Red Shirt Farm has been a host farm for Roots Rising for several years during the Spring, Summer and Fall sessions. We've come to consider Roots Rising to be an essential part of our team and are honored to be involved with such a valuable and life-changing program. At the most basic level, the Roots Rising crews have provided a reliable, enthusiastic labor force. The saying, "Many hands make light work" is an apt one when Roots Rising Crews of 12 teens and their adult supervisors come to the farm. Tasks like spreading compost, laying out mulch, or weeding that would take our limited crew an entire day are accomplished in a matter of hours with all of the willing hands and young backs.

However, Roots Rising brings much more to the farm than the ability to knock off big jobs. We farmers and our staff always looked forward to the day when Roots Rising students show up because they bring a sense of fun and enthusiasm. They remind us to see the farm through fresh eyes as an exciting place to discover new things and try out new experiences. We marvel with them as they watch how earthworms navigate through the soil, taste how sweet a carrot can be when pulled straight from the bed, and discover that potatoes grow underground and that one can become many. We help them get past their revulsion at various aspects of the natural world—bugs, manure, and inclement weather, for example—and are reminded of our own young selves.

As a former public school educator, I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to teach the Roots Rising students all of the implicit lessons of the farm which is one of the best learning laboratories. To show them the interconnectedness of all things, the cycles of nature, the importance of stewardship, and the miracle of growing food from a seed—these are some of the real rewards of being part of the program.

I am thoroughly impressed with the thought and care that the Roots Rising directors and mentors invest in the activities they plan. Through real-world, hands-on experiences the kids are taught essential skills for future employment and life, simple but powerful lessons—show up consistently, be prepared, have a positive attitude, work hard, be a team player, pick up after yourself, be respectful, ask questions and be willing to take risks and make mistakes. The mentors are positive adult role models who are supportive, firm, and caring and whom the students respect.

The growth that the students make over the course of each session is readily apparent. Most come to us never having done physical work; many are quiet and shy; almost all are unwilling to get dirty and don't know how to work as a team. At the end of their sessions, most are transformed—their increased confidence is palpable, they are more outgoing, they work together, they've learned to use tools and are more comfortable doing physical work for longer periods. In fact, several graduates of Roots Rising developed such competence that we hired them to work here at Red Shirt Farm! Roots Rising provides an unparalleled opportunity in the lives of the young people it touches and we are honored to be able to host their students.

Roots Rising is an award-winning organization whose mission is to empower youth and build community through food and farming. Our vision is to lift up teens as community changemakers and strengthen the local food system through the transformational power of meaningful work. Learn more at RootsRising.org.