Green Uprising Farm
A Small Family Farm Confronts Climate Change
story & photos by Ree Slocum
At a time when small family farms are disappearing, a five-acre farm outside of Willits has been thriving. But because of drought, fires, lowering water tables, and climate change in general, they are currently struggling to continue doing what they love—growing food and herbal medicine for their community.
In the 1990s, Sara Grusky and Michael Foley were Political Science professors in Washington, D.C. They met, appreciated one another’s politics and world view, fell in love, married, and had two children. Michael secured a tenured professorship in D.C., and Sara quit academia to join Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen Organization, working on water issues in Latin America and Africa, where the slogan “Water is Life” was inspired.
During the couple’s time in D.C., Allegra Foley, Michael’s daughter from a previous marriage, was living and working in San Francisco and becoming disillusioned about city life. So she decided to apprentice on a farm in Pescadero. Allegra smiled as she explained, “It was beautiful and everything I ever imagined. We spent our days planting things and making jam. There were trails, and the beach was right there. It was country living!” She attended the U.C. Farm Program that eventually led her, her father, and then Sara into quitting their city jobs and becoming farmers in California. When local family members found land for them to purchase in Little Lake Valley outside of Willits, Michael, Sara, and Allegra were ready.
The farm was an established homestead with water supplied from the bordering Davis Creek. The kitchen garden was surrounded by fruit trees, bushes, and grapes. There was an orchard and meadows. Since their purchase in 2007, the farm has grown with organically sprouted ideas that each person contributed from their diverse and companionable interests. This has resulted in more established vegetable gardens, an ever-expanding medicinal herb garden, additional fruit trees planted yearly, hoop houses and drying sheds, a goat herd, and a new photovoltaic system that powers 90% of the farm, designed and installed by resident Michael Hackleman.
There is much to do, and each person who lives at Green Uprising has responsibilities often based on a passion, one that fits their personality, or a need. Water supply is at the top of the list and is taken care of by Michael Foley and Michael Hackleman. Currently, the two Michaels have their hands full.
When asked how they feel about farming now that they’ve been at it for a while, Michael F. responded, “I still love doing it. I love having plants in the ground and figuring out how to grow them better. I like trouble-shooting and figuring out diseases, all that stuff. One of the reasons I got into farming is that I like putzing around with all the constant repair, rebuilding, devising systems, and keeping them running. I’m peculiar. I just like doing that,” he laughed. Sara added, “The amazing thing about Michael is that he bottom-lines everything. He’s the person everybody goes to if there’s a problem. And that’s from water issues to human relations.”
Sara has many and varied responsibilities. Through the years, she has managed the market garden with Michael and Allegra, planted fruit trees and vines, developed her medicinal herb garden, taken herbal classes, and herded up to seven milk goats with kids, preparing the milk for sale, delivering it, and loving many aspects of it even though it eventually felt like a ball-and-chain. Last year, the CDFA shut them down for selling raw goat milk, so Sara took the opportunity to further develop her passion for herbal medicine instead of goat herding. And she joined Michael in creating other exciting ideas for revenue. “Michael and I have been playing around for a while with the concept of ‘Food is Medicine and Medicine is Food.’ We’re thinking of having classes here,” she said.
The nature of Sara’s early water work with the Nader organization was helping disenfranchised people deal with drought, water privatization, and other related issues. Those issues are now a reality for her family and their farm. Sara disclosed, “Right now, there’s almost no water. We have no idea how long our farm crops will mature since we don’t know if there’ll be enough water or not. There’s not been a season in the last three years that we haven’t been impacted by climate change, whether it’s wildfire or drought.” Though the current water shortage is likely primarily due to climate change, they can’t help but wonder if the large, commercial cannabis grows around them are depleting the ground and surface water that feed the creek and water table.
“It’s a funny, weird, weird moment,” Sara reflects. “Here we are with climate change. We, like everyone else, just want to continue on doing the same things we’ve always done. Now we can’t, and we’re faced with some major decisions about how to move forward. We’ll probably have to let some of our gardens die back, and we have to rethink how we do things.”
Green Uprising, along with many other local farms, is learning to operate within these new climate parameters. Sara, Michael, and Allegra have navigated numerous changes in their lives, and it is something they do well. But truth be told, small farmers will need all our support to survive and thrive in the new normal, and we wish them all the best as they recreate what it means to farm with this new twist.
Green Uprising Farm
2301 E. Hill Rd, Willits CA 95490
(707) 216-5549 | Greenuprisingfresh.wordpress.com
Self-serve Farmstand 9am to dusk, except Thursday
Willits Farmers Market in Rexall Parking lot, Thu 3pm - 5pm
Ree Slocum is a fine art freelance photographer and writer who calls the edge of the wilds in Mendocino County “home.” She takes pleasure living with bird song, the breathing fog, and wildlife’s cast of characters when not on assignments. See her work at ReeSlocumPhotography.com.
