Working on a farm not only provides an opportunity for physical exercise, but also can help with building character, discipline and self-esteem and promotes educational endeavors, said Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks.
Brooks hopes to promote the professional and personal development of area youth, through the establishment of a mini-farm.
Representatives of the Lowndes County Juvenile Detention Center, the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority and other local agencies, met Wednesday with Brooks to discuss establishing a 10-acre demonstration farm on the former site of Foliage Farms, off Eighth Avenue South.
As the project is proposed, 10 acres of the 37-acre site would be divided into sections with teams of youth, age 10 to 17, planting and harvesting different produce in each section.
The youth also would be assisted in developing a marketing plan for their products and selling their products, potentially through avenues such as direct sales and Columbus” Hitching Lot Farmers” Market.
“I hated gardening (when I was a kid),” Brooks said. “But the one thing was, when you plant something and nurture it, it really makes you feel good when it grows.”
The project also includes an educational component and is not just about growing vegetables, he added.
“It will not be just going out there working,” Brooks explained. “There will be some classroom presentations on character and the whole gamut. I”m not trying to get anybody in the farming business. I”m just trying to come up with something different that will encourage kids to work and develop self-discipline.”
“A mini-farm could be a good thing,” said Anthony Nelson of the Lowndes County Juvenile Detention Center. “You may have some that return because they enjoy what they”re doing. This would teach responsibility and a work ethic and a lot of things they”re missing from their environment.”
For the project, Brooks will work to set up an advisory committee and subcommittees composed of members of the Columbus Housing Authority, the CLRA, the Columbus Police Department, the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Department, various churches, the Columbus Municipal School District, the Lowndes County School District and other groups.
Additionally, those in attendance at Wednesday”s meeting are working on ways to address issues with preparing the site, which needs to be mowed, among other things, for growing.
The committee will be seeking volunteers to help with the project, as well as mentor the children, and will seek donations of money and equipment to be used for the project.
Also, the committee likely will seek grants to help fund the project; no action from the Board of Supervisors will be required for the project, Brooks noted.
The project committee again will meet again sometime in February.
Brooks said the proposed site, owned by Larry Ellefson, would be leased for the project.
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