Volunteers, Common Roots needs you!

by Lily Lucero, Volunteer Coordinator

It’s that time of year again! The willow trees are showing their catkins and the wild plum trees are in full bloom, which means it's time to prepare our soil for the coming planting season.

It takes lots of teamwork to make a small-scale, low-till farm successful and Common Roots needs you! If you are willing to learn with us, or you are returning for another season, we can always use your help. Our busiest time is May to September and we offer a wide variety of accessible tasks.

If you are interested in volunteering and haven’t before, you can complete our Volunteer Application. Our volunteer hours for the beginning of the season are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. These hours are subject to some additions as the season continues, and I will keep you updated on any changes. The open shifts begin this week on Thursday, March 2.

Everyone can farm, and we are always excited to share our passion for local food and flower production with our volunteers. If you are a person with a developmental disability, we ask that you come with a support person and we will all work together to understand your interests. My role is to help every farm participant find a way to engage with our farm in comfortable and fun ways.

We can’t wait to see you out on the farm soon!

Ryan and I in the greenhouse with his guppies.

Intern Ryan and his fish

by Nina Vukićević, Farm Manager

Common Roots welcomed our current intern, Ryan, nearly a year ago.

Ryan had been volunteering with the farm when he became interested in having a more in-depth experience. He connected with Community Life Services who assisted him in accessing the California paid State Internship Program for people with disabilities.

We have been fortunate to work alongside Ryan as he has been eager to learn many different aspects of farming. “I really like working with all the different plants we grow here,” he said recently when I asked him what he likes best about the farm.

Ryan approached me early on in his internship about his particular interest in aquaponics. Raising fish has been his hobby for some time and he wanted to learn if he could apply his knowledge to growing food crops.

Plants take up the nitrogen rich fish waste and convert those nutrients to plant growth. Knowing this, Ryan has embarked on a small scale aquaponics experiment in our greenhouse. He has a tank full of guppies in our greenhouse and they will soon be put to work to grow lettuces.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Ryan and love his curiosity about all things science. Keep an eye on our Facebook page to follow Ryan’s project.

Stanford volunteers keep coming

Since the farm’s inception, the Catholic Community at Stanford has made a volunteer commitment to the farm. Every month, groups of graduate students and alumni come down to spend a morning doing whatever tasks are needed at that time.

They are terrific! Many have been volunteering for years now and know the farm and its seasonal tasks. Mending fences, installing potting areas, weeding strawberry beds, planting trees and more — this group has done it all!

This past month, we were fortunate to add the high schoolers who also got down and dirty pruning back our raspberry rows and harvesting willow stakes for our riparian restoration work. What a great group of volunteers! Getting up and out on a Saturday morning shows real commitment, and we thank each of them and their parents for their support of our mission.

Rosie transplanting succulents.	High school students with their parents.

Common Roots is very grateful to the Catholic Community at Stanford for its steadfast support and hands-on help. Your generosity creates so many opportunities for people with disabilities and models our vision for real inclusion. Thank you all!