"Congress Created Dust Bowl"

Last week I was in a packing, buying, and organizing frenzy attempting to get everything in order for a month long WWOOFing trip.

The morning after senior prom I went on a bike ride with my mom for mother's day and threw my life into the trunk of my Subaru Forester.

Yesterday I drove with my dad from San Diego to Sacramento through hundreds of miles of massive agribusiness farms in the San Joaquin valley.  Between fields and fields of crops was the occasional "Congress Created Dust Bowl" road sign on barren fields which had once been farm land.

Back in 2007 restrictions were imposed on water diverted from the Sacramento rive delta to protect the dwindling habitat of the endangered Delta Smelt, a small native fish.  Agribusinesses were furious they they no longer could irrigate their fields of water-intensive crops and began a campaign of protest which included the signs.

For years agribusinesses and their respective lobbyists have secured the political leverage needed to divert all of the water from northern California they need to irrigate their crops in the dry southern valley.  Left to its own devices, the San Joaquin valley would be full of grasses, occasional oaks, and chaparral.  With modern water diversion techniques, however, the valley is filled with lush, green fields of crops and endless groves of nut and citrus trees thanks to water pumped down from Sacramento.  

It was jarring in a sense to see a grove of perfectly aligned nut trees standing dry and lifeless in a sea of weeds. It almost looked as if fall had come, stripping the trees of leaves and nuts - but oddly in May, when every other grove in the valley was just entering the growing season.  The remnants of orchards were a reminder that many of the crops grown in the southern valley aren't capable of growing in its near-desert climate without the help of human-imposed water diversions.  No matter how hard man can try to alter some ecosystems - like turning desert valleys into fertile farm land - some will flatly refuse to cooperate with corporate demand.

Read about the initial water restrictions which prompted the road signs here.

Google Calendar

Below is my Google Calendar recently updated with my driving plans to get to my first WWOOF farm in Chimacum, WA.  Click the right blue arrow to flip between May and June where my plans are posted.  Click on each event for details of where I'll be driving each day, mileages, etc.  In the pop up window, you can click "more details" and can find a link to the Google Maps route I'll be taking in the description section.

Confirmed!

The moment has arrived - I have officially secured my volunteer positions at two farms in the pacific northwest for endersession! After emailing 10 different farms - some saying they were full, others not responding at all - I have found two places which I can't wait to start working for!

Starting May 15 I will be working on Red Dog Farm in Chimacum, WA on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula.  Located just 20 minutes away from the nearest town (Port Townsend), Red Dog grows over 20 acres of hay, mixed vegetables, berries, and flowers.  The farm is part of a local CSA and sells crops to restaurants, farmers markets, and individuals.  WWOOFers are expected to work 25 hours a week weeding, planting, and working on whatever projects require volunteer attention.  I'll be enjoying the experience tent camping and have access to communal bathroom, shower, laundry, and kitchen facilities.

After a ferry ride (less than $12) across the sound and a short drive east I'll arrive on May 25 at my second WWOOF volunteer site, Finney Farms near Concrete, WA.  Once a blueberry farm at the foot of the Cascade Mountain range, the land now supports fruit orchards, mixed vegetable gardens, and a second-growth forest -- providing food almost exclusively for the group of people who tend to the land and community.  After 32 hours per week working in gardens, assisting in "green" building projects, or preserving food, I can stay in a community/guest house or my own tent.  I'll have access to a living room, kitchen, shower, laundry facilities, and sauna, but no indoor toilet -- they have an outdoor composting toilet instead!

I just had a phone interview with Jennie from Finney Farms yesterday, and she explained that I won't get the same "tractor and all-day field work" type of opportunities I may find on other farms.  I feel Red Dog Farm represents more of the "traditional" farm experience, whereas Finney Farm focuses more on land stewardship and communal living.  Each site seems far different than the other - Red Dog farm is a business whereas Finney Farm is a self-sustaining community - but I feel these individual quirks will give me a taste of the variety of farm models seen in modern agriculture. 

Red Dog Farm image from reddogfarm.net
Finney Farm image from travelblog.org

Searching for WWOOF host farms in Washington state

 I have decided to WWOOF in Washington state.  This does not necessarily mean that I am going to college up north, but I'm currently very interested in exploring the pacific northwest. 

Flipping through my WWOOF USA host directory, I have marked and highlighted and attached sticky notes to tons of listings for attractive host farms in the Puget Sound area.  As I am whittling down my selections, I have started to develop a list of questions to ask host farms which can help me get a feel for the one or two farms I will spend endersession working on.

1. How many hours will I work each day?
2. What specific jobs or projects will I be working on?
3. Do I need any specific, uncommon skills for these projects or jobs?
4. What sort of living accomodations do you offer?
5. How many meals a day are WWOOFers provided with?
6. What type of crops are grown on your farm?
7. Is your farm small or large-scale?
8. Do you participate in farmer markets or a local CSA (community supported agriculture)?
9. Can I expect to be working with other WWOOFers or independently?
10. Do you allow WWOOFers to access the internet?
11. How far is your farm from the nearest town?

The closer I get to choosing my host farms the more excited I get for endersession -- and the closer I get to the end of traditional high school.  Excluding endersession, breaks and weekends, there are just over three weeks left in my senior year.  I feel WWOOFing will provide an exciting transition between the formal school year and my "free" summer before college.

Endersession

Natalie, a senior at High Tech High, is spending the last month of high school WWOOFing!

During the last month of senior year at High Tech High, students can explore classes, volunteer opportunities, internships, and/or college classes which interest them.  The period, known as endersession, is an opportunity for seniors to expand their knowledge on topics or gain experience in fields which they are curious about.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is an organization which connects volunteers with organic farms.  In exchange for 5-8 hours of labor a day 5 days a week, WWOOF volunteers (otherwise known as 'WWOOFers') receive meals, lodging, and hands-on educational experiences in organic farming from their hosts!

A vegan for the past five years, I have been interested in agricultural production for quite some time.  After reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, and writing a chapter for a book my junior class wrote, Biomimicry and the Bay, on hunter-gatherer diets and agricultural production, I feel it would be both relevant to my prior learning and of present interest to me to gain hands-on experience in organic farming methods.

• How much influence can small-scale organic farms have on local and global food production?

• Can the organic and "slow food" movements last when youth support them?

• How does one work for basic necessities (food and shelter) as opposed to monetary compensation in the 21st century?

• How does one transition from being a student at one of the most tech-savvy high schools in America to spending 8-hour days on a rural farm doing manual labor?

Follow this blog to find out...