~ Marlene Dietrich
When I worked at Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, my coworker Rich Pederson, the City Farm Manager, and I would meet every Wednesday morning at the farm for a co-coaching session. Because we did not have a Program Director, I would listen and help him think through his priority list for the week and help him brainstorm solutions about managing the farm, upcoming workshops, farmers' markets and so on, and he'd listen and help me think about membership drives, fund-raising events, garden tours, publicity and how best to convey the mission and work of the Land Trust.
Rich would arrive at the farm as early as 5:30 am to beat the sun, see the sunrise and spend some time alone before the onslaught of volunteers and visitors arrived and farm chores began. By the time I arrived at 8:30 am, he'd have finished watering and organizing his supplies and tasks for the day. Usually he would need about 5 to 10 minutes to finish up whatever task he was doing, so he'd tell me to take the time to walk around the farm and make observations.
Earlier this year, Southside Community Land Trust nominated Rich for the Natural Resource Defense Council's "Growing Green Award", and asked me to contribute some words about my experience with Rich. This is what I wrote:
"One of the most meaningful contributions Rich has made to the community is to encourage people to be mindful of their surroundings. When a visitor or volunteer arrives at City Farm, Rich invites them to walk around and make observations-- the sour cherry tree is in bud, a lady bug is tending to a sunflower, the wind detached a piece of Remay covering from the tomato beds, the hens are happily clucking away at their feed, a pea shoot pushes it way up through its tiny piece of earth, the radishes are thriving, a hawk is defending its nest chasing a crow above the greenhouse, the main path is soft from rain and showing footprints, the compost has a sweet earthy smell... He then asks what you learned, what inspired or excited you in your quiet moments of reflection around the farm. Each time the person returns to the farm, Rich asks them to repeat the observational tour, to note changes from their last visit. With his keen insight and philosophical nature, he helps connect these observations to their lives, the community and to global issues. The world then changes. You are less careless and more thoughtful with your actions and words, you consider the impact of your choices, you look for ways to nurture, heal and lend a hand, you realize how interconnected and interdependent we are with the environment and each other. Rich teaches you how to be your best self. He leads through example."
When I did my first observational tour of City Farm, I immediately knew that Rich and I were kindred because he had hand-painted signs of his favorite inspiring quotes placed throughout the farm to provide "food for thought". I have been keeping quote journals since my freshman year of high school, and used to paint my favorite environmental quotes with tempura paint on roll paper and hang throughout my high school every April for Earth Day. I look forward to each Spring when Rich adds a quote or two to his farm collection.
Now that I am away from Providence, I am trying to implement what I learned from Rich in my own garden. And as a tribute to Rich, my garden mentor and guru, I thought I would display my favorite quotes.
I love so many quotes, but unlike Rich's 3/4-acre farm, my garden is quite small, so to have multiple quotes hung throughout the garden would be a bit too cluttered for my tastes. So then I tried to choose just one quote, the epitome of all inspiring quotes. A futile effort for sure.
I gave up on the idea of hand-painted signs, and bought a small chalkboard and some white and colored chalk. I can have all my beloved quotes, just one at a time. Choosing the first one was difficult but I finally decided:
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