Earth Dance Organic Farm School
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Hey there. Welcome to the Farm Educators Roadmap. I'm Christa Hein, former nonprofit girl turned farm education entrepreneur. I've spent the last 30 years creating hands-on programs that connect people to the land animals, and the traditions that nourish our daily lives. If you're listening, you probably believe what I do.
That farm education is needed now more than ever. Not just on rural farms, but in suburbs, cities, and everywhere In between. In this podcast, you'll hear real stories and practical advice from farm educators all across the country, people who are creating change through their programs in creative and inspiring ways.
Whether you're dreaming about starting your first program. Are already knee deep in your own farm education work, or are just curious about how others are impacting their communities through farm education. You're in the right place. [00:01:00] Let's dig in.
Christa Hein: Welcome back to the Farm Educators Roadmap. I'm your host Christa Hein, and today we have a very special episode that takes us to Ferguson, Missouri, home of EarthDance Organic Farm School, the oldest organic farm west of the Mississippi. For over 140 years, this land has been farmed, and since 2008, EarthDance has been an educational hub teaching people of all ages where their food comes from and how to grow it themselves from organic farming practices to community development.
This 14 acre farm is not just growing food, it's growing farmers, educators and future food leaders. Joining me today are Jena Hood and Tiffany Brewer, the interim Co-Executive Directors of EarthDance. Jena, who also serves as the Director of Agriculture and Education, has been at Earth Dance [00:02:00] for almost seven years.
They bring a deep passion for growing both plants and people, blending their background in social work with hands-on farm education. Tiffany, who is also the Director of Impact, has been part of Earth Dance for 10 years. She's dedicated to strengthening food systems and expanding access to fresh local food in the St.Louis area.
Together, Jena and Tiffany are leading EarthDance into its next chapter, rooted in sustainability, education and community impact. We're going to hear about their journeys into farm-based education, what makes EarthDance such a unique learning environment, and how they're shaping the future of this historic farm.
So whether you're dreaming of starting your own educational farm or looking for inspiration to grow your impact, this episode is for you. Let's jump in.
Jena and Tiffany, welcome.
Jena Hood: Hi. Thanks for having us.
Christa Hein: So I [00:03:00] wanna start by having you each share just a little bit about your journey into agriculture and farm education.
Tiffany Brewer: Sure. I'll go ahead and jump in. So in around about 2014, I wanted to learn how to grow my own food. I was teaching in the local school district here in St. Louis and I was coaching high school sports. And I was starting a family. So there were these ideals of not wanting to continue some of the health impacts that I had seen in my family, whether that was, you know, hypertension or high blood pressure, or diabetes, I was really intentional about wanting to not let that happen within my generation.
Christa Hein: mm-hmm.
Tiffany Brewer: So I came across EarthDance on a quick Google search and they offered a program that helped people in hands-on training to learn how to grow their own food.
So I found [00:04:00] it to be very interesting, and I have been growing a garden ever since. And I also wanted to share that knowledge with the youth that I had been engaging with as a coach, as a mentor, and as a teacher in the traditional public school district. Fortunately there was a position, a seasonal position here at Earth Dance open that allowed me to blend both my desire to continue to teach and grow some food on the farm here.
And so I was able to seasonally lead our junior farm crew at that time. It was a summer program for teens in the area. So that's really how I got started. And the journey has been fulfilling ever since, having come on as a full-time staff member in 2019. So, that's really where the love and the passion came from both mentorship and then, that developed passion for agriculture once I went through the apprenticeship program.
Christa Hein: [00:05:00] Nice. Jena, what about you?
Jena Hood: Yeah, so I grew up, gardening with my parents and my grandparents. And that was down in South Georgia. And, you know, fast forward to college, start working for various nonprofits and I was approaching my thirties and feeling a little bit disconnected from like, working with my hands, working with the land, growing food.
And, I had an opportunity to spend some time WOOFing across the country, you know, working on different farms across the country. Uh, WOOFing for folks who may not be familiar - worldwide, opportunities on organic farms is kind of a work share, often providing room and board in exchange for help around the farm or homestead.
And that was an opportunity that really, sealed the deal, if you will. I wanted to be working with my hands. I wanted to be working with the land and in connection with other humans doing similar work. And, when I sort [00:06:00] of settled back down in St. Louis, I started looking at what was the local agriculture or urban ag scene here.
And I found EarthDance similar to Tiffany, a Google search. And at the time, their flagship program, our flagship program - the farm apprenticeship - just was really calling to me. And I applied and was accepted and completed the six month part-time apprenticeships. So I got to work alongside the farmers and really get a sense for, is this something I wanna really do with my, you know, my sort of next career, if you will. And yeah, I was hooked. And a position at EarthDance opened up, sort of as my apprenticeship season was winding down. And, thanks to my, previous, many, many years of nonprofit experience, I was able to apply and be accepted. I didn't have as much farming experience, but I had that nonprofit experience and we're a nonprofit teaching farm. And so, I was [00:07:00] able to make a compelling enough argument that I was able to stick around. And so, that was in late 2018. And yeah, I've been in various positions, working primarily with the Farm and Garden team, over the years.
And, the various apprenticeship, participants and, folks who come to learn how to grow and connect to food. And yeah, so it's been quite the journey and I'm excited to be in this sort of new and different role, alongside Tiffany, and seeing what the next big things are gonna be.
Christa Hein: Awesome!
So the land of earth dance has such a rich history in farming. Can you tell us a little bit about how it transitioned from a family farm to an organic farm school?
Jena Hood: Yeah. So as you mentioned in your introduction in 2008, Molly Rockman our founding Director, had been introduced to this farm prior to that, as a teenager, and had gone [00:08:00] off post-college and done her own things and did a farming apprenticeship program in California and was settling back down in St. Louis and kind of had the question like, what about that farm in Ferguson? And came back and found that the family farm at the time, that original family was no longer farming. They didn't have kids that were continuing to do the family farm thing. However, Caroline Miller was leasing some of the land to other folks that were farming it, and Molly connected with one that, one of those farmers and worked alongside him for part of a season and then approached Caroline about leasing her own plot of land and EarthDance was born from that the following year, in 2009
Then the first apprenticeship season kicked off, and there's been many iterations of that over the years. But [00:09:00] that was the first season. And over the course of the next couple of seasons, continuing to farm and then the opportunity to purchase the land. Caroline had passed and the opportunity to purchase the land came about, and EarthDance was able to fundraise and actually able to purchase the land outright in 2012. And yeah, we've been tending and growing ever since.
Christa Hein: There are so many programs that you offer - apprenticeships, farm to School initiatives, community outreach.
Can you walk us through the different types of programs you have and maybe share which ones have had the biggest impact?
Tiffany Brewer: Sure. So, the flagship program, the apprenticeship that Jena was just referencing, that's had several iterations since 2009. That's probably our biggest program. We've had over 400, probably closer to 500 now, participants, graduates go through [00:10:00] that program in the last 16 years.
So, that's the program that really is designed to be a first step in launching someone's farming or gardening business career path, if that's what, if that's what the participant chooses, it goes in depth with the content. It's an extended opportunity. There's several months of programming and experiences and field trips and enrichments that go into that program that really help build up skill sets for people who are interested in small scale farming or community gardening even. That really produces food for communities. So, I would say that would be the most impactful program. In 2020 when we changed our suite of educational offerings, I think that that beginning level was very interesting to folks who were starting these pandemic gardens and didn't really know exactly what they were doing.
Christa Hein: Uhhuh.[00:11:00]
Tiffany Brewer: But really eager and excited to grow some food. So, when we started our spring training program for beginners in 2021, I think that's also been impactful for people to just, you know, get their hands in the dirt and do some family gardening and, and really grow something that they're excited about and that they're excited to eat. And we're actually in the middle of our spring training program this year. It's a five week online course with hands-on offerings on three of the five Saturdays. And, well this is the fifth year for that. So, we're excited to have so many folks really having more of an interest in gardening after having gone through that program.
Christa Hein: Yeah.
Tiffany Brewer: You mentioned our farm to school program. I think that is also one of those that, I specifically, get personally, get excited about being someone who's worked in the education system and enjoys working [00:12:00] with young people and really seeing them light up when they taste a cherry tomato for the first time off of a plant, or, you know, they pull a cucumber off of a vine. So, making sure that young people have those experiences at a young age really does something for them mentally, that it connects the dots that some people who are removed from those experiences don't get the chance to see and experience.
So, I think our bringing in young people, whether it's on field trips, whether it's when we go to the schools and do cooking demonstrations, or even when our farmers or staff members go to their buildings for a career day and just talk about what we do at EarthDance and they can see that these are opportunities for them to be part of the food system. I think those are also very impactful opportunities for [00:13:00] us and for the youth, as they're, you know, building their young minds.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm. What a beautiful system though, to start in the school, to then have the beginning farmers and then that deeper level you really are meeting people's needs at all times.
Jena Hood: Absolutely. Yeah. I think that's really important point Christa, in that, you know, Tiffany mentioned a little bit there was an evolution of the, of the apprenticeship program over the years, and what we found is that some people are really here just to dig in, like backyard gardening level.
Right. And then others want to deeper dive. They are - I wanna know if this is what is next for me.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Jena Hood: Similar to my, you know, my personal experience. And when we shifted in 2020, as Tiffany mentioned, and, and sort of separated out, we went from doing a six month part-time apprenticeship.
We sort of pulled out and created that [00:14:00] five week spring training for gardeners program. And it came out, it was born out of feedback that we were getting from people about, you know, like, I don't wanna farm as a career, but I do wanna grow food for myself, my family, my neighbors, my community.
And so that was just a really, I think, impactful, like just listening to what people were asking for and pivoting. Partly because we had to, right? Because of COVID. But partly because it just made real good sense for how we were wanting to really dig in, to the folks that were wanting , to work with us.
Christa Hein: Yeah. And your farm is growing actual food. You have a market, you're supplying different restaurants and schools it sounded like.
So I also saw that you have your farm stand and it's a pay what you want farm stand, which is so innovative. So how does that initiative help build community engagement and work for the farm?
Jena Hood: Yeah, [00:15:00] so the pay what you can farm stand was also kind of born out of COVID. Also, I wanna speak, this land that we are on had, when the Millers were the third generation, they had a farm stand on site.
And so people from the community could come directly to the farm and buy. They had some u-pick options. And so the farm itself has always been a like kind of a place where a community could gather, and when EarthDance, as we were working over the prior 16 years, we were trying to determine, you know, what are the outlets, what are the ways that we wanna do food distribution?
And we were always vending at our local Ferguson farmer's market on Saturdays, but we weren't selling off the farm because it, that's a whole other sort of, component, right?
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Jena Hood: And it requires staffing and a space to do that. And so we were fortunate to be able to secure some grant funding to be able to convert one of our existing tool sheds to a farm stand.
And that came out of, again, that we saw that [00:16:00] big need during COVID, where people, you know, that we didn't know what we were gonna find on the grocery shelves and so, we had a ton of food in the ground, but restaurants weren't buying because they weren't open. And so we had this idea that we would do a drive through pay what you can produce share, and so people could you know, sort of quote unquote order ahead and then swing by the farm and, and pick it up and pay whatever price they could afford for certified organic. You know, fresh local produce and, and then so then we get that grant, we convert the farm stand, and we've seen over the years, and that would've, that was in 2021 when we launched the farm stand. And we have seen just a tremendous, as the word is getting out, just more and more folks that are engaging with that choice. And we're seeing an increase across, you know, it's everywhere, right? Inflation's impacting every single aspect.
Christa Hein: Yeah.[00:17:00]
Jena Hood: We're seeing it with the price of food. And, we predict that this year, we're gonna see even more folks that are engaging, either at the farm stand or at the farmer's market, both of those - our produce is offered at both of those locations on a pay what you can basis. And more folks are gonna be using that. Again, we've seen the trends over the years where more people are using that, and I think that's gonna continue
Christa Hein: And what a beautiful way to introduce people to foods maybe that they wouldn't be able to set aside money to try something they they weren't familiar with from their budget. But having this pay as you can model, allowing them to try different types of foods, that they may never have had before.
Jena Hood: Yeah. And it, it also, it allows for people to think, in a sense to pay it forward. You know, folks that wanna be thinking about like a solidarity mindset. And being able to pay a little extra is gonna allow us to continue [00:18:00] to keep the, just pay what you can model going.
Christa Hein: mm-hmm.
Jena Hood: So that we can just continue to be growing food and distributing it, you know, really to anyone, regardless of what they can pay for it.
Christa Hein: Now you've mentioned that the food is organic. What does organic and regenerative farming mean in the context of your farm, and how do you teach those concepts to new learners?
Jena Hood: Yeah, so, I can say that from the farm's perspective, it's the ways that we are growing the food is really, really important.
We think that health begins in the soil and that we, everything that we are doing, that is our jumping off point. So the way that we are attending to the land and the soil. We are, we are stewarding it, in a way that is giving back. Produce growing is extractive in a sense.
And so, we are constantly wanting to be giving [00:19:00] back to the soil and so we are really in that way going beyond what even organic certification requires. So we we're practicing, no or very, very, very low tillage or soil disturbance. We are doing, uh, I mean the amount of compost that goes down on, on our production beds is, is kind of crazy sometimes.
And we're creating a space here from an ecological standpoint that is meant to not just grow food for the humans that we're growing it for, but also like the greater ecology. You know, everything from the microbial, you know, what we can't see in the soil to the, you know, the birds in the sky and the deer and the coyotes and every, every, everything else that we see passing across this land and we teach that slowly, and we teach it deeply.
I think that that's really important. One of the challenges in a teaching farm and a production farm is, you know, the weather's not the weather's gonna do what the weather's gonna do.[00:20:00]
Christa Hein: Yeah.
Jena Hood: All of the challenges that come with farming are still present and you're also trying to teach people while dealing with these specific challenges.
And so, we try and teach, you know, slow down, stay connected, be mindful and intentional with what it is that we're doing. And flexibility. You've gotta be flexible because everything around us is changing all the time. And, I think that that goes into the ways in which we are educating folks when they're here working.
The working and tending.
Tiffany Brewer: I'll add to that, one thing that I think is really important in how we teach and introduce people to some of the practices is make them feel like they're part of the system. Make sure that they don't feel separate from. Making sure that they feel part of that system in a way and it's relatable.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Tiffany Brewer: So giving analogies that, that are, you know, [00:21:00] real life situational circumstances that mirror what happens in nature, I think also helps people connect the dots and feel like, oh, this is happening in nature.
This is also can be used as a, as a life lesson. I think that's helpful for people to feel grounded in the space and feel grounded in the ways we talk about regenerative agriculture and not wanting to disturb the soil and disturb the natural processes. I think it helps, when people are learning about these things to incorporate their life into those same lessons.
And I think that's really important for young people as well to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.
Christa Hein: That's really beautiful. And, you are an urban farm, is that correct?
Tiffany Brewer: Yes.
Jena Hood: Yeah, we're, we're surrounded by a neighborhood. Yeah.
Christa Hein: Wow. And so those practices that you're creating on [00:22:00] the farm, the permaculture practices, (I watched all the videos on your website. It's just amazing what you all are doing.) But the orchard in the berms and the water conservation. Like that is enriching the whole neighborhood in what you're providing for those people that live in the area.
Jena Hood: Yeah, definitely. And we're, you know, we don't just have the farm production spaces.
We have demonstration and teaching gardens, and we have rain gardens and native gardens. And so all of these are meant to be sort of a model or something we can point to to show like, this is how you could do this on a home scale or, you know, a backyard scale. People come to the farm and they see the big production fields and that might be harder for them to connect with, but we intentionally have these other spaces that are meant to - kids can come and they can touch and smell and taste and and really kind of see [00:23:00] - parents or guardians can like, yeah, we could, we could totally replicate something on this scale.
Christa Hein: So what challenges do you have in farming and food systems in that urban and suburban area and making those more accessible?
Tiffany Brewer: Yeah. I thin just like any other nonprofit, there's always these like pressures and challenges of making sure that we're reaching the people with things that they're wanting, making sure we're incorporating the feedback that folks are sharing with us and how we are interacting with the neighborhood and the community and making sure we are, also partnering with local organizations and building those lines of communication with the neighbors. And, and I think that there's that level of respect, and reciprocity that has to go into like being in the middle of a community. And, that was also part of why we, we changed our model and of distribution [00:24:00] and why we changed our model of education is it's really to incorporate what the things are that we are hearing and, and seeing that people are sharing with us that they want. So it can be challenging to meet all of those different needs. Yeah. But we do our best. Our staff is awesome and we lean on each other for all of the things that can be hard and also, you know, stretch thin with time, wanting to do so much.
And, knowing there's only so many hours in a day. So yeah. Running a functioning farm business, you know is a challenge in itself. Jena mentioned some of the climate challenges, right. For our farmers, I think that political challenges and also just economic challenges are also some of the other things that, you know, we have to consider when we're going into business.
Many of our donations are what keep our operations [00:25:00] afloat. We are, you know, heavily relying upon our community to support the work that we do and so that we can continue to provide food and grow food and educate folks. So, The challenge in, maintaining financial health
Christa Hein: mm-hmm.
Tiffany Brewer: Is also a revolving door. Right. We're, we're going around and around and around year, year over year, but we're confident that people believe in our mission and wanna be a part of what we do. So, we handle those challenges, as they come and I think it makes us stronger.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm. Now there are lots of people who dream of starting a farm, but they may not have access to land or resources.
So as a teaching farm, what advice would you give to someone who wants to get started in farming but doesn't really know where to begin?
Jena Hood: Yeah, I think that there are many farm garden apprenticeship programs across the country and some Google searching, you can seek those out.[00:26:00]
Being at the WOOFing is a great opportunity. There's local options often. So I think, you know, trying to tap into what's already happening in your local sort of area, your region, if you can, is gonna be a good first start getting to know the local farmers in your area, volunteering on their farm, you know?
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Jena Hood: Or just, you know, seeing about doing some work, trade, getting a sense for, do I wanna do this? First and foremost, I think is super important. The access to land and capital is a huge, huge barrier.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Jena Hood: And we, that is one that we are, kind of trying to think bigger picture about like, what, what are some of the ways that, EarthDance as an organization could be more able to open up some of the land potentially here at EarthDance to do some land sharing.
So I think farming and community, I think is really gonna be the way in which [00:27:00] we address some of those things. So, cooperative farming, sharing resources, sharing equipment and infrastructure.
That, that's gonna be the way forward. I do believe until, you know, land becomes cheaper and I don't see that necessarily, you know, just happening. So,
Christa Hein: yeah.
Jena Hood: Figuring out ways that we, we can work in cooperation with other folks who have similar visions, and that would be my advice.
Christa Hein: Yeah. Nice. So since you work with so many different demographics of people, what's one thing that you've noticed that you wish more people would understand about farming food or food systems?
Jena Hood: Oh wow. That's, I love that question. Um, growing food is hard.
Christa Hein: Yeah.
Jena Hood: Growing food is hard, you know. Tiffany spoke to this, with connecting the dots, especially with young folks at an early age with like, where does the food come from? And I think there's folks who don't grow their own food, if we can [00:28:00] educate or help them connect the dots.
There, there's a, a way to, increase the value, if you will, of the food that we're growing. It's really easy just to go to the grocery store and buy off the shelf. But there's also some consequences to that. If we go down the food chain, if you will, um, with the consequences, degradation to the environment and the cost to the farm workers who are laboring in the fields to do that.
And so just being able to connect people to that, what all goes into it? Yeah. Um, and educate around the importance of, when you're able, if you can, to support your local growers and producers. Because ultimately that builds the economy, the local economy and the regional development.
So, that's a piece that I think I'm always touting, always kind of sharing with people when I get the opportunity.
Christa Hein: Nice. [00:29:00] So if listeners wanted to get involved with EarthDance, whether through volunteering, educating, or supporting your mission, where can they find more information?
Tiffany Brewer: Yeah, definitely check out our website, earthdancefarms.org. You can also find us on social media, Facebook and Instagram at Earth Dance Farms. Definitely look at our website, sign up for our newsletter so that they can get the latest and up-to-date information that we have available. Whether it's workshops, classes, events, volunteer opportunities, where we are in the community and, and where you could get our produce.
There's lots of ways to connect and then also donate if you feel that, that's a way that you can connect with what we're doing, go on the website, make a donation. That helps us continue our mission and the work that we are providing for this food insecure area that we're located in.
Christa Hein: Absolutely. Well, Jena and Tiffany, thank you so much for sharing your [00:30:00] insights, experiences, and the amazing work you're doing at EarthDance Organic Farm School!
Tiffany Brewer: Thank you so much for having us.
Jena Hood: Thanks, Christa.
Christa Hein: If you're listening and you want to learn more about EarthDance, make sure to check out their programs. Get involved and visit EarthDancefarms.org. And whether you're a beginning gardener, an aspiring farmer, or someone passionate about sustainable food systems, know that there's a place for you in this movement.
If you've enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the Farm Educators Roadmap. Leave us a review and share with fellow farm educators. Let's keep growing this community together. Until next time, keep growing, keep teaching, and keep connecting people with the land.
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