The Old Acre, which has been lovingly stewarded all summer by a small and dedicated team of Yale Farm Summer Interns, was once again alive with students on the first workday of the semester on Friday, September 9th.
The perfect late summer weather, glowing afternoon sun, and revitalizing energy emblematic of a new semester made for a joyful reunion, as students returned to the Farm and to each other.
Students spent the workday weeding the carrot beds and the gravel zones in the Lazarus Pavilion, pinching basil blossoms, and harvesting collard greens, lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes. The final task of the afternoon consisted of picking marigold flowers and stringing them into beautiful golden garlands, which will soon adorn the Lazarus Pavilion and be used to make dyes.
Once the workday portion of the afternoon concluded, students gathered to eat delicious pizzas prepared by the YSFP’s undergraduate culinary events managers, featuring seasonal produce such as corn, basil, and peaches.
Slices in hand, students listened to the week’s knead 2 know by Destiny Treloar YSE ‘23, a Masters of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the Environment whose work focuses on food justice. Treloar shared findings from her summer thesis research into the experiences of Latina/x/e women experiencing poverty and food insecurity and how their relationship with emergency food access in cities was impacted by trauma associated with the pandemic.
After the knead 2 know, students lingered to mingle in the Pavillion and were treated to a musical performance by Dani Zanuttini-Frank ’22 and Jason Altshuler '23 of Toil!. The magnificent turnout and strong enthusiasm amongst participants made for a truly magical evening. We cannot wait to see you at next Friday's workday and k2k and at our Sunday workdays as well. It’s going to be a great year!