final blog

  I was inspired to do a senior project that had something to do with the environment after taking the Marine Science intensive last semester. We were able to travel to the Bahamas and learn about the ocean, and how the environment impacts the residents of Eleuthera. Locals benefit from ecotourism which attracts people from all over the world to snorkel and scuba dive to experience the beautiful reefs. They also catch conch and fish as a way to get food and then also to sell it as a way to make money. The coolest part about the intensive was talking to and interviewing the locals and getting a better understanding of how they were affected by the environment. When we first met with Veronica in January or February to talk about what we had planned for the spring, I knew I was going to love the project because we toured several locations where we were going to work, and we met so many interesting people who had their unique stories of how and why they are involved with homesteading and the food industry. 


Our initial guiding question was “how does sustainable agriculture positively impact the Cleveland community?”. I think after completing this project I have a few answers to this question. First, it benefits the environment (obviously). The homesteading lifestyle and living sustainably by growing your own food and using renewable energy limits fossil fuels and benefits the earth. This benefits the Cleveland community because people are turning unused spaces into green spaces and gardens which decreases carbon emissions. Sustainable agriculture also brings together the community and promotes collaboration. Some examples of this are the farmers market every Friday. We would open the gates to the greenhouse which allowed people walking on the street to stop by and check out the plants and food people were selling. Matthew and I got to talk to super interesting people like Renee Wren who were proud of their work whether that was art or their plants. We got to see vendors present their creations to the community that they had spent their time and money working on for weeks, and it was amazing to see them get the credit they deserved by selling it. We also were able to see different growers and homesteaders collaborate on projects. For example, when we were building the hoop house at Michael R. White, Hot Sauce Pete helped us build a bunch of arches and lent us a ladder and a drill to speed up the assembly process. Pete is a grower that sells a lot of plants that are similar to Mike and Veronica’s, but instead of being a competitor, he works closely with Mike and Veronica. They both help each other out and collaborate to make one another better. 


Overall, this project has taught me the importance of relationships. People like people who are kind. Even in a competitive business like growing, humility and genuine kindness go a long way. Having good relationships with people opens up doors for yourself in the future. 


 

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