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Community Corner

City Harvest Youth Program Sprouts New Energy into the Bradley Estate

This non-profit agricultural program links youth to nature, conservation and the satisfaction of running a small farming operation.

Wil Bullock has traveled the globe, leading discussions on the benefits of youth involvement in community supported s.  As a “Together Green Fellow,” a fellowship developed in partnership with Toyota and the , Will has been recognized as an outstanding leader on conservation and ecological issues, as well as developing community programs that bring together communities, youth and non-profit farmland.

Bullock first became involved with community agriculture programs as a teen himself.  His first job as a teen was with the Food Project, a non-profit organization that taught him a great deal about agriculture and youth projects.

“It was my first job, and I pretty much fell in love with agriculture and the outdoors,” Bullock said.

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In 2006, after traveling, lecturing and helping others build youth programs focused on agriculture, he was ready to settle down and develop “local roots, ”and founded the City Harvest Youth Program, which is funded by the Trustees of Reservations.  After spending four successful years at Powisset Farm in Dover, the City Harvest Youth Program is now well underway in its first year of farming here in Canton, on an acre of farmland on the

The Canton location will be more accessible to the youth who are employed in the summer agriculture program, which begins in mid-June. The 11 youth, including three returning students who will be managing farm stands this summer, come from Stoughton, Brockton, Randolph, Mattapan and Dorchester.  Hiring young people to farm the land is the crux of the program, as Bullock believes and experienced first-hand that exposing young people to farmland and the lifecycle of plants is one of the best ways to get people to care and understand about the need for conservation.

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“The land in agriculture is the easiest way to get people to understand the importance of land. You can take a tomato to a farmer’s market and clearly show them the value of the land,” he said.

The City Harvest Farm will grow enough produce to start a 40-family CSA, as well as sell fresh produce at Farmer’s Markets  in Dorchester, Mattapan and in between masses at Jubilee Church in Stoughton and Mattapan.

“We’ve tried to be deliberate in understanding the cultures at the farmer’s markets,” he said, as he pointed to a row of Okra plants in the greenhouse. The farm also sells a Callalu, a leafy-green vegetable much used in Haitian cooking.

The Bradley Estate will also continue to sell produce at the farm stand, which opens on June 21.

“We are trying to increase the traffic here.  The Bradley Estate is not as utilized as it could be for such a beautiful location,” Bullock said. He described the redesign of the Bradley Estate’s “Kitchen Garden,” which will soon be open to the public. This summer, for a minimal price, visitors can cut their own fresh garden herbs as well as pick their own fresh flowers and green beans, in a re-designing model sure to increase public use of this Canton treasure.

Llamas, sheep and chickens also share the property, making for a fun visit for children.

The City Harvest Program doesn’t begin until mid-June, when students get out of school. In the meantime,  there is plenty of seeding, groundwork and planting to be done in the next month. The public is warmly welcome to get their hands dirty and spend time volunteering with the farm chores.

From May 11-June 18, interested volunteers can join in for a few hours from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. each Saturday. The farmwork varies, Bullock said, and includes a mix of planting, ground-readying and seedwork.  Volunteers will learn a great deal about gardening, especially if they return and see the lifecycle of plants over time.

The benefits of working with the land are many, according to Bullock who noted that “…the goal of the organization as a whole is to reconnect people to the land…While the Trustees of Reservations oversees 100 properties, including beaches, mountains, historical homes and farms, within the last few years we have found that it is farming and agriculture that really connects people to land!”

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