Earlier this month, our leadership team had an opportunity unlike any I have ever experienced in my career in nonprofits. We were invited to Service Week at 1440 Multiversity where we spent an impactful week developing our organizational and leadership skills, rejuvenating to alleviate burnout, and stretching ourselves to gain new skills in relationship building as the foundation for all of our work.

Service Week has given our team a lot to think about. At Common Roots Farm, we aspire to be a place where people come together to grow food and friendships that nourish everyone. Small farms have enormous potential to heal some of what ails our planet. By farming in harmony with nature, we can grow healthy food by supporting healthy soil. Farming can also be a tool to build relationships across differences that can frequently keep us apart.

Relationship building skills require practice like any other, and experience is a great teacher. One of our goals at Common Roots is that relationships between people with and without disabilities become easier and comfortable because we all are working the land together. If you have never interacted with a person with a developmental disability, it can be intimidating. I find people who keep their distance from my disabled son do so because he’s outside their experience. Rather than offend, they avoid. But, when you are side by side with someone harvesting tomatoes, collecting eggs, planting out seedlings, decorating bouquet sleeves or hauling compost, there is more focus on the work and not so much on your differences.

We’re starting 2020 with a new farm manager! Nina Vukicevic has been a key member of Common Roots Farm since the beginning, and has recently completed an apprenticeship at the UCSC farm. Here’s a bit of her story, in her own voice:

JW: How did you come to be involved in Common Roots Farm?

NV: I was first introduced to the project a couple months after the property was purchased. I had just graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Ag Business and my mom knew about the project because she was Noah and Matthew’s pediatrician when they were growing up. My mom told me I should go check it out and so I went ahead and took an interview with Heidi. I immediately fell in love with the project and began helping in any way that I could—from doing business development, marketing, website design, and anything else the farm might need. I haven’t left since!

JW: What do you love most about farming?

When we put the field into production last year, I would help outside sometimes and realized that I much preferred being outside with the plants than stuck inside behind my computer. This realization led me to pursue further education in practical knowledge about growing vegetables and flowers for production. It's funny because I actually didn’t really go out into the field much when I first started working at Common Roots—to be fair, there wasn't much going on outside at first! I mostly worked on admin stuff inside, typing away at my computer. When we put the field into production last year, I would help outside sometimes and realized that I much preferred being outside with the plants than stuck inside behind my computer. This realization led me to pursue further education in practical knowledge about growing vegetables and flowers for production. There are many things about farming that I love—being outside, having my hands in the dirt, using my body, tending to the plants and learning more about them, to systems thinking about how everything and everyone moves about the farm, and of course, all of the wonderful people who come and farm with us!

The opportunity to connect with others while working side by side is truly something wonderful—you have a common ground upon which to get to know each other and spark conversation. I also love all the things I have learned about myself through working with plants. There are so many life lessons to be realized while you are out in the field. It is an opportunity to have a lifelong relationship with the plants and a sense of place with the land. Ultimately, I have come to realize that I am a total plant nerd and I am thrilled to have found something that feeds my mind and keeps me looking forward to the next day, the next plant fact and the next person I get to work alongside with.

JW: Tell us a bit about your internship at UCSC.

NV: The apprenticeship at UCSC is a six month education and work program. There is everyday field work at the UCSC farm as well as a variety of classes ranging from irrigation to botany to social and food justice to fruit tree pruning and beyond. There are about 35 participants who live and work on the farm for the season, along with staff at each of the three unique sites on the farm that reflect different farming styles. My interest in the apprenticeship was to round out my skills to have hands on and practical knowledge about growing plants organically and commercially. While my time was challenging there, it was very rewarding and I feel that I am ready to come back to Common Roots and share what I have learned.

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