A Tuesday Afternoon in Concord

This morning we split up into two groups: Group A and Group B. While Group A went to Revision Farms and Daily Table, Group B ventured to Gaining Ground, a non-profit organic farm in Concord, Massachusetts that grows vegetables and fruits. Upon arrival we acknowledged that it was the birthplace of the famous Concord native and essayist, Henry David Thoreau who wrote Walden, a text written about simple living and natural surroundings. This foreshadowed our later visit to Walden Pond which I will discuss later. When we reached the farm site we were greeted by Hannah, the assistant manager, and later met the other employees: Sage, Doug and Paula. Hannah informed us on all the farm's happenings, including information on their contributions to food security. Gaining Ground harvests produce that goes to food pantries, meal programs, and food shelters in Boston. On the farm we planted and watered jalapeño, lunchbox, ace, and cheyenne pepper, and eggplant. The farm encompassed about three acres and produces 60,000 pounds of produce each year.

Planting pepper and eggplant on the soil beds

After Gaining Ground, we visited Walden Pond and walked the perimeter of the pond. We saw a replica of Henry David Thoreau's famous cabin that included one brick from the original cabin. Following a group of high school students, we had a "mini" tour given by one of the park rangers. Once we learned more about the history of the area, we walked to the edge of the water.  When we first approached the water, Emelia looked into the distance and said,

"Wait, is that a dolphin?" 

We all looked at her and laughed realizing that it was a man swimming across the pond. Something interesting we learned was that the pond was made of glaciers. Sabrina tried to help Sidney skip rocks but sadly, she failed. To finish off the trip we took a group photo by the water, creating memories to last.

Left to Right: Sabrina, Sidney, Holly, Sarina, McKayla, Emelia, Saloni

On our way back to Church on the Hill, we stopped by The Old Manse Garden, which was planted in 1842 by Thoreau. We read from one of the signs that writer Nathaniel Hawthorne took great joy from this garden and surprisingly, the garden has a partnership with Gaining Ground. We concluded our experience in Concord with a trip to Bedford Farms Ice Cream, which uses locally sourced ingredients to make their ice cream. The kids ice cream with a cone was a larger serving than we expected. So fresh and delicious! 

Enjoying Concords best ice cream after a long day

We look forward to our service at Daily Table tomorrow morning!

Written by: Sarina and Sidney