Cooley Family Farm

This past season we had the great fortune of having a couple of outstanding farm hands: Mary and Whitney. Both Mary and Whitney attended our organic gardening presentation at the Tippecanoe County Library and afterward told us that they would like to work on our farm.

Whitney and Mary

As the month of May grew wetter and our planting schedules delayed, we found ourselves needing extra help to get the tomato, pepper & eggplant transplants in the ground. We dug out their phone numbers and gave them a call. “We need help…can you be here tomorrow?” They showed up to help get those transplants in the ground and continued to help when they could find time in their busy schedules. We are so impressed with Mary and Whitney that we want to share a little about them and their passions for improving the food network.

Mary

Mary Lehmkuhl, is a junior at Purdue with an Environmental Plant Studies Major in the Botany and Plant Pathology Department. Mary’s original interest were in conservation and restoration of forests and hot spots around the world. While working in local and Purdue greenhouses, for us here on the farm and in her own ever-expanding garden, Mary’s interests took her deeper into local and organic foods as well as sustainable agriculture.

Currently Mary is taking part in a sustainable agriculture class at Purdue and is learning about current and indigenous methods in agriculture. This coming summer Mary will be traveling to Costa Rica to take part in an internship where she will be studying BioChar. Mary is also very active in Cityfoods, an up and coming Lafayette area food co-op. Mary’s goal is to help creat a more sustainable way of life, by creating a local sustainable food movement, via organic agriculture and local food co-ops.

Whitney

Whitney Sewell, is fascinated with both growing and cooking food. Her interests in gardening and learning to grow more of her own food not only lead her to us but also to her receiving a certification in Permiculture Design from Indiana University. In November Whitney moved to Saint Louis to join the Gateways Greening’s education team, a non-profit organization that works to establish gardening as a tool for health and wellness in urban schools and communities. This fall Whitney wrote curriculums and created development workshops for several schools and in the spring she will be teaching gardening work shops.

Whitney is also actively working to change policies that will strengthen and support the small agriculture and local food movement by working with the Saint Louis Food Policy Council, Healthy Youth Partnerships, Child Day Care Association and by setting on the Mayors’ health and wellness committee. In the future Whitney will be pursuing a Master’s in Public Health, and continue to focus
on gardening as a tool for health and wellness.

Customers support of our farming endeavors allow us to share our experiences and knowledge with others and in turn they to will help grow a better food system.