Thunder is rumbling in the distance - rain at last. Downpours in fact. The entire landscape seems happy to be getting drenched after such a long, hot, dry period.

Our springs stopped flowing in early June this year. I had been warned they might, but was still surprised. Our site suffers from large quantities of water flowing off of West Rock during much of the year - it was hard to imagine it would ever stop.

Ironically, at the same time we fight the erosive power of an over abundance of water through the winter and spring, we pay an exorbitant amount for the water we use every day. Our water bill is almost $3,000 a month! No wonder water management has been identified as a top priority by students participating in the Leading Green initiative.

At times however the search for sustainable solutions to our resource management challenges seems to lead us in circles. For example, our trash audit identified paper cups as a primary contributor to our waste stream. So why not eliminate them by using washable plastic cups? But washing cups everyday increases our consumption of water (and energy). It takes some tricky calculating to weigh the costs and benefits of each option – calculations our students will perform this coming year.

But perhaps more important than how to do the math, our students are learning there are NO easy answers and NO easy choices. This is the life lesson that comes with looking beyond the obvious, with probing beneath the surface.

There is a danger, however. What if there is no clear answer? No black or white? No yes or no? No bad or good or better? From that realization comes an even more important lesson – sometimes you have to make choices based simply on the best information you can gather under the circumstances – not perfect knowledge, not absolute certainty, but just what seems right after having made your best effort to analyze and understand.

This is a tricky thing to teach and to learn. On the one hand, it is important to know the facts, and think hard about consequences before making a decision. On the other, you often have to be willing and able to decide despite a lack of knowledge and in the face of uncertainty. This dilemma – how much do you need to know before you can decide – has become particularly difficult as the challenges we face become more and more complex. Unfortunately, inadequate information can be (and often is) used as an excuse for inaction by those who stand to lose as a result of a particular decision.

At the same time, it is also true that important decisions are frequently made based on fears not facts.

Here at Common Ground, I like to think we strive to achieve the proper balance – and to teach our students how to achieve an appropriate equilibrium between needing perfect knowledge to decide, and being driven to decide by fear of the unquantifiable consequences. It is somewhere in the middle that some of the best decision making occurs, and where we all need to learn to be comfortable and confident.

I am off to Vancouver Island! Enjoy your summer – here’s hoping you will have no complicated decisions to make!

• Urban agriculture contributes to food security by increasing availability in communities that too often have limited access to fresh meat and produce. The Community Food Security Coalition defines food security as, “all persons in a community having access to culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate food through local, non-emergency sources at all times.” “Food deserts,” areas where residents have difficulty getting access to fresh food, have become a recognized phenomena in many urban centers – including New Haven, where there is currently no major supermarket located within easy walking distance of most city residents. 
• Urban agriculture, if properly practiced, can reduce the amount of resources used to bring food from distant ag-lands to the tables of urban residents. The numbers tell a compelling story.  Right now, 50% of the world’s population lives in cities. A city of 10 million residents requires 6,000 tons of food a day, most of which is imported.  The average conventional produce item travels over 1,500 miles to reach the table, consuming a gallon of fossil fuel per 100 lbs.  The energy intensive step of transporting food long distances can be significantly reduced by making locally produced foods available, helping to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and their contribution to global warming. 
• Urban agriculture can contribute to the greening of cities by putting degraded sites back into productive use and creating green oasis for the benefit of city residents. These urban green spaces contribute to human health; solid research indicates that city residents close to green spaces are less likely to suffer health problems, from depression, to asthma, to heart disease.
• Urban agriculture can be a source of income, employment and economic security for city residents. Low income city residents are estimated to spend between 30% and 40% of their income on food each year (compared to 10% on average in the US).  City residents who participate in community gardening, one form of urban agriculture, save household food dollars that can be used elsewhere, while urban agriculture practiced as a business can contribute significantly to the financial stability of neighborhoods. 
• Urban agriculture often takes a form that contributes to community building.  Common Ground is an excellent example of this.  Yes, we produce food on our site and plenty of it (over 5000 lbs of produce a year, more than 15,000 “servings”).  We also open our site to the community for a variety of uses – as a place to convene, to learn about food production, to get their hands in the dirt, or simply to relax while enjoying the rural experience our site offers. 
• Urban farms provide an excellent opportunity for teaching city dwellers, both young and old, about healthy eating, and cultivating healthy habits and environmental awareness.

Spring is taking hold here at Common Ground. Trees are greening, seeds are sprouting, and perennials are burrowing out of their winter hibernation against the constant musical backdrop of birdsong provided by our returning migrants. This spring – with our new Farm Manager Annie Hettick at the helm – Common Ground’s garden has taken center stage. Today she brought in a tray of freshly cut radish sprouts to munch on - heaven!  Hundreds of seedlings have been sprouted downstairs in anticipation of our seedling sale May 22^nd.  To think of all the good food they will produce for our community – heaven again! 

At Common Ground, food production is firmly rooted in a commitment to sustainable, organic farming practices – which leads me, oddly enough, to Washington DC.  This week I will participate in a policy conference and visits to Capitol Hill organized by the Organic Farming Research Foundation in demonstration of our commitment to practicing sustainable organic agriculture.  In Washington I will join with food producers from across the country to deliver a message on the multiple benefits of small scale farms. By providing locally grown food while practicing sustainable organic agriculture, these farms constitute an excellent investment in important social, economic and environmental goals, both at a national and local level.  I also plan to speak for urban farms like ours that are a source of fresh, locally grown produce within communities that often have limited access to healthy food.  

This trip to Washington, however, is just a sidebar to the important work Common Ground participates in at the state level.  As a member of the Steering Committee of the Working Lands Alliance, we work with food and agriculture organizations throughout the state to ensure Connecticut continues to enjoy the benefits of a productive farming industry and a viable agricultural economy.  In March we helped sponsor a conference organized by the WLA on “Farmland Preservation in 2010 and Beyond.”  Over 150 “agrophiles” came together at this conference to discuss practical strategies for ensuring farming in Connecticut, with all of its collateral social, economic, health and environmental benefits, not only persists but thrives.

As an urban farm, Common Ground often occupies a unique niche in these conversations.  We feel the urban point of view is an important one.  So while the sustainable production of healthy food is only one part of Common Ground’s mission, as the basis for a dynamic and productive agricultural economy evolves with the times, it is one we take very seriously. 

The peas are planted!  The seedlings have been started!  The chicks have arrived!  Yes - it’s spring!  This weekend over 250 people visited Common Ground for a “Winterfest” that turned out to be a “Springfest”.  Enjoying the sunny, 70 degree day, people communed with the happy turkeys, ducks and chickens, learned how to make maple syrup, and enjoyed fresh cooked eggs and pancakes.  I saw more than one child crying inconsolably as their parents gently dragged them away, promising to return soon to visit their newfound fowl friends.  We certainly do have the friendliest chickens I have ever met. 

Meanwhile, another important springtime activity is underway - the budgeting process has begun!  Revenue, potential revenue and maybe possibly potential revenue is being tallied up, programs planned, and expenses accounted for as we work to do ever more at the least possible cost.  We have such big dreams, there is so much we want to accomplish!  But inevitably, no surprise, we must tailor our dreams to fit our means.  In 2009, we were helped by the generosity of our supporters at fundraising events and during our annual appeal.  We received more support from individual donors than ever in our history…over $25,000 was received in response to our annual appeal alone.  We will continue to strive to ensure our work in 2010 merits the same response, and hope you will be there again to show your support for what we do.  In the meantime, I invite you to come visit us at one of our Open Farm days – it’s a great way to get outside and ENJOY this wonderful spring.

February 2010 | Executive Director Reflections

• Maintaining the natural integrity of the site;
• Employing low-impact practices and supporting the sustainable, efficient use of resources on our site;
• Incorporating and demonstrating proven strategies to minimize the environmental impacts of our operation;
• Creating opportunities to teach and learn about sustainability and sustainable practices.