Departure

Today is September third. Tomorrow afternoon I will be embarking to Milan for a year long journey. In some ways, it hasn't hit me yet.

 I would tell you all the fact-y things that everyone's been asking me about for months, but I'm worn out with pretending to answer a question for the first time. I feel bad, because I know that these people love me and care about me and that is why they're asking. But all these identical questions and conversations are beginning to make once dynamic and unique relationships all feel identical, too.

 At the market today, I saw a couple of friends that I hadn't seen since the beginning of summer. I love these people, and our relationships were so authentic and genuine and still are in memory. But today I found myself feeling distant, hesitant to fall back into a relationship. I feel very much like I'm turning inward, feeling uncomfortable in social situations in which I used to thrive. I'm wanting time alone, to myself, to reflect.

 Time for reflection has been lacking this summer, as evidenced by this blog. My journal, too, lay stagnant this summer (I wrote in it for the first time in months a couple of days ago.). With working about 40 hours per week with Summer of Solutions and spending an additional 12+ per week interning at Brick House Kitchen, my summer is a blur. I think I've blocked some of it out -- the stress that comes along with maintaining a productive team and a very dry garden was overwhelming. I'm lucky that I have pictures to remind me of my successes:

Combining my love for activism, art, and bike-riding in this snazzy poster for our Day of Action! Seventeen summer programs nationwide (including the other 14 Summer of Solutions programs around the country) gathered on July 23rd in their local cities to celebrate and highlight the work they've been doing.

One of our main partners this summer was Bike City Recyclery, and awesome bike co-op located just off Center St. on the trail. Here, we partnered with them to give a workshop on bike maintenance in Walker Park to nearby residents.

I interned this summer under David Lewis in Brick House Kitchen. Incredible. My most frequent task -- washing produce from the market that morning. What a treat!

Making the delicious custards on my last day. You can feast on these at BHK Kafe on Dickson St. (inside Nightbird Books).

It happened rarely this summer, sadly, but I also experimented with food at home, too! This was a delicious meal shared with good friends, concluded with the most delicious banana cake and lemon buttercream icing. Mmmm.

Andrea and I. Together, we spent over 1,000 hours planning and executing this year's Summer of Solutions program in Fayetteville. What a treat it was to work with you.

At the end of the summer, forty representatives from thirteen Summer of Solutions programs nationwide gathered in Raleigh, NC for August Gathering. We celebrated our successes and our friendships and worked through challenges that we'd faced in our local programs. What a week it was and what friendships blossomed. Love you all!

For myself, I'll be documenting this year through sketching. For folks back home, this blog will probably be the venue for some semi-regular updates. Stay tuned!

A Synopsis: February, March, April, May

So, it's been awhile, probably evidenced by how much has happened since February. Since my last post, I've been busy doing this...





Building our garden beds with 75 of Fayetteville's coolest volunteers. The garden is now in production, and we're having another workday this Sunday, hopefully followed by our very first community potluck!

and this...



Volunteering with Northwest Arkansas Community College's culinary students at Apple Seed's free family cooking class hosted at Leverett Elementary. I'll be cooking a class at Leverett on May 31 at 6:00 on how to use fresh produce on a budget. Yum!

and this...

























My concentration for AP Studio Art, which is horrendously out of order above here, but html code is frustrating and I don't feel like rearranging them. These are 12 or the 29 pieces I submit for my portfolio -- my concentration focused on the beauty of industrial structures that have aged with the elements. I'm just wishin' on that 5...

and this...






Shifting power with 10,000 youth from around the country (and world!) in Washington D.C. during Powershift 2011. The conference focused on shifting to a clean energy economy through grassroots organization on a local level (accompanied with bi-annual, ginormous conferences like this one...).

while doing this...





Hanging out with my long lost family! The first picture is of me and my sister Melissa, who just graduated (so proud of her). That second one's Claire, my most adorable second cousin that we've almost kidnapped several times. Her parents were around there somewhere...

...not to mention taking three AP Exams (in addition to submitting my portfolio), planning a Summer of Solutions program, finalizing the details of my exchange, and securing an internship at the coolest restaurant in town -- Brick House Kitchen.

So, I'm sorry that I've been avoiding writing all this down. It's nearly summer time, which means that I get excited by all the colors flowing out of Farmers' Market, and I get antsy to sing on the square and learn new instruments (I'm learning diatonic accordion now!), which means that I have more to write about and the time (heh!) to do it.

Looking forward to being here a little more regularly.

All the best,
Serena

Walker Park Community Garden: Ready to Work!

I'm very excited today.


For one thing, the Walker Park Community Garden, which I have been working on since early August of last year, just received a $500 donation from Ozark Natural Foods (ONF)! With approval from the city, this generous donation from ONF, and a work day in two weeks, we'll be ready to plant in no time! Please make it out the Sunday after next (Feb. 27) to install our beds and be a part of the fun! Meet us at the Senior Center at 1:00 pm for some good hard work and light refreshments!


In the meantime, the Senior Activity Center (the site of the garden) is also hosting a seed swap next Sunday. What a great networking opportunity!

Autumn Pleasantries and Reflections

Hmmm,

I've been feeling disconnected from the general high school social scene. I rarely have, but lately I'm more aware of it. Furthermore, I'm aware that feeling connected to it doesn't make me happy. I find no value from the destructive,critical, and careless nature of many of my peers. It feels empty, harsh, and insincere, so it's even hard to resonate with the people I hang out with regularly. I'm ready to move on, forward, and out of high school.

I went to a garden workshop earlier today, and I wish I could've stayed at the farm all day. It was a chance to escape the smoke, the revving of engines, and the endless leather that engulfs Fayetteville this time of year. It's Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue this weekend, and if you haven't heard of it, you're not missing much. Bikers from around the country strap up their gear and head to Dickson Street, the usually charming center of town. I've never had a positive experience with it, so I'm ready for the weekend to be over.

The workshop, however, was incredibly refreshing. It was out at the farm off of Highway 45. I'm not sure if it has a known name, but it's a little community in which people live and garden and eat together and raise children together. It was beautiful, but it ended up being one of those indecisive autumn days. The sun was radiant, but often it shied behind clouds, and I was constantly taking off and reapplying layers of clothing.

We were discussing season extension (the use of cold frames, fleeces, etc. to extend crop production into winter). Everyone seemed to have a fair say on gardening techniques, and the differing viewpoints often contradicted each other. Regardless, I hope to use some of that knowledge to further develop our beds this season.

Really, I enjoyed the setting more than the content. I've been reevaluating my beliefs lately, and I'm beginning to doubt the corporate world. The kids ran around in diapers on the farm, and their mothers trailed behind in bonnets and overalls. I could imagine them eating the food they grew all around the kitchen table. I can imagine those kids growing up to learn how to work the field from their father, and they may or may not attend high school. But what does that matter? They grow their own food, they have land, they have practical knowledge, and they are happy. Are most people happy in their cubicles or under fluorescent lights or in pencil skirts?

I'm being eaten alive by school. My time management skills from SoS are slipping, slipping, slipping until I'm up at midnight with a hundred more pages of In Cold Blood (hardly the bedtime story). Or Calculus. Or some other arbitrary assignment. It's not that I find it intellectually challenging, but its worth isn't apparent anymore. Why aren't I fulfilled by my schooling anymore? What's changed?

Anyway. The majority of my day was just lovely, with market and bike riding and family and autumn. So it, so it, so it goes.

Best,
Serena

Late September, what?

Hi friends!

It's been awhile, and for this, I apologize. School, while I claim to have mastered it, does take a toll on my dear blog's well being. So I'm back with brief news and updates.

1) Cooking class on Sept. 11 went really well -- a big thanks to all of you who attended! Suzie, the chef at Nibbles Academy, expressed interest in future classes, which I hope we can make (much) more focused on local, fresh foods. I'd really like to take the kids to the market somehow, or maybe show them the OMNI garden, which is right next door. (And hopefully I'll have learned how to use an electric mixer by then...old school, heh...)

2) Radio broadcast! Wow, it's been a long time. Check out http://www.kuaf.org/ozarksatlarge, and just search my name to listen. The amazing and supportive Jacqueline Froelich reports.

3) I was featured in the Food File a few weeks ago! Check out that feature here: http://thefoodfile.com/green-teen-entrepreneur-foodie-spotlight-with-serena-caffrey-of-green-food-solutions/2490.

4) I recently reconnected with a friend from the Farmer's Market in Fayetteville. Read all about his inspiring project here: http://www.arteengarden.com/

5) Today, I met with the Fayetteville Public Schools Food Director, Adam Simmons. He expressed interest in attending the Youth Summit (as described below) with me as to implement changes upon our return, and he even invited me to teach cooking classes through the school for kids and their parents about the importance of using fresh foods. Talk about exactly the opportunity I've been hoping for!

6) As briefly mentioned, I was accepted into the National Teen Leadership Team, and I plan to attend the Green Schools National Youth Summit. The conference is in Minneapolis, so I'm raising money for airfare. If you would like to donate, please email me at serena.caffrey@gmail.com. You would be directly encouraging the sustainability, social well-being, and efficiency of Fayetteville Public Schools. By attending the Summit, I will earn FHS national recognition and solidify Fayetteville's somewhat arbitrary green movement. Learn more about the Summit here: http://www.greenschoolsyouth.org/Youth_In_Action/The_Youth_Summit.html.

7) I've planted some fall crops and have been tending to the beds daily. Such therapy it is -- working in the soil. I walk down the rows barefoot, the damp earth beneath and in between my toes. In the evening light -- magic hour, says mum -- I go out with the camera and capture the nearly phosphorescent glow of the leaves. Photos to come.

Thanks, thanks for stopping by. I hope you get a chance to comment, subscribe, or email me your thoughts. Your feedback is so inspiring, and I thrive on an excited community. Hope to be back soon.

Best,
Serena