Post date: Sep 4, 2012 5:02:22 PM
I've always known the farm at Stanford wasn't perfect, but I thought it was good enough. It has a homely feel to it, produces many crops, and incorporates key aspects of sustainability. We have all the necessities - tools, water, soil - and even have a couple of luxuries - the greenhouse, a gazebo, and a tool shed. When I heard about the Stanford Farm moving to a much bigger plot, I was definitely excited, but I didn't really see the need for it. As I have been to one other community farm (Farm Circle Farm in Sunnyvale) and was taken aback by the enormity of the plot, I liked the cute educational plot at Stanford and didn't see the need to move it to a bigger plot. I was so wrong.
Today, Lucia and I, as well as a few other people who are going to supervise the farm took a field trip to UC Santa Cruz to take a look around their farm. On the way there, Patrick explained how their farm was 26 acres, whereas ours was only 1 acre. When I reached there, I gazed at a quaint building that the farmers used as a classroom. As the group and I toured the farm, I realized why Patrick wanted more space for the farm. Stanford farm, although cute and beautiful, had to deal with maybe 20 soil beds; the UC Santa Cruz farm managed land 20 times ours. They had a classroom, 2 gazebos, 2 coolers, row plantations (whereas we had beds), two huge greenhouses, on-plot housing for apprentices and professors, a bench mosaic, a kitchen/dining hall, a library - the list is endless. I began to see how our farm had the bare necessities. Even though we were content with our magical garden, to promote our farm and our efforts to spread sustainability, a larger farm was required. The UC Santa Cruz farm one was a truly remarkable farm with so, so many components to provide a well-rounded farming education, but like Patrick and the other supervisors, I feel that our farm should incorporate things that are native to Stanford and make it Stanford-special. I certainly don't expect our farm to be as advanced as Santa Cruz's in a couple of years, but by taking these steps, we can ensure that the stanford farm is a more suitable place for learning, growing, farming, and having fun.