Hi! My name is Tyler. I will be a fourth-year student at Michigan State University in the fall. I'm majoring in General Business Management and specializing in Environmental Studies. With that course of study, I'm hoping to one day be a part of a nonprofit organization that is involved in sustainability or environmental stewardship work. I've taken a step in that direction this summer by becoming an intern at a really cool program called Lansing Roots.
Lansing Roots is a brand new program created by the Greater Lansing Food Bank. "Roots," as we like to call it, is an incubator farm project that is meant to help people in the Lansing area with limited resources start their own gardening and farming businesses. For a small leasing fee, Roots provides participants with a plot of land and equipment. We also provide instruction and conduct demonstrations to teach the farmers how to grow their own produce. The farmers then take the food that they grow and sell it at farmers markets. The goal is for the farmers to gain the knowledge and earn the money necessary to be able to one day leave and run their own farming or gardening businesses without our help. In doing so, hopefully they can generate enough income to increase their economic well-being.
Roots will have some other great benefits in addition to helping the participants support themselves. The farmers will be selling their produce at local farmers markets, so Lansing-area residents will have increased access to fresh, locally-grown produce. The produce we grow at the demonstration farm will be donated to the food bank, so the food bank will benefit as well. Another overall benefit is that the program will have a minimal environmental impact, which I will discuss further below.
You might be wondering how this internship relates to my coursework and career goals. In a nutshell, I wanted to learn more about sustainable agriculture. Food is a big part of the sustainability issue, and Roots is a prime example of a sustainable agriculture program. The food will be produced with minimal use of harmful chemicals like fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Most of the work at the farm will also be done without mechanized equipment, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Selling the produce locally also will reduce emissions. We will also make use of water conservation techniques like drip irrigation. As a result, this program will have a much smaller impact on the environment than typical commercial farming operations. Being an intern at Roots, therefore, is a great chance for me to expand my knowledge of sustainable agriculture and contribute to the betterment of the community. My duties will include caring for plants in the greenhouse and demonstration farm, assisting with workshops for the farmers, coordinating volunteers, keeping crop and volunteer records, and more. As a result, I will be able to develop my skills and gain experience and knowledge in a variety of areas.
I'm really excited to be a part of Roots this summer. I think that the program is an awesome idea and will benefit the community economically and environmentally. It will provide food to people in need and increase the availability of locally-grown organic produce. It will also help the program participants support themselves and boost the local economy as a result. The best part is that the program will do all if this in a manner that is friendly to the environment and sustainable.
We've been hard at work getting things started out at the farm over the last two weeks. In my next post I will discuss some of the things we've been working on and show you some pictures of the farm. I'm excited to see what the rest of the summer has to bring, and I look forward to detailing my experiences for you. See you next time!
Tyler
P.S. In the meantime, click here to visit the Greater Lansing Food Bank's page about Lansing Roots if you would like to learn more about the program. There is a general overview as well as an FAQ page with more details about the program. Enjoy!
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