Agraria_Journal_Summer_2022

AGRARIA JOURNAL 2022 41 AMY HARPER A log pile created by trees felled during development of Dogwood Kids Village became a climbing structure for kids in Agraria’s nature camp programs. FACING PAGE PHOTO BY JORDAN GRAY DOGWOOD KIDS VILLAGE Tucked behind the office on Agraria’s front campus, just beyond the youth forage garden and the reforestation area, is the Cherry Lane Woods, so named for the walking path that encircles the woods. It is an almost four-acre grove that is a forest in the making, with mature trees, some of which are 40 years old. But it is also dominated by amur honeysuckle, an out-of-place species, and dead ash trees. Agraria’s education and land teams have been working since last year to change that landscape. They have felled ash trees and removed honeysuckle to carve out space for a nature play area. In the process they have freed up mature osage orange, cherry and walnut trees, as well as native understory, and opened up space for kids to safely traverse and play in. They have also freed numerous gray dogwoods that have managed to survive in honeysuckle territory, giving their name to this special setting, Dogwood Kids Village. Right now it contains a rustic outdoor kitchen, a fire pit to gather around for snack and stories, and a seasonal pond, fit for exploring or serving up a mud feast. There are forts tucked back in little hollows and quiet sit spots here and there. There are also bouncy grape vines and log piles and stumps that have become climbing structures, making Dogwood Village a daily resource full of enrichment and wonder for kids. Plans for the area include a larger shelter that can be used by nature campers and for myriad other events and gatherings, and plantings of flowering trees, shrubs and forbs. The land and education teams will continue to reclaim the remaining acreage in the Cherry Lane Woods from the honeysuckle and dead ash to open up more spaces for children and adults to explore and experience thematic educational gardens for teas, medicinal herbs, plants and flowers for dyes, and a pollinator patch featuring some child- favorite edibles. CHERRY LANE RESTORATION The Land team has also cajoled Cherry Lane back into being a walkable thoroughfare, clearing away dead ash and honeysuckle from the eastern corridor. Plans are to incorporate an orchard at the southern end, which also includes a coppice yard, and install native wetland species where appropriate, as well as trees and other native plantings to provide a dense zone for wildlife habitat. FOOD PRODUCTION Arugula, bok choy and kale, oh my! Collards and Asian greens, onions and leeks! When Farm Manager Amanda Hernandez talks about the crops she’s growing in the high tunnel she manages, you can almost feel her excitement. “Oh, yes!” she says, stooping down to examine a tender young shoot barely visible above the surface of the soil. “They’re growing! This is red cabbage! Oh, that’s so exciting!” Amanda has spent a lot of time and energy improving the soil in the high tunnel, using regenerative practices. She spread nine truckloads of compost last year, broadforked, incorporated horticultural molasses, and planted cover crops. She tills lightly and is rotating crops this year. She’s growing the same crops this year as she did last season — tomatoes, peppers, and okra, to name a few — with some new ones added to the mix: eggplants, radishes, turnips, herbs, and wheatgrass. “We’re trying to be as diverse as possible,” she said. Agraria will share the bounty, as it did last year, with our partner Springfield Urban Plant Folk (S.O.U.P.), which supplies neighborhood farm stands in south Springfield, and Edgemont Solar Garden in Dayton, which distributes fresh food in the surrounding neighborhood. Agraria is also exploring options for marketing its produce through other venues. In the meantime, look for seasonal produce on the pay-what-you’re-able roadside table at Agraria’s main entrance. Amanda hopes to one day expand food production on Agraria beyond the high tunnel to the farm field. “I just want to show that regenerative farming is possible and also profitable,” she said. “That, and just getting the food out to the people who need it.” AMY HARPER Amanda Hernandez manages food production in the high tunnel as Agraria’s Farm Coordinator.