Cooperative Living March/April 2014 - 34

The Highland Center, a nonprofit in
Monterey, serves as fiscal sponsor and program
manager of the Allegheny Mountain
School. In its 16th year, The Highland
Center's Farmer's Market saw a huge
increase in sales last year - due to the
increase in availability of local meat and
bi-weekly demonstrations by the fellows on
sustainable food practices.
The Highland Center's employee and
Allegheny Mountain School graduate Jessa
Fowler has seen a huge increase in
the success of food-related school workshops,
programming and community participation.
" Allegheny Mountain School has
both long-term and direct impacts to the
center, " explains Betty Mitchell, executive
director of The Highland Center. " In 2013,
as a senior fellow, Jessa worked as local
foods coordinator for The Highland Center.
Her work enabled us to expand our relationship
with the school, build a school
garden and renovate a forgotten greenhouse,
and launch a website ― faces-of-farmers.org
―helping connect producers to consumers.
We were thrilled with Jessa's work, and she
is now the Highland Center's youth and
local foods coordinator. "
Fowler points out that the fellows in
themselves are a community asset. " It's
amazing how the fellows can really expand
what we can do in a small place ― from
demonstrating how to prepare fresh, healthy
foods at the farmer's market, sharing innovative
research projects and ideas or simply
adding younger energy to our community. "
The Allegheny Mountain School is helping
reverse a longtime trend of a declining
and aging populace in Highland, says Lloyd
Bird, president of The Highland Center.
" Allegheny Mountain School reverses our
trend of population decrease, " Bird says. " It
brings youth, positive energy and excitement
for life to our area. "
" Another measure of Allegheny
Mountain School's impact is the fact that
many projects the fellows helped launch
have received funding to sustain them, "
Butchart says. " Five of our fellows from last
year have been hired back as staff at the
organizations where they worked. " They
include Trevor Piersol, Allegheny Mountain
School project manager; Kayla MacLachlan,
school program manager; Lisa Millette,
Project GROWS programs manager, Jenna
Clark, Project GROWS director of operations;
and Fowler.
Butchart is excited that Allegheny
Mountain School is once again working with
a number of partner organizations. Senior
32
fellows have been assigned to several
nonprofit organizations that are either
in Highland or within driving distance.
She said that this year, senior fellow
Mandy Henkler is working on
new nutrition programs at the Blue
Ridge Area Food Bank in Verona.
" The impact on the community
has already shown to be very positive
with the work past senior fellows
accomplished, and we hope to continue
on with the tradition to make small
positive changes with a large ripple
effect, " Henkler says.
Whitney Newton McDermott
works at City Schoolyard Gardens in
Charlottesville, which manages gardens
and teaches garden curriculum in all
the local elementary schools and the
middle school.
At Valley Conservation Council,
Kate Hopkins is working
on agriculture projects centered
on protecting farmland
and improving its
health for food production
in partnership with Mary
Baldwin College. Ben
Samuelson, Emily Melvin
and Trevor Piersol are
helping build a center for
garden curriculum development,
located on The
Virginia School for the
Deaf and the Blind campus,
for teachers throughout
the state (please see
related story, page 34.)
" And, we will continue
working with the
Highland schools this year,
as Paul Krysik, the new
Hands-on demonstrations are part of school workshops, top.
Yet another project was renovation of the Highland High
School greenhouse, with the help of Allegheny Mountain
School expertise.
Allegheny Mountain School village manager
works alongside The Highland Center's
youth and local foods coordinator, Jessa
Fowler, to teach cooking and nutrition to
local high school students, " Butchart says.
" In Staunton, we are working in partnership
with Mary Baldwin College and their environmental
education graduate program and
Staunton City Schools. At Project GROWS in
Verona, fellows are working specifically on
garden curriculum and activities to combat
childhood obesity.
" We are interested in helping institutions
develop more sustainable and local food for
their cafeterias. In addition, we will continue
to bring workshops to the communities we
work in whenever we can, " she says.
In Richmond last year, a fellow was
instrumental in teaching nutrition, ecology
and economics to all age groups at Byrd
House Market, Grace Arents Community
Garden and Byrd House Farmlet that comprise
the William Byrd Community House.
The fellow developed a sustainable farmlet
for people who utilize the social service
agency, Butchart said.
As fellows complete their training on
Allegheny Mountain and complete their
yearlong second-phase training, a large part
of the work involves utilizing community
leadership skills to help negotiate with local
residents to help work gardens.
" Who knew that experiencing working
situations at the Allegheny Mountain School
would teach them to be diplomats? "
Butchart said. " What a wonderful way to
Cooperative Living/March-April 2014
PAXTON GRANT PHOTO
JOHN BRUCE PHOTO COURTESY THE RECORDER NEWSPAPER
http://www.faces-of-farmers.org
Cooperative Living March/April 2014

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