Today was a splendid day. We ended our week of service learning on a high note at Mill City Grows farm in Lowell, MA. The farmers and staff at Mill City Grows were very outgoing, lively, and well-informed about sustainable farming. We split our group into 3 smaller segments, each doing a different type of work: weeding with Enrique,planting and tarping land with Joe,
and fertilizing the fields with Joe using dehydrated chicken waste.
The hours we spent on the farm went by quickly because of the entertaining staff and the close relationship of each group member. Over the course of the week, we have not only grown in our knowledge of farming, but we also fostered friendships with our AB group. Mill City Grows was an excellent way to wrap up our service lessons on food justice, and we extended our learning to social justice.
After farming for the bulk of the day, we went to a poetry slam at the Haley House Bakery and Cafe, which is a sustainable restaurant that uses crops grown on local farms. The poetry slam performances artistically expressed pressing social issues in the United States of America. Issues such as police brutality, racism, immigration, and mental illness served as the inspiration for the poems of the evening. We all enjoyed food from the cafe while we listened to artists outlining the injustices in the United States. One particular poet that was featured, Emmanuel Yeboah, spoke about the impact of the church on his life and on the "hidden silences" of Ghanaian history. This poet resonated with many members of the audience along with one of our AB participants who is also Ghanaian. Another of our AB participants was a judge of the competition. Overall, the slam poetry was very thought provoking and emotionally charged.
We learned a lot and laughed a lot on our last day doing service together in Boston, MA. Mill City Grows and Haley House were a great way to provide closure to our week of learning about the Boston urban agriculture system, and the good work that is combating food injustice. We are all planning on bringing our new found knowledge back to College Park and we hope to inspire others to get informed and get involved.
and fertilizing the fields with Joe using dehydrated chicken waste.
The hours we spent on the farm went by quickly because of the entertaining staff and the close relationship of each group member. Over the course of the week, we have not only grown in our knowledge of farming, but we also fostered friendships with our AB group. Mill City Grows was an excellent way to wrap up our service lessons on food justice, and we extended our learning to social justice.
After farming for the bulk of the day, we went to a poetry slam at the Haley House Bakery and Cafe, which is a sustainable restaurant that uses crops grown on local farms. The poetry slam performances artistically expressed pressing social issues in the United States of America. Issues such as police brutality, racism, immigration, and mental illness served as the inspiration for the poems of the evening. We all enjoyed food from the cafe while we listened to artists outlining the injustices in the United States. One particular poet that was featured, Emmanuel Yeboah, spoke about the impact of the church on his life and on the "hidden silences" of Ghanaian history. This poet resonated with many members of the audience along with one of our AB participants who is also Ghanaian. Another of our AB participants was a judge of the competition. Overall, the slam poetry was very thought provoking and emotionally charged.
We learned a lot and laughed a lot on our last day doing service together in Boston, MA. Mill City Grows and Haley House were a great way to provide closure to our week of learning about the Boston urban agriculture system, and the good work that is combating food injustice. We are all planning on bringing our new found knowledge back to College Park and we hope to inspire others to get informed and get involved.
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