that keep specially abled people marginalized.
Given the opportunity to develop feet and wings for a childhood dream is fabulous and daunting. Living with an idea in your heart and telling it to people who are close to you is natural. The responses you garner don’t affect the dream. When someone provides the way for the dream to come to life and you begin to actualize it, it becomes too good to be true and scary at the same time. How am I ever going to do this?
Exploring the how of my dream has been excruciating and exciting, and as its gained traction, I sometimes lose my way. When others get excited about supporting my dream, I listen to their ideas and direction and mine seem to vanish. This is where I was in early February. I had the momentum behind me to get a farm going at Fontenelle Forest, people who came alongside who had more of a community garden in mind. It derailed my idea of a natural farm in the forest. I feel strongly about honoring the biological ecosystem where I live and grow. As I shared my story with the sisters of Iowana farm, they embraced my dream and helped me remember where it came from – deep inside of me.
Earlier in the year, my husband attended a retreat hosted at the Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City. He found this quote there, it fits perfectly with creating a natural garden in a forest.
In a follow up Fontenelle Forest meeting, my mentor and boss, Nancy Williams showed all of us on the team how to develop a common goal for the space. It is through this alignment that we will collectively find our focus. I have peace and regenerated energy towards the forest thanks to Nancy’s direction.
This was the quote I’ll never forget from my first meeting with Carolyn O. Anderson. She’s on the No More Empty Pots Board and volunteered to help with our CWTP (Culinary Workforce Training Program) graduation ceremony. We met at her office at UNO where I learned about her love for the marginalized, especially those with disabilities. Carolyn started an organization to bring inclusive quality art programming to the underserved. Her organization, Why Arts, is beauty to behold. I accompanied her on visits to two different sites this past fall. Watching singers and guitarists walk around and engage with children with multiple disabilities was stunning. The children responded in joyful ways. It brought tears to my eyes as I observed. Carolyn feels strongly that each individual, no matter their circumstance, has unlimited creative potential. And it shows in her organization.
Now, about that line of Carolyn’s. Our conversation began with my explanation of my role at No More Empty Pots and the experiences I’d had teaching teenagers at NorthStar and Omaha Northwest. Carolyn looked at me squarely and asked, How old are you? When I said, 57, she laid out her line: “You’re too old to teach teenagers”. I was taken aback a bit but too startled to react. Later, I realized that there was truth in her words. No wonder it was so difficult, I was not in my 20s or 30s. Is relating to teenagers easier then? Not sure, but it did form a unique bond with Carolyn. She calls it as she sees it.
When I told her I wanted to start an inclusive farm, told her about the space I was considering on 90th and Center, she asked if it would be wheelchair accessible. To which I affirmed. She looked at me squarely in the eye again and said, “I’ll help you build that farm.”
Working session at Kitchen Table, Dundee.
One of the best things about working with Nancy is that we can talk about anything. Our biweekly meetings have agendas but also, tangents. Its in the tangents that I find new discoveries and insights. For example, here we are reviewing my strategy work with Amy. We have made good progress but I was stuck on where to start with Camp Brewster at Fontenelle Forest. Nancy took a look at my deck and said, “You’ll start with a small test plot to see what biodiversity exists already”. Just like that! While this may not be seem revolutionary to you, dear reader, it turned a corner for me. She’s truly is an amazing leader.
I can count on one hand, the fabulous female leaders I have had in my career. Linda Macy, my principal in Colorado. MaryAnn Billington, my director at Oracle. And Nancy, CEO/Founder of No More Empty Pots. Similarities of these three bold, great women: Belief in me, complete trust in what I say and do, genuine love for my heart and encouragement to grow. How blessed I have been by these three women.