July 19, 2023
In partnership with Kite’s Nest, Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Kingston YMCA Farm Project, Green Teen Beacon, Land to Learn, Our Core, NECC
Photos: Lexie Smith
JAM is a recurring gathering of 7 regional youth groups focused on urban and rural agriculture and the many areas of work and thought that stem from it. For the 2023 event, Sky High Farm hosted and facilitated a day of activities for the approximately 90 participants. The gathering was a reminder for everyone that working towards progress never happens in a vacuum.
Visitors spent the morning working in the gardens harvesting, weeding, transplanting, and performing general necessary maintenance led by our team of farmers and Farm Fellows.
The youth then spent the afternoon learning from two skilled educators: Angel Lombardo and Suanny Upegui. Angel focused on the concept of invasive versus native plants, and how the language and ideology of that taxonomy can be tied to gentrification and colonization, while making natural cordage out of dried milkweed. Using some of the wild edibles on the farm, Suanny identified different plant medicines and explored how they could be used in herbal medicine. She processed mugwort, yarrow, and calendula into fermented honey, helping the students to make the blend that would best suit their needs.