Hi! I’m Lucy, a rising freshman at Tufts University. This
summer at MAP, I worked on the farm as a Farm Specialist, where we did tons of
fun, mildly labor-intensive, and some not-so-fun work. There's a lot of weeding
involved, but we also got to harvest, start seeds, and water! I love watering,
so my coworker Myo and I would often go out and water "Big Winter" (one
of our more sizeable fields). We had to pull water up from the cistern
[underground] and then lug it in 4 watering cans to the other side of the
field. By the end, we could get the whole lot watered by hand in only 40
minutes! The other day we were harvesting tiger eye beans, which was probably
my favorite day. Most of the beans were orange with a few purple swirls but
once in a while we discovered some “mutant beans”: all purple with a few orange
speckles. I love biology and genetics so this fascinated me to no end. I was
ready to start cross-breeding them to come up with a new Mendelian ratio!
I learned so much working with Katie, our Farm Manager.
She's so knowledgeable about plant life, and willing to share it. From the
differences between cabbage and lettuce to “troubleshooting” my dying dill at
home, I was really enjoying working around her. I had a few struggles to
overcome, such as needing to stop being a perfectionist and working on being
efficient and she was very patient with me as I adapted to daily life on the
farm.
I also had a bit of a
secondary role which involves working with the new youth. All of us specialists
have been through the summer program before, so we know what it's like. It's
our job to set a good example for the others, so I try to come in every day
with positive energy and good attentiveness, and I think it's working! I try to
be open and friendly to others and it definitely pays off.
Being at MAP again reminds me of my passion for nature and
for forming solid relationships with others. I enjoy working and learning here
so much that I considered I'm considering applying for an ABLE Leadership
position next summer!
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