Seeds of kindness: New Jewish High students get their hands dirty at Waltham Fields

By Joshua Myerov / Tribune Staff Writer
Thursday, May 22, 2003

WALTHAM -- Eight New Jewish High School sophomores got a taste of the farming life yesterday as they participated in their school's community service day.

NJHS students have gone to dozens of sites in Greater Boston, including a battered women's shelter and a public television station. But the only local site, Waltham Fields Community Farms on Beaver Street, may have also been the most hands-on.

"It's nice to be able to go outside and plant (food) ourselves instead of going to the supermarket and buying everything," Sara Manning, 16, said during a break after the morning shift.

Josh Mocle, 16, said he also enjoyed planting leeks and weeding turnips in the morning, partly because he was able to listen to Metallica on his headphones.

But by afternoon, being outside wasn't so pleasant. When the rains came some students were unprepared. They looked cold and wet and were covered with dirt.

But they persisted as if their livelihood depended on it, planting collard greens and sunflowers and doing more weeding.

Waltham Fields is a six-acre organic farm that grows everything from arugula to watermelons, Asian greens to mustard greens. It is the main supplier of fresh produce to Waltham's Salvation Army and Red Cross and also supplies Sandra's Lodge, a nearby shelter, and Helping Hand Food Pantry in Cambridge.

Waltham Fields uses no chemicals or pesticides, weeds are removed by hand, and compost or other organic products are used for fertilizers.

Camps, schools, families and individuals volunteer their services, and community members provide contributions and grants. Through a Community Supported Agriculture program, people can invest in Waltham Fields in return for 21 weekly produce deliveries to sites in Cambridge, Arlington and at Waltham Fields.

Waltham Fields leases its six acres from the University of Massachusetts. As UMass's former Agricultural Research station, the site pioneered certain vegetable varieties, including Waltham butternut squash.

Jonathan Kirschner, one of four full-time farmers at Waltham Fields, said the farming life is "different from an office job," which he held until recently. During planting season, he works a regular 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift. But when the weather heats up, he'll get started earlier to avoid the afternoon sun.

Some dark greens like kale, Chinese cabbage and arugula will be harvested in as soon as a couple of weeks.

"The fact that it's an organic farm makes me appreciate the weeding part," said Paul Correia, an NJHS math teacher who chaperoned the students yesterday.

Most of the students came to Waltham Fields during a community day last October. They checked out the garlic they planted then, which has grown into leafy shrubs almost ready to harvest.

Yesterday's community service day was dedicated to a freshman girl at NJHS who is undergoing cancer treatments. The students described their school as a close-knit community with a strong Jewish component. Located in the Fleet Bank building on Main Street, the school will move to a new, more spacious campus in Waltham next year.

Students often travel long distances to attend NJHS. Mocle commutes daily with his mother from Merrimack, N.H., a 90-minute drive, he said. Other students commute from Worcester and Brockton.

Waltham Fields Community Farm welcomes volunteers. For information go to www.communityfarms.org or call 781-899-2403.