Next Step Adventure :: mindful, creative, fun approaches to help people and organizations reach the next level
If you’re ready to take your Next Step with us, give us a shout!
The 2024 Community Food Systems + Farm to School & Early Care Conference was held in June and included educational Farm tours the day before the conference.
The Johnson County Historical Poor Farm visit combined the history of the Historical Poor Farm with how the land is used today:
Camp Creek Farm in Kalona, IA showed us:
Camp Creek Farm is creating connections not only through farming and local food hub distribution but sharing greenhouse and storage space with other local farmers.
While the farm visits reminded me of the hard work it takes to grow the food we eat everyday, the conference opened my eyes to the barriers that prevent fresh, local food from being available to schools and early care sites everyday. Timing of when crops are ready in the fields and when children are in the classroom. Funding and sourcing enough food for an entire school or district. Budgets and time for the people needed to prepare the food. And kids’ tastes, what will they actually eat from year to year? I learned about established and well run programs in place or starting up that help fund fresh local food. The conference brought together educators, food service workers, chefs and local farmers to further understand the systems already in place, uncover challenges and create connections to keep pushing forward to get fresh, local food into school and early care sites that kids will eat. The kindness, connections, collaboration and education that I experienced at the conference has me energized to continue the adventure!
What comes to mind when you hear the word “breath?” Do you have a memory of getting the wind knocked out of you when you did a belly flop in the pool? Or holding your breath when you were scared? Do you hear the words “I can’t breathe” that have become a mantra of the Black Lives Matter movement?
Last night Shakti Yoga students gathered at Gateway Market for a conversation about breath. There were 11 of us around the table. I started off by asking everyone to write down what they think of when they hear the word “breath.” The answers were diverse, but most common was “life.”
Sandy Gustafson reported on what she’s learned during the months since we decided on the topic. Here are links to some of the resources she shared with us last night.
Dr. Sundar Balasubramanian’s website melds ancient breathing practices with modern science, and offers breathwork for improving your life.
Andrew Huberman, a Stanford professor, offers a number of resources on how to breathe better, including this YouTube episode.
When Joseph Schneider told me I breathe through my mouth a lot, I was horrified! And in denial. But then I paid closer attention to my breathing while I practiced yoga. I had to admit that yes, I was breathing through my mouth. A lot. Then he loaned me this book, with a sticky note marking the chapter on mouth breathing.
I swear reading this chapter kept me awake for two nights, and sent me in search of medical tape to keep my mouth closed when I sleep. Keeping your mouth closed can help with snoring and sleep apnea! Who knew?
Something we take for granted, do from the moment we’re born to the moment we die, is way more complicated than I ever knew.
I tend to think of things like breath in broad strokes. Brette Scott offers a monthly “Energy Tuneup” at Shakti that focuses mostly on the breath. It’s really quite interesting and the sessions I’ve attended definitely shifted my energy.
This photo reminds me of the yoga pose Tadasana, or Mountain Pose. It can be rigid and stiff, or there can be a lot going on inside, including deep, controlled breathing.
Lisa Acheson shared a lightbulb moment when she learned she needed to soften her very focused breath. Working on it too hard had become detrimental to her body. Just like anything, finding the middle is a lifelong project. Breathing deep, softening, moderating, relaxing–all practices for life.
I came to a deeper understanding that the subject of breath is broad, but also particular, and integral to everyone’s life. Well, duh.
These conversations always remind me that there’s still so much to learn, and I can still improve my life and health even as I age. It’s not just good for our bodies but also our brains to learn and think about stuff in different ways.
Using my breath to come back to my body and link it up to my mind is an important part of my mindfulness practice.
We are often asked, “How do we bring Farm to School teaching into our classrooms?” There are barriers. Time is short. Teachers are stretched. There is no “free time” in the day to add something extra.
Fortunately, Farm to School is not an extra. There are countless ways to integrate it into the existing framework. We know student learning increases when activities are hands-on, engaging, and meaningful. Farm to School activities do this.
Working with Waukee Community School District, we developed science lessons that meet the curriculum goals of the Iowa Academic Standards through Farm to School activities. Each grade level folder contains lessons and supplemental materials including:
All lessons are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards, as well as the Waukee School District’s progress report statements. Material lists, learning goals, actions steps, reflection questions, hand-outs, and seasonal recommendations are included.
We invite you to access the materials, try them out in your classroom, and let us know what you think. What worked well for you? What suggestions do you have?
We are proud of our work and thankful to partner with Waukee Schools, a Farm to School leader.
October 11 is International Day of the Girl. This is an opportunity to celebrate the power of girls, discuss the challenges girls face worldwide, and take action to advance the rights of girls everywhere. The statistics are staggering:
International Day of the Girl Child has its roots in the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing when girls’ rights were specifically called out. In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly declared October 11 International Day of the Girl Child. This complements the annual International Women’s Day on March 8, which started in 1975.
I would like to recommend two insightful activities that prompt discussion for both students and adults:
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life. Together we can bring about change in our community. We need to learn our history and choose leaders who will invest in change globally.
I heard grumbling on the short walk to the restored prairie.
“Why do we have to do this?”
“I don’t like to draw.”
“Plants are boring.”
I did not respond but wondered if the prairie and I could win them over.
The setting was the lovely Twin Ponds Nature Center near Ionia, Iowa. Twenty Girl Scouts 9-12 years old were camping for the weekend. I had been asked to lead an aftrenoon nature study of prairie plants and their changes through the seasons.
It was the after-lunch slump, 90 degrees, and humid. My hopes were not high. Yet I find tallgrass prairie fascinating, so I kept walking.
I encouraged the girls to sit in the shade on grass next to the towering plants. For the next 10 minutes, we talked prairie plants. They formed cups with their hands to mimic cup plant leaves. They used their hands to estimate the depth of big bluestem roots. (All guesses were all too short; big blue roots can be 10 feet deep!) They gathered around cup flowers and examined the pollen. They noticed a few cone flowers that had already lost their petals. Even though it was hot and after lunch, the prairie captivated the girls’ attention.
The conversation shifted to seasonal changes over time. The girls spread out to sketch various flowers and predictions of their winter changes. It was not breaktime for me, though.
“Miss Sara, look at this flower!”
“I found a cool bug!”
“Until I started drawing, I didn’t notice that the petals have two shades of yellow.”
“What do you think these berries are?”
“Noooo, I don’t want to be done!”
These girls were filled with wonder as they observed restored prairies. Despite the heat, they asked engaging questions as they made observations. To my surprise, the biggest grumblers at the start became the biggest defenders of the prairie.
Today a friend showed me her peach tree and told me to help myself. She plans to harvest all of the peaches this weekend and will have more than enough. Immediately, I started planning juicy peach slices for lunch followed by an afternoon of making pie. The peaches are currently ripening in a paper bag.
My own garden is bursting with delicious food. I so enjoy watching and waiting for the tiny seeds to turn into sprawling plants, full of tasty, nutrient-dense food for my family.
As a kid, I wasn’t a fan of tomatoes. I converted to a tomato connoisseur a few years ago after tasting garden-ripe tomatoes. It’s hard to believe I lived most of my life without realizing such tasty tomatoes existed. I continue to avoid bland grocery store tomatoes all winter and wait for my garden in the summer.
Home gardens are not the only way to access delicious fresh produce. A few weeks ago I attended the Iowa Food System Conference. Iowa has incredible soil, farmers, and communities, yet the vast majority of our food is imported. A better way is possible.
It has been a pleasure do this work with the Iowa Farm to School Coalition and local districts like Waukee Schools and Des Moines Schools. School gardens, food education, and institutional buying of local foods are all moving us in the right direction.
This is hopeful work. Get involved.
Today I’m wearing orange. My kids are, too.
The first Friday in June is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The weekend has been designated as Wear Orange Weekend. Atttend an event around the country, including here in Iowa.
Ten years ago—and less than a week after performing at President Obama’s second inauguration— 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Wear Orange originated on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday.
The color orange has a long and proud history in the gun safety movement. Whether worn by hunters in cornfields, activists at the statehouse in Des Moines, or Hadiya’s loved ones in Chicago, orange honors the more than 120 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day —and it demands action.
We Wear Orange to demand a future free from gun violence. Orange symbolizes the value of each person’s life and we wear it to honor those killed, wounded or impacted by gun violence, and to call for an end to this crisis.
I’ve been determined to really pay attention to spring this year, and to share it with some folks who seem to have an easier time being mindful than most.
A poverty simulation is an interactive experience where folks try to survive the day-to-day realities of living with a low income.
By including school gardens in science, students learn through hands-on activities with countless real-world applications.
