Allie’s Story: Roots at our Farm
Growing up in Yarmouth, Allie Armstrong remembers time spent outdoors and frequent trips to Wolfe’s Neck Center, or Wolfe’s Neck Farm at the time. From childhood into her teen years, her relationship with our nonprofit educational farm only grew. Wolfe’s Neck Center not only shaped who she is today, but she too has become an invaluable resource to our organization in recent years.
Early Memories on the Farm
From a young age, Allie remembers visiting the farm with her parents to say hi to the cows and sheep. A few years later, she was participating in all the fun activities at Farm Camp.
“My earliest memory from WNC was getting to see the birth of a calf when I was about 4 years old. I remember standing in the barn watching the whole process and thinking that it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Now, whenever I get to witness a calf being born, I always think back to how special that first experience was.”
Formative Teen Years in the Veggie Plot
As a teen, Allie found herself drawn to cooking and nutrition. She spent hours in the kitchen baking, trying to come up with creative ways to substitute healthier ingredients. By the time she began college at Bates, she was eager to take environmental studies classes.
“After my first year at Bates, I knew I wanted to work outside when I came home for the summer. I joined Wolfe’s Neck as Teen Ag Crew member, where I helped to grow and produce the fruit and veggies for the farm. These two summers during college break were filled with lots of mustard weeding, potato beetle picking, and Veggie Van adventures with the rest of the crew. I also created a CSA newsletter to give updates on our field trips, weekly CSA shares, and recipe ideas.”
When You Love a Place, You Stay Connected
After graduating from Bates, Allie spent a summer working as our Farm Camp Administrator. This year she was a Community & Visitor Programs Educator, leading goat hikes and developing fun activities like nature art. These are only the stepping stones to her longer term goals….
“Taking what I’ve learned from school, my research and my own personal health path, I have been teaching workshops on herbal medicine and holistic health topics once a month at WNC. I love getting to meet members of the community who come to my workshops and to share information with them on topics that I’m so passionate about. It has been so rewarding! Since our individual health is so closely tied to the health of the soil (our microbiomes are often called our “inner soil”), the farm has been the perfect platform for me to link regenerative agriculture with natural and holistic health practices.”
A Lifelong Learner with Roots at WNC
“Working at WNC in different capacities over the last several years has allowed me to take what I learned in the classroom and bring it into reality with hands-on experiences. Learning took on a whole new level when I got my hands in the dirt at the farm, brought children who thought their food grows at the grocery store up to the plot to harvest carrots, or learned how to design, prepare for and teach a workshop.”
Allie hosts monthly workshops at Wolfe’s Neck Center. Check our Workshops page to see if there’s one coming up!
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