Final Harvest

This past Sun­day, we har­vested the last stand­ing sun­flower, mug­wort plants and Indian mus­tard. We took some soil sam­ples too. So –fin­gers crossed– soon we will be report­ing on the results of the first sea­son of phy­tore­me­di­a­tion. Espe­cially the sun­flow­ers grew strong roots, so we are hop­ing they are sat­u­rated with heavy metals.

but this Sun­day was not about phy­tore­me­di­a­tion at La Finca. The farm was filled with chil­dren in cos­tumes, enjoy­ing a pump­kin hunt and face paint­ing. The green­house was turned into a a haunted house and a Gar­i­funa band from the Bronx enter­tained the crowd in the afternoon.

 

Founded in the late win­ter of 2009, La Finca del Sur was the brain­child of a num­ber of indi­vid­u­als and orga­ni­za­tions work­ing in the South Bronx. These groups had a vision that an empty, unsightly lot on 138th Street could become a beau­ti­ful, community-led farm. With the guid­ance and sup­port of More­Gar­dens!, a group of vol­un­teers was mobi­lized, and La Finca del Sur was born. In 2010, La Finca del Sur incor­po­rated as a 501c3 non­profit orga­ni­za­tion, whose goal is to address issues of food access, envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice, and com­mu­nity empow­er­ment for women of color and their allies in the South Bronx – and to tie these issues to broader sys­temic inequal­i­ties and global jus­tice. La Finca is much more than a com­mu­nity farm. It is meet­ing place, an event venue. it offers Yoga, fit­ness classes and belly danc­ing classes. On Fri­day nights, an open mic ses­sion draws youth from the area want­ing to share their poetry in a sur­real set­ting, where sur­rounded by the lush green of the plants, the sound of a metro north train every few min­utes dic­tates the rhythm of the per­for­mance. It is a place where Bronx Green Up, the com­mu­nity pro­gram of the New York Botan­i­cal Gar­den hosts hun­dreds of Bronx school chil­dren each year to teach them the first steps in farm­ing or adults who want to become cer­ti­fied com­posters. I feel very lucky to have been part of this diverse group and activ­i­ties. In a few weeks, we will be pack­ing up for the win­ter, but until then I encour­age every­one to visit and enjoy the last rays of sun at the Farm of the South.