The weekly newsletter is a great opportunity to share who we are, what we’re doing, things that we’re thinking about, and more. Yet it’s impossible to capture everything going on.
Given all that’s happening, each week presents an infinite number of possible topics for our newsletter, an exciting position to be in, albeit a bit daunting when it comes to making a choice. Plus, with the digital tools available, we’ve got words, photos, and videos at our disposal. Over the years, we’ve covered countless topics, written by many people. The newsletter, also posted on our website (13 years of archives to search through if you want!) shows that range over the years, with a definite focus on a few key themes. We’re always open to suggestions for topics, and questions that you have. Just let us know!
It is rare that we have a professionally made video (not one of my amateur efforts) with an interview with Dru and Paul to share. But this week we do!
We’re featured in a recently released episode of Human Footprint, a PBS show that explores the ways humans are transforming the planet and what those transformations reveal about who we (humans) are. We’re part of Episode 2 of Season 2, titled “The Enemy of My Enemy”, which you can watch online for free until the end of July (here).
The footage, taken last fall, is really beautiful. If you’re in a time crunch, we’re in the last segment of the episode (about 47 minutes in), but the whole episode is worth watching. It shows several interesting examples of humans trying to use nature to combat a problem resulting from human actions. It’s no coincidence that most of the examples relate to agriculture, one of the oldest forms of environmental manipulation. There’s no getting around the fact that farming requires some amount of domination and overpowering of nature, even while recognizing that we’re subject to environmental conditions outside of our control.
However, not all farms do things the same way. The segment of the show focusing on Full Belly Farm touches on important aspects of this farm’s design and operation that are not standard. Crop diversity, hedgerows, beneficial insects, and creating habitat for birds, mammals, and insects seem so normal here that they’re easy to forget to highlight when caught up in the little details of the daily rhythm of growing crops and getting them out into the world. So we appreciate the help in sharing our story!
Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
Thanks to Ella Galaty for both photos!
