New Mexico kids plant peas AFSC New Mexico
Farmer Visits to Preschools, Tree Planting, and Acequia Learning
Peas are some of the first vegetables that you can plant outside, even before the last frost date. It’s surprising that even in conditions that are adverse for many garden plants, peas are raring to get the growing season started. This winter, I partnered with two farmers in giving children in 11 Head Start preschool classes a glimpse into the joy of planting peas and farming.
Fidel Gonzalez, of Los Jardines de Moktezuma Farm, and Casey Holland of Chispas Farm have both farmed and created community for more than a decade in Albuquerque’s South Valley. They interactively engaged students by letting them handle farm tools, pet a therapy goat, plant their very own snap pea plants, and sing songs to help their plants grow.
Fidel Gonzalez shares with children about farming. AFSC New Mexico
Fidel taught students what plants need to grow as well as the reason behind planting three seeds: “One for ourselves, one for our community, and one for the animals and other life.” AFSC wholeheartedly supports this approach to farming in which the health of the whole -- the earth, the farmers, and the community -- all matter equally.
AFSC has been running Healthy Food Campaigns several times a year to get local veggies to Head Starts and Pre-Ks. Teachers repeatedly asked about having farmers visit as soon as COVID guidelines allowed. That time has finally come!
The farmer visits are part of AFSC’s relationship building efforts to get more local food on the menu at Head Starts and other Early Childhood Education (ECE) locations. One teacher up the road from Casey’s farm said, “Anytime you have fresh veggies, not just during the carrot crunch, we’d love them!”
Farmer Casey Holland talks with young children. AFSC New Mexico
There are monies now available through the State of New Mexico for ECE centers to buy local food. AFSC hopes to nourish relationships between ECEs and small-scale, sustainable farms such as those of Casey and Fidel.
We hope to plant seeds of a healthier food system that provides nourishing local food to those who need it most. Just like the peas’ remarkable growth in freezing weather, we hold faith in the possibility of major change in agriculture.
Dolores Huerta Day of Service
The AFSC New Mexico staff also supported the Dolores Huerta Day of Service on March 30. Every year the Recuerda á César Chávez Committee (RCCC) runs a fabulous event for hundreds of elementary and middle school students to learn about the United Farm Workers, workers’ rights, and farming. My colleague Sayrah Namaste worked with several community partners to get nine climate-ready fruit trees planted at the Bernalillo County Open Space Sanchez Farm site.
Supported by my co-worker Patrick Jaramillo, I ran a station to help students experience and learn about acequias. Acequias are much more than just irrigation ditches because they help to share water democratically and create vital habitat. It was a great hands-on event to engage kids in our agricultural heritage. Many thanks to Anna Maldonando and the rest of the RCCC for organizing the event!