Edible Blue Ridge Spring 2023

Above, clockwise: Early spring planting, Crops grow in integrated rows, Aerial photos of the farm, Harvest day.

found solace in Jubilee’s community garden space. Benevento reflects on the importance of creating a safe place to work the land and connect with others: “Because the farm is a little ways outside of town, once they get here they’re like, “Ah this is so nice.” They don’t want to leave. A lot of them say this feels like “I’m back home.” That’s an important thing to be able to provide. That reconnection to home.” The farm’s third and final objective is to build a regional and global alliance supporting and shifting to carbon farming and agroforestry. Jubilee cannot act alone to achieve the aforementioned goal of con verting 35% of global farms to an agrofor estry system. A recent case study suggests that “one hectare [2.471 acres] of a young agroforestry system annually takes 27 tons of CO2 equivalents out of the atmosphere. This balances out the emissions of 5 average world citizens. 1 ” With that equation, Jubilee is sequestering enough carbon to counteract the activity of about twelve humans. Jubilee’s impact is matched and mul tiplied in the work of other farms in their Small Farms Carbon Alliance. Just like a 1. Zilong Ma, Han Y. H. Chen, Edward W. Bork, Cameron N. Carlyle, Scott X. Chang. “Carbon accumulation in agroforestry systems is affected by tree species diversity, age and regional climate: A global meta-analysis.” Global Ecology and Biogeog raphy, vol. 29, no. 10, July 2020, pp. 1817-1828.

forest collaborates for the mutual health of its inhabitants, Jubilee depends on and supports others. The Deiner family donates the use of their land for Jubilee. The Farm at Willow Run, a 4-acre vegetable farm sup porting Harrisonburg’s Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community; Silver Run Forest Farm, a riparian nursery and folk school in Harrisonburg; and other farmers in central and southwest Virginia all collaborate in carbon drawdown. Students and faculty from James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University, Bridgewater College, Virginia Tech, the Virginia Cooperative Extension and beyond volunteer and carry out research projects on the land. You can join in on the learning process, experience the therapeutic benefits of sling ing a pickaxe, or sway your hips to joyful, percussive Mexican music during Jubilee’s open volunteer hours on Mondays, Wednes days, and Fridays between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Benevento calls on us to “work as a human family to recreate food systems that are resilient, regenerative, abundant [and] that respect and honor indigenous traditions.”

Jubilee Climate Farm 1520 Muddy Creek Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22802 jubileeclimatefarm.org

12 | edible blue ridge SPRING 2023