Goals

My first visit to Live Power Community Farm as a third grade student showed me a vision of life where the human community lives in close relationship to the land. From learning how to plow with draft horses to bringing in the harvest, the fullness and richness of each day gave spark to the imagination of a young boy. Fourteen years later,
as a twenty-three-year-old, I returned again to Live Power to help prepare and serve food for a biodynamic con-ference. The first moment I heard the wind tussling the willow trees, I knew I was returning to a place whose inspiration had marked many a decision since my first visit. The sense of community and experimentation that the Decaters foster and share seem to quicken the eagerness of many a visitor, young and old, to
engage the body and heart in the practices of a more nurturing and sustainable way of life. The warm
care of the earth combined with a vibrant practicality makes the Livepower experience a rare and
valuable gift that I hold close.

—David Martinez

 

Live Power Community Farm offers the opportunity for elementary and secondary school classes to spend a few days on a working family farm. Since 1984, we have been the hosts for approximately 10 class visits
a year, mostly, but not solely, from Waldorf schools and ranging from 1st- to 10th-grade classes, with some students returning one or more times during their school years.

Our goal during the children’s visits is to help them encounter and begin to form a relationship with the earth’s life, as expressed by the many different plants and animals that constitute the farm, and to afford
them an opportunity to develop hands-on skills that give them a sense of the meaning of practical,
productive work.

As farmers, we surround ourselves with plants and animals to which we contribute our time and energy. In caring for their needs and lives we become acquainted with their characters, qualities, and expressions. They provide our food and medicine and equally, or perhaps more importantly, they provide our inspiration.

Every plant and animal on the farm provides food or manure or nectar or shelter or something for another. The farm is a vast and constant interchange; a realm of sharing, giving, and serving. As farmers we become conscious participants in this exchange. We can bring water or manure where it is needed. We can prune or weed or protect. If this husbandry is performed carefully and thoughtfully, the plants and animals will
respond bountifully.

We hope to imbue the students who visit our farm with a sense of this interconnectedness.