Two years ago, as one of our first Business Monday Spotlights, we featured the local nonprofit Greenagers, founded by executive director Will Conklin in 2013 “to engage teens and young adults in meaningful work in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, trades, and natural resource management.” At that time, Greenagers was holding its second annual fundraiser, featuring musicians/Greenagers supporters Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax, at its recently acquired April Hill Farm Conservation and Education Center.
Since then, Greenagers has expanded its footprint dramatically in terms of numbers, programs and projects, and geographic reach. Deputy director Samantha Suters estimates that Greenagers serves more than 800 people overall, including students/apprentices, workshop participants, and families engaged in various programs. “We currently employ approximately 70 youth working on one of our Trail, Farm, or Build crews,” she adds, “and in 2024, these youth will earn $16/hour and up and contribute approximately 14,000 hours of stewardship and food justice work to the community.”
This year, they are hosting a “Dinner, Democracy & Dancing” summer shindig/fundraiser with Governor Deval Patrick and Representative Smitty Pignatelli on August 15 at April Hill to benefit their outdoor employment and education programs for youth. “There are so many opportunities to engage with the wide world, yet fewer chances to talk with our neighbors,” Conklin points out. “In addition to skills and workplace readiness, Greenagers offers just that—practice in talking and working with folks outside your own bubble or silo while working in community. I can think of no better practice to help engender a more meaningful and caring political discourse, and no better people to help guide this than Governor Patrick and Representative Pignatelli.”
The event features dinner outdoors under a tent overlooking the breathtaking Berkshire-Taconic hills surrounding April Hill, with food grown onsite by Greenagers youth farm crews. Governor Patrick will deliver a keynote talk, followed by a panel discussion on “why civic engagement matters” with Patrick, Pignatelli, and Greenagers youth. A dance in the historic blue barn will cap off the night with music by One Blues Revolution. Tickets can still be purchased at greenagers.org/summergala.
When asked how Greenagers’ mission has changed over the years, Conklin quickly responds that it hasn’t. “That speaks to the breadth of stewardship of the land and how that can be the foundation for good community work,” he says, adding, “It’s obvious our organization has struck a chord here, so our main objective is to continue to figure out where the needs are greatest and how we can address those needs without projecting our beliefs on people.”
Highlights from the past year and projections for 2024
TRAIL CREWS
In 2023, Greenagers employed 49 youth in Berkshire County, Hampden County (also in Mass.), Columbia County, N.Y., and Litchfield County, Conn., to improve 7.5 miles of existing trails and build 3.5 miles of new trails, as well as completing a Universally Accessible Trail at Greenport Conservation Area in Columbia County. The 2024 season will employ nine to 10 conservation crews (including new crews from Pittsfield and Dalton) in the creation of Universally Accessible Trails at Ashley Falls Woods in Sheffield and The Pines Trail in Dalton.
STEWARDSHIP APPRENTICES
Stewardship Apprentices conduct regular maintenance, infrastructure improvements, and cleanups of Great Barrington’s Housatonic River Walk, McAllister Wildlife Preserve, and other conserved lands. Working alongside community members, their efforts include planting native plants, monitoring wetland mitigation, and planning/re-routing trails; organizing and leading work and education days; and guiding volunteers in identifying and removing invasive species, mulching and spreading compost along the riverbank, and removing trash and debris.
FARM CREW
The farm and food justice program at Greenagers at April Hill Farm has quickly grown into a vibrant, inclusive, and productive resource for the surrounding community. In 2023, the Farm Crew installed 22 Front Lawn Food garden beds and distributed over 7,800 pounds of fresh food to the community in partnership with local food distributors (including Berkshire Bounty, People’s Pantry, and Manos Unidas). It also hosted 68 area high school students at the Second Annual Women in Conservation and Agriculture Conference.
In 2024, Front Lawn Food youth crew members installed 30 gardens in southern and central Berkshire County during the April school break and continued its equity work with South Berkshire County Food Access, Anti-Racist Farmer Training, and Farm-Based Educator Network. By year’s end, over 9,000 pounds of food from the farm will be directed to food distribution agencies and educational institutions.
As a core collaborating partner in a two-year USDA Farm to School grant with Berkshires Hills, Greenagers hosted the first professional development day for teachers in collaboration with Woven Roots Farm. In addition, through The Perennial Atlas Project at The Land Institute, the Farm Crew will plant perennial grains for a three-year study.
Beyond the numbers…
Although these numbers tell an important part of the story, the real impact of Greenagers is the learning experience, which can only be appreciated by listening to the youth participants and crew leaders themselves. More than gaining a working knowledge of natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, horticulture, masonry, arboriculture, and carpentry, youth experience the pride of working hard, being held accountable for their actions and for others in their crew, and learning how to negotiate to solve real-world problems. Conklin emphasizes, “Their perception of the community also shifts. When asked what they found most rewarding, many report, ‘the chance to give back to the community.’”
And a few recent testimonials
“You have to coordinate and communicate as an inseparable team. It’s a skill that’s transferable to any part of your life and one you can’t learn in a classroom.”
—Kaspar, a member of the 2023 Trail Crew
“I’ve surprised myself in my ability to lead others effectively, and contribute to the smooth running of a crew. Instructing or adjusting others with tasks I am more familiar with, and being listened to and heard is something I feel more empowered doing. The physical strength and fitness you get working outside all day is a deeply satisfying thing. Pushing your body past its limits and feeling more capable week by week and month by month is a powerful feeling!”
—Issy, 2022 Trail Crew member promoted to Assistant Crew Leader in 2023
“Working at Greenagers has deepened my passion for food and farming, and established that I wanted to pursue farming as a career. In a very real sense working outside year-round at Greenagers has created a much stronger understanding and appreciation of the seasons and the natural world. Seeing in real time what as farmers we can and cannot control during the farm season gave me an acute sense of respect and admiration for the natural environment.”
—Cecilie, Farm Crew Coordinator
For more about Greenagers’ roots and community engagement, read the original Spotlight by The Berkshire Edge.
