"The very practices that heal our soils will also heal our climate..." - Kiss The Ground
Last month our MSLP Warriors, a group of 25 Middle and High School learners spent four days and three nights at The World Hunger Relief Farm in Waco, Texas, an incredibly inspiring place that is literally saving the world, in several ways, every single day.
This trip was no vacation for our Warriors; they woke up before the crack of dawn every morning, many of them to the crow of the roosters, and reported for morning meditation at 6:00am to start their day. Then one group started cooking and preparing the days meals, while another group performed morning chores (feeding the chickens, etc.). The third group went off on a nature hike and journaled under the beautiful sunrise.
Their days were jam-packed and they did SO MUCH. They were harvesting, planting, and weeding, which, believe it or not, most of them found to be therapeutic! They took educational classes from Professor Sky and his intern, worked in the urban homestead, did more chores all around the farm, pulled more weeds, cooked more food, fed and cared for the animals, worked on their core skills, played sports and games like ultimate frisbee, cricket, and UNO, pushed one another on a tire swing, ate their meals together, put on talent show, played hide and seek, sat by a campfire each night, asked questions, engaged in Socratic discussions, devoured desserts, and had a lot of fun. Some of them were so excited for the outdoor experience that they slept in tents in 40 degree weather!
At the same time, they learned SO MUCH. One key takeaway for all of us is that the answer to reversing carbon emissions and fighting global warming is right under our feet: preserving the soil. And one way to do that is through sustainable, regenerative farming, which is exactly what The World Hunger Relief Farm is doing and exemplifying for the world.
Our Warriors learned about the perils of industrialized agriculture, food insecurity, pesticides, GMOs, desertification, food deserts... and they also learned about the power of composting, cover crops, soil preservation, water conservation, prescriptions for fresh, organic, fruit and veggies, and so much more! They even worked on an urban homestead farm project designed to reverse and eradicate food deserts in inner city areas. This farm was so inspiring; it is truly saving the world in so many ways, and we're grateful our Warriors had the honor of staying there, working there, and serving its cause.
Not only that, but we were blessed to spend time with Sky and his family. He's a man who is so much more than his titles, full of compassion, purpose, wisdom, and so much more. Just to give you a glimpse into his awesomeness, he runs the farm, serves as director of education, lives on the farm with his family, teaches these amazing practices to interns from all over the world, is a professor of agriculture and environmental science at Baylor, is working on another graduate degree, and just a year ago was serving refugees in the French Alps. His wisdom, patience, grace, and love were the biggest blessing for our Warriors.
Want to hear each one of our Warriors share a takeaway during our final discussion at the farm? Check out this clip of each Warrior sharing what he/she will do differently now after such a powerful experience.
Thank you World Hunger Relief Farm for such a wonderful experience, and thank you Sky for being such an inspiration for our Warriors. Can't wait to do it all again!
Coming Soon: a brief mini-series of 2-4 minute videos on an important agriculture related topic made by our Warriors, inspired by their experiences at the farm.