As the old saying goes, how are you going to keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen the big city? Quite easily, judging by some UNCG faculty members who’ve deliberately chosen lifestyles that keep them close to the land, whether an urban garden or a full-blown farm. Getting your hands dirty, it seems, is the perfect counterpoint to the academic life.
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A little extra green
Getting back to the garden can be more than just a personal lifestyle.
For Dr. Susan Andreatta, it’s a passion as well as an academic interest.
She and her husband, Dr. Tim Johnston, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, bought a farm established in 1919 and have restored the old farmstead. In addition to living a simpler life personally, Andreatta, a cultural anthropologist, founded Project Green Leaf, an endeavor that promotes and supports local agriculture.
Founded in 2000, the project hosts a variety of activities with the ultimate goal of developing relationships between farmers and consumers. Ultimately, it means a higher quality of life for all.
The project is striking a chord with people - most recently, with legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen, who performed in Greensboro in late April, selected Project Green Leaf as one of two local charities for his traditional “Pass the Bucket” fundraiser conducted at each of his concerts.
The result? More than $14,000.
In addition to the $861 raised at the concert and the VIP Springsteen tickets auctioned off for $3,900, the project received an additional $10,000 through an anonymous gift. Andreatta says she has no idea who made it (but suspects it might have come from Springsteen himself).
“This is one of the most exciting things that has happened with the project,” Andreatta says. “The ticket auction and the ‘Pass the Bucket’ collection gave us some much-needed support, and just being selected validates this project's efforts.“
Since receiving these gifts, Andreatta has contacted several small farmers to begin an apprenticeship program for some of her students interested in getting firsthand experience on farms and at farmers’ markets. She hopes that getting young people involved in local agriculture will sustain a local food system for years to come.
Grounded
(Text-only Version)
As the old saying goes, how are you going to keep them down on the farm after they've seen the big city? Quite easily, judging by some UNCG faculty members who've deliberately chosen lifestyles that keep them close to the land, whether an urban garden or a full-blown farm. Getting your hands dirty, it seems, is the perfect counterpoint to the academic life.
Photos by Chris English, Photography Editor
Story by Beth English '07 MALS, UNCG Magazine Editor, and Jill Yesko, Staff Writer
Making your yard work
And to think it all started with an herb garden in the front yard. These days, the home of Dr. Charlie Headington and Debby Seabrooke is a study in how much you can accomplish on a small plot of land. Forget tidy patches of green; their front yard is covered with wild beauty — ferns and lilies, hydrangea and wandering fig. Roses. Cosmos. Coneflowers. One day the couple came home to find a British woman sitting on their front steps because it reminded her of Europe. “A lawn is just a lawn. A garden is something more interesting,” Headington says. Curling around to the back of the house, the landscaping takes on a more practical — while still beautiful — appeal. It's something Headington calls “edible landscaping.” In the shade, they have spawned wine cap mushrooms. On terraced levels, they grow vegetables — lettuce, arugula, radicchio, onions, shallots, garlic, collards, peas, fava beans, leeks. Trees along the side of the house produce 15 kinds of fruit. Something is always in season. Everything has a purpose. Parsley draws beneficial insects. Miniature ponds collect rainwater. Fish in the ponds eat mosquito larvae. Flowering collards attract bees. Not surprisingly, Headington, who teaches religion and ecology in the religious studies department, and Seabrooke, a lecturer in the English department, are strong proponents of the slow food movement. They believe in eating locally, beginning with their own backyard. At one time they considered moving to the country, but then decided it was better to stay in their neighborhood not too far from the university. They have pared down to one car and mostly bike to work or to run local errands. “It's more realistic,” Headington says. “It's about choices people can make.”
Horse sense
Amy Lixl-Purcell first fell in love with horses as a young girl. But growing up in the New York suburbs meant having a horse of her own was out of the question. Fast forward to 2002 when Lixl-Purcell, an associate professor of art, bought her first horse, Velvet, a bay mare. Six years later, Lixl-Purcell's stable has grown to five horses. Her herd includes Dot, a year-old filly, and Roxy, a reigning horse — the type used in competition where riders guide horses through patterns of spins, circles and dramatic sliding stops. A typical day begins with Lixl-Purcell rising at dawn to feed the horses hay grown on the 35-acre farm in Colfax she shares with her husband, Tommy Lambeth, associate professor of interior architecture. The farm has been in Lambeth's family for four generations. “Working with horses informs me as a teacher. It shows you can make learning about collaboration, play and partnership,” says Lixl-Purcell, who uses natural horsemanship, a technique that involves communication through body language and natural instincts, to train her horses to be gentle and respectful. Life on the farm is the fulfillment of a life-long dream, says Lixl-Purcell. “I was the suburban city girl,” she says, “It was my dream as a little girl to have horses but I couldn't have one. So I became an artist. Luckily, now I can do both.”
Horse play
Training horses means teaching them to respect that people are in charge, says Amy Lixl-Purcell. To that end, she puts her horses through their daily paces in a small ring near her barn. Using a long lead at first, Lixl-Purcell encourages her charges to obey her through a series of cues. Eventually, the halter and reins are removed and the horses respond through subtle commands. “Everything you do with a horse is to get them to move away from pressure,” says Lixl-Purcell, who uses tongue clicks and gentle but firm touch to teach her horses to trot, gallop, stop and back up ? one of the most difficult maneuvers for a horse to learn ? with a minimum of fuss. “A horse would do the same thing every day,” she says. “So it’s important that I do the same thing every day.”
The good steward
Tony Fragola didn't grow up on a farm, but farm life has always been close to his heart. Tending to his 72 rolling acres in southwestern Virginia has become his passion. ”My grandfather had land outside of Syracuse, New York, where I grew up,“ says Fragola, a professor of broadcasting and cinema. “I think part of my love for land is genetic.” During the week, Fragola teaches classes on screenwriting and literature and film, while working on his own documentary film projects. Weekends find Fragola in mud-stained work clothes driving a pickup truck loaded with feed for his Black Angus cows. Taking a page from “The Omnivore's Dilemma,” Michael Pollan's influential book detailing the ethical consequences of food production, Fragola doesn't use artificial methods such as antibiotics to fatten his cows. He also avoids pesticides and built his farm house according to plans from the North Carolina Solar Center. Along with cows, Fragola and his wife Anne raise Sicilian donkeys — an homage to his Sicilian heritage. One is even named Vito, in honor of Fragola's father. Fragola hopes to own 100 acres so his land will be eligible for inclusion in the Virginia Land Conservancy Foundation. Already a good land steward, Fragola has planted close to 500 trees and constructed fences to keep cows away from streams. “When I first saw this land it was just brambles and briars,” says Fragola, who has cleared acres of land by hand. “My goal is to keep improving the land. I like physical work. I like getting dirty.“