Organic farming was actually taught by Rick Admaski, Genna's dad, which was really cool. He talked a lot about the different methods of how he manages his farm, Full Circle Farm. All the rules and policies etc. It was quite fascinating. The Adamski farm is associated with Organic valley, so if you buy any of their products you might be drinking milk, or eating cheese form the Adamski farm! Their farm also uses a wind turbine and wood burning water heater. All of the cows that live on he farm.. about 100 of them I think.. are really happy. They are essentially free range grass grazers. Genna's family donated a bunch of their beef to the school for the banquet that would happen later in the evening. Being free range and all, I was glad to know that the meat was form a greener source and that it was "happy meat."
Living Mindfully was probably one of the best classes of the entire day (even though I loved all the classes). This class stood out in my mind. They basically talked about "living mindfully. Some of the things that help with doing this are:
- be intentional
- live in the moment
- think about the "big picture"
- be interconnected
- be creative
- think about the alternative solutions
- openminded-ness
- eating good food
- being happy
These people.. Barb Kass and Mike Miles are wonderful people. They brought two other people who live in their community with them. I can't remember their names. They were all incredible people to talk to. The got us to do this exercise where we would come up with our own mission statement. I definitely want to keep thinking about it. the rules were it had to be 7 words and you had to truly believe in it. The one that I did quickly in class was: "Hug pigs, be joyful, top of the universe." PLEASE PLEASE read more about them here: http://anathothcommunityfarm.org/ I can't seem to say enough good things about them! :D
The renewable Energy class as taught by Doug Stingle. He was a representative from Midwestern Renewable Energy Association. I learned about some really cool things about solar water heating along with the generic solar panels and wind turbines. I got to talk to him about my FIRST robotics team: Team Reboot 4080, and our hopes to power our 12 volt batteries which powers our bots with green, hopefully solar panel, energy. He said it was definitely possible with a trickle charger and was quite encouraging for us as a team!
Our lunch was delicious! Butternut squash ravioli and apple tart! How wonderful! Lunch came after our 2nd class. The third followed it. After the 3rd class we went off into our cooking groups. The whole school was divided into a bunch of different groups to cook the Harvest Festival banquet/feast! I spent the afternoon with MaryAnna (a member of the admin team), Ellie, and Meghan cooking delicious wild rice bread.
The dinner was quite enjoyable I sat with John, Arjen (math teacher), Scott (the new head cook), Sherrie (his wife), Ian, Brian, and Mattie! Each table had one of the school's couples sitting at it except for my table. Suppose Mattie and I were put together because we are always together. Not complaining at all :)
After the dinner was a really fun dance. it was a called folk dance class-ish thing. We learned basic moves etc, and then we would add the music, and the caller would tell us what to do and when. It was so much fun. I ended up being the guy a lot which was really fun.l I danced with Maeve, Mattie, Dexter, and Maia, not to mention all the partner swapping going on during the dancing though! It was a ton of fun! I wish we could do this more than once a year.
After that we went back to study hours, but it was worth it! I had so much fun with everyone! What an awesome Conserve memory!
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