This fall has been a whirlwind of activity – for me much of my attention has been focused on delving into the rich and interesting information contained within the MScCCAFS program. Its been nearly 20 years since I graduated college, so getting back into the swing of things has been challenging but fun. When I was an undergrad, I didn’t have children, or a farm, or a business, and we also weren’t in the midst of a global pandemic, so all of those things coming together this fall have added several layers of complexity to my life as a student this fall.
At the beginning of the year, our family was planning to rent out our farm and relocate to Ireland for me to attend to MSc program, but as Covid-19 became an ever more serious concern around the world, we decided to stay home. I’m sad to have missed out being in Galway and meeting other students in person, but logistic s around traveling and renting with kids, and the potential need to return to take care of older parents in the US made us feel like staying home was the best option. So far, its worked out well. The time difference is significant, but I can attend most of the lectures from 2pm Irish time on (which is 6am here). There have been a few times where I’ve needed to wake up at 3:30 am for a 4am class start, but luckily those have been scarce, and I’m able to watch the recorded lectures that I missed while I slept!
Overall, my family has been managing pretty well. We’re lucky to have a family up the road with similar aged kids that are part of our “pandemic pod,” and our kids just basically romp around on our respective farms and forested properties while I watch lectures and complete assignments. We’re raising pigs this fall, we harvested two lambs, have a large winter garden where we’re harvesting beets, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, winter broccoli, kale, collards, chard, celery, and parsley. We’re just finishing up the apples here in mid-December, and the medlars are almost ripe – one of my favorite fruits and usually ripe around winter solstice in this part of Oregon.
I’m also serving on the Lane County Climate Action Committee and the Planning Commission for the city where I live, as well as the board of directors for two organizations. So, a lot of Zooming happening over here! I am grateful that stable internet service was installed on my road several years ago – many of my friends living in similarly rural areas have satellite internet and constant connectivity problems that make work and school from home not very possible.
In the program, we have one more module to go before Winter Break, and I’m excited to dive in. I’ve greatly enjoyed the material so far, and its been particularly interesting to be more exposed to the wide world of climate change related agricultural research. Its kind of funny I suppose – I studied Agroecology at one of the most forward-leaning Universities in the US (UC Santa Cruz), but we didn’t really talk about climate change at all during my undergraduate years (1998-2002). So its great to catch up on all that’s taken place over the last 20 years while I’ve been out in the field (literally and figuratively) growing lots of food, and teaching many others how to do so in a regenerative manner.