by Heidi Cartan
Executive Director
As we say goodbye, and for many of us, good riddance, to 2020, Common Roots Farm extends warm and appreciative greetings to all our supporters, participants, and farmers.
’Tis the season for seed catalogues and the driving vision of spring here on the farm. In perusing the catalogue from one of my favorite companies, High Mowing Organic Seeds, I found a message I wish I had written, so I am sharing it with you here, with credit to Tom Stearns. I hope you will find a few minutes to read it and also be uplifted by some photos from our 2020 season, where our farm manager Nina and her crew persevered, leaving a legacy of a successful season that all our donors and supporters can be proud of.
The most tangible version of hope I’ve encountered in my life is a seed. As growers, when we plant we make the commitment to hope in that quiet, commonplace moment. We decide that from this small beginning, big things await on the horizon. We commit to the time and nurturing it takes to see a plant through from seed, to germination, to leaf, flower, and fruit, and we have faith that we will be able to craft the conditions needed for a bountiful harvest.
We couldn’t have predicted the challenges we would face in the year 2020. The difficulties we collectively endured were very revealing about where we are, how our food system works, and how important access to locally grown foods truly is… Let the diversity of our growers remind us of what we know as ecologically-minded farmers and gardeners: life is richer, safer, more abundant, and more beautiful with diversity.
In this time of transformation, I feel grateful for an anchor, a mooring, something to hold on to. There are people who can do that for us. There are places and land that can do that for us…
So take these seeds and put them in your ground! Build community with them. Nourish the world around you. And support each other to have the courage to transform your part of the world into something healthier and more inter-connected.
Wishing each of you a gentler, healthier and more connected 2021. Happy New Year from all of us here at Common Roots!
|
