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| Day old chick |
The Legbar chicks are hatching. The Indian runner ducks and call ducks are too. The lambs are bleating and ungracefully guzzling their bottled milk. Spring has sprung and so has the next adventure in my life. The period of winter waiting has dissipated and the path ahead of new growth has sprouted. In possession of a work visa and several new exciting food jobs, I couldn't be happier!
Since March I have been joyfully spending my days as an educational worker on a one acre city farm in the heart of London. I take school groups of primary school children (ages 4-10) on tours of the farm and lead workshops on where food comes from and how food is made. I have never before mucked out stables, picked up a gobbling 40-pound turkey, walked a massive, head-butting heifer across a city road, put a head harness on an alpaca, chased and caught giant English hares, or had my wellie boots nibbled by Kunekune pigs from New Zealand, but for some strange reason, I feel right at home on this London city farm.
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| Two week old orphan lambs |
The city farm is a magical place. Everyone who comes to the farm, be it families, school groups, or business men in suits on their lunch break, is enchanted. There's something about engaging animals and the outdoors that equalizes and affirms our humanity. In sharing in the shrieks of amazement of city children who have never seen or touched a farm animal before, in seeing the wonderment of autistic children watching a chick hatch, I have learned that animals are an incredible medium through which children (and adults) can learn about the world around them while also learning about themselves--gaining confidence, knowledge, and a sense of responsibility. It has been a powerful experience getting to share the farm with people--sowing seeds, collecting still warm eggs, bottle feeding orphan lambs, pond dipping for mini beasts! And the power of it seems to come from its simplicity, the joy of experiencing the basics of nature and life. It is plain old-fashioned fun.
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| Saturday, the Polish cockrel |
The past month has been an exceptionally fulfilling (and exhausting) experience. Being outdoors all day, working with animals, and mostly, getting to share animal and food knowledge with children, has proved to be one of the most rewarding work environments I have worked in. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity and hope that I can continue along this path of outdoor education and food education. I am currently developing workshops for the farm that include hands-on cookery sessions making bread. We're also working to create more workshops for older children (ages 14-17) that engage debates surrounding current food production systems. What a dream it would be to create something like this in the heart of Los Angeles!
Meanwhile, as the days get longer and warmer and green buds begin to sprout around London, I am learning more and more about animals, food, people, and myself. Happy Spring!
