“In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children or more prosperous than its farmers.” -Harry S Truman

Here at RLT we’re beyond excited about our new community service, organic farming, kayaking, sailing, and biking adventure along the gorgeous coastline of Southern Michigan. The roots of this program go back to Donna’s childhood romping through the wilds of Michigan, but the program was really born out of what we see as a collective growing awareness of our food culture within our communities. Where does our food come from? What’s the farmer’s name? What is kohlrabi and how in the world do I cook it?

We know farmer’s markets are great – a place for the community to come together and mingle – maybe they’re the new town hall square? But if we dig just a little deeper, we can make those connections with the farmers and hopefully find out their secrets (why do their tomatoes taste so good?).

Seeds for Change, RLT’s new community service and adventure program built specifically for middle school students (grades 6-8 and ages 12-14) takes us on just this journey. We explore orchards, farms and markets, learning how our food goes from seed to plate. The ultimate goal of this service program is to foster a passion for environmental stewardship, the great outdoors and delicious food! As Donna said in a recent interview, “I think that lesson, the simple pleasure of picking berries and a passion for your surroundings, in an important one and I’m so excited for our students to experience it and ultimately take it home to their families.”

A recent NPR story touched on just this phenomenon. A new generation of young and passionate people are taking to the fields and building lives around their passion not only for farming, but for the environment. As one person interviewed said, “When you’re farming, you get to live your values, and farm the world that you want to see.”

You’ve all probably heard it said before, but it’s so good we’ll say it again, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi). Seeds for Change!

Watch this video to learn about our other Global Perspectives Programs for middle school students. Within this category we offer service and adventure programs in Costa Rica and throughout the US.