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If you had the opportunity to spend a month pursuing any sort of job or project that you wanted, what would you choose? For me, it was to work on a farm, and that’s exactly what I am doing.
Hi! My name is Linnea, and next month I am graduating from high school. During the month of May, my school sends off the graduating seniors to do a Senior Project, an internship or creative project of our choosing. The only requirement is that we complete seventy hours of unpaid, supervised work. Next year I’ll be heading off to college to study Environmental Engineering. But, in mulling over ideas for what project I would set off on, I knew I wanted to do something different. Something I was passionate about, but something that was completely new for me. So, I drafted up an email and sent it off to Farmer Al.
Three weeks later, I drove out to the farm for my first day as the new intern. I’ve grown up eating Farmer Al’s peaches and apricots and cherries, and I’ve known about Frog Hollow for a long time. But I wasn’t really sure what to expect to see or do at the farm. I’ve never spent any time on a farm before, and I was only going off of what I’d seen in movies. And yet, after just a few days of work, I truly feel like I have seen and learned more—and enjoyed it nonetheless—than I would ever have been able to in a classroom setting. I’ve learned how powerful compost can be. I’ve learned how to properly transplant and grow cucumbers. I’ve learned how a busy farm-to-table café functions during the lunch hour. I’ve learned how Farmer Al got into farming in the first place. And I’ve really begun to understand how much time and care it takes to manage a place like Frog Hollow Farm.
Three days into my internship, I’ve already had a personal tour from Al, a compost lesson with Cristoff, assisted Anna at the café, and spent the morning weeding the new vegetable garden with Marlene and Kristen. I know I’ve seen only a glimpse of the production, and more, the diverse and lively group of people that make it all happen. The beauty of the farm and the kindness that I have been welcomed with amaze me. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity, and I cannot wait to see what is to come.
There’s something Al said to me as we drove through the orchards on Tuesday that has stuck in my mind since. I think it really encompasses one of the cornerstones of Frog Hollow Farm: to make a great product and to bring people together. And, as I learn more about Al and the farm, it’s clear to me that it tells the story of how the Frog Hollow family came to be. He said, “Food is not just about survival. Food is about brotherhood.”
