A farm on Columbus” Southside is providing an old-school education for a group of local teens.
The Next Generation Mini Farm sits on 37 acres on Eighth Avenue South, but currently takes up just a fraction of the land. Every other weekend a group of 16 high school students from Columbus and Lowndes schools shows up to tend the land, planting rows of turnips, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, rhubarbs and other vegetables.
“The whole idea is to get kids involved in growing vegetables and take them to the farmers” market. It”s about instilling self-discipline and a strong work ethic and to get them to understand the business component,” said District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks.
The Next Generation farm is Brooks” brainchild, an idea he formulated 15 years ago but shelved until recently when Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem encouraged him to revisit the idea.
Brooks assembled an advisory committee of individuals versed in the logistics of farming and secured a $30,000 grant from the Foundation for the Mid South.
Armed with funding and know-how, Brooks hit local Boys and Girls Clubs looking for labor.
If you”re thinking urban teens in the new millennium wouldn”t be interested in learning to farm, you could be right. These kids got paid.
Cindy Lawrence, director of the Columbus-Lowndes Emergency Management Agency, who also offers her services as president of the Next Generation Corporation, said the teens received $6.50 per hour for approximately four hours each weekend they worked.
“The whole idea is to teach them entrepreneurship and how to get on their job and work and not play,” said Lawrence.
Brooks hosted a cookout Tuesday morning at the mini farm — minus the students, who were in class — to dedicate the land and let local officials sample some of the farm”s produce. The students will begin harvesting the vegetables this weekend with plans to sell the produce at the farm this Saturday and reinvest any profits back into the program.
The plan is to expand all aspects of the program next year, with more vegetables planted over more area and more students working the land.
“We hope to build a hot house and little individual gardens and expand the irrigation system,” said Brooks.
His vision also includes a pavilion and fishing at the man-made lake on the land, which is rented from Larry Ellefson, owner of Ellefson Plumbing.
More land and work to be done means more money must be raised to supplement the grant, but more students will benefit from the lessons the farm has to offer.
“The (point) is you can take nothing and make something out of it and watch it grow,” said Brooks. “Just like the message we try to send (to the students). We take them in their early stages and nurture them with love and understanding so they can grow just like these vegetables.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.