By Austin Anderson
This article is part of our Generation Wild Storytelling series to give you an inside look at the work being done on the ground in Generation Wild communities–straight from the perspectives of those involved.
Austin is a recent high school graduate who spent her summer working with the Montezuma Inspire Coalition, a Generation Wild community, through AmeriCorps. She helped develop a volunteer program at the coalition’s education hub, Fozzie’s Farm. Austin enjoys hiking, running, and mountain biking. She is looking forward to studying Biomedical Science in college and pursuing a career in medicine after her undergraduate degree.
As an AmeriCorps member with the Montezuma Inspire Coalition (MIC), I had the opportunity to serve at Fozzie's Farm and work on the volunteer program for the summer. Fozzie’s is a beautiful, 83-acre farm protected by a conservation easement, meaning it will never be developed or subdivided. In 2016 Fozzie’s Farm was generously donated by a local family who wanted people to know how important conserving land is. Jay Loschert, the Community Programs Director for Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC), took the project on and quickly began learning about farming and thinking of ways the farm could best serve our community.
The farm serves many purposes. It’s a working farm, producing forage for a local grassfed beef rancher and Diné sheep producers and fiber artists. And it’s an educational hub where people engage with others, learn about the importance of protecting our land, and give kids the chance to get involved in agriculture, including through field trips by local schools.
I worked alongside Jay and Aidan who also plays a huge role at Fozzies as MLC’s Community Programs Assistant. This summer he managed an apprenticeship program in which local teenagers worked and learned about the farm while getting paid. I feel very fortunate for having the opportunity to learn from them both. Jay has inspired me and made a great impact on my life. He is very ambitious, dreams big, has a huge heart, and really makes this world a better place. He taught me the importance of connecting with nature and taking time to care for our earth.
During my time with MIC, I was tasked with getting volunteers for Fozzie’s Farm. It was certainly never easy and came with many obstacles and challenges. Jay and I made a plan for the summer, launched our website, and started advertising and emailing past volunteers. At the time, I was expecting people to start signing up as soon as I started advertising, but unfortunately, it was not like that. Several weeks passed after posting flyers around town, reaching out to businesses, sending emails, and reaching out to other groups, and I still didn't have any volunteers.
I started feeling frustrated because I wasn't sure how to reach people who wanted to volunteer, and I didn't want to let Jay down. This was really important to me because I wanted him to be able to count on me. A few weeks later, a few volunteers signed up and I was super happy and excited to have people come out to the farm. The volunteer day came and they ended up canceling or not showing up. I couldn’t understand why people would take time to sign up and then decide not to come.
I researched volunteer projects and how to conduct outreach, and thought of barriers that could have contributed to the no-show days. I dug into why the posted opportunity didn’t seem to work out for a lot of people. I went to different events to advertise and it seemed that a lot of people wanted to volunteer, but didn't have the time or energy because of full-time jobs.
As summer started coming to a close and my term was ending, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of volunteers give their time to come help at the farm. Some of the people who came had an interest in learning more about the farm and how they could also take some of our ideas and apply them to their own way of farming. It was very rewarding to see people so amazed by the farm and wanting to come back to learn more and be a part of the farm experience. We spent a good amount of time during volunteer hours constructing a high tunnel, which helps to extend the growing season and protect the crops from weather. We made great progress on this project and it was a great day!
This summer volunteer project didn’t go as smoothly as I would have hoped and planned for, but just like in life, we can never really know what to expect. This summer taught me that it's okay to not have plans go accordingly. I’m super grateful for the opportunity to be part of a great project at Fozzie’s Farm. Jay and the rest of the staff at MLC have big dreams for the farm, and I’m so excited to see what the future has in store, including some of Jay’s ideas around land access, making a bigger impact, and removing barriers for new farmers and people getting into agriculture.
To learn more about Fozzie’s Farm and Montezuma Land Conservancy, visit this website. If you find yourself in southwest Colorado and want to visit the farm or volunteer, contact jay@montezumaland.org.