“You’ll see the lack of farming within our generation. So we’re bringing that back and making it cool and telling people farming is good, farming is fun, and it’s helping us combat climate change.”
Saavedra, who also serves as the community education manager at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, sees working at Sky High as a way to reclaim farming from corporations. “Regenerative farming is trending, but for who, right? Who has access to Whole Foods? Who has access to farmers’ markets? It’s not the people who live in marginalized communities. It’s not people that are at risk of climate change impact,” she says. “What Sky High is doing is flipping the script, saying, ‘You know what? We’re gonna give our produce to these people because they are the ones most at risk.’” Farming, she says, is something that people have been intentionally separated from. “You’ll see the lack of farming within our generation,” she says. “So we’re bringing that back and making it cool and telling people farming is good, farming is fun, and it’s helping us combat climate change.”
Combating climate change with regenerative methods helps Sky High Farm create a virtuous cycle. “All of our practices are really focused on the health of our soils, both in the pasture and in the vegetable garden,” says Bardfield. “And the reason for that is because we know that healthy soil produces healthy food, and that’s really at the center of everything that we’re doing here.” “Most regenerative farming is for a privileged few. I think it has to change,” Colen told W magazine in 2020. “Food pantries are not stocked with fresh, organic produce, they’re stocked with shelf stable products and there’s no food justice until regenerative farming techniques are used to grow food for everybody. It has to be about taking care of the planet and its people all at once.”
OPPOSITE: CHICKENS NOT ONLY AID IN REBUILDING SOIL, BUT ALSO LAY THOUSANDS OF EGGS THAT SKY HIGH DONATES TO THEIR FOOD ACCESS PARTNERS.
FROM TOP: MORNING LIGHT BATHES THE 40-ACRE FARM. OFTEN REFERRED TO AS “CO-WORKERS AND PARTNERS,” THE ANIMALS ON THE FARM PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ITS ECOLOGY. VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATE IN SKY HIGH’S MISSION TO INVEST IN LONG- TERM PRACTICES THAT PROVIDE FOOD SECURITY THROUGH DONATIONS.
Visit SKYHIGHFARM.ORG to learn more.
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ISSUE 02
AN ARTIST’S HARVEST
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