Hi! My name is Allie and I am a Student Farm intern for the 2022 growing season. I am currently an undergraduate Geography major in the Schreyer Honors College hoping to minor in Forestry, Sustainability Leadership, and International Studies.
I have always been super passionate about the environment and the outdoors from a very young age. Both my parents work for the Forest Service, so naturally my childhood took place in outdoor settings hiking, camping and gardening. Spending time outdoors in the garden with my dad are some of my favorite memories as a kid; I remember one day, my dad asked if he could show me something as we were harvesting our green beans. Together, we dug up of one of our bean plants and my dad pointed to white bulbs located all over the roots. He explained the process of Nitrogen fixation, and how these bulbs are special bacteria that help processes atmospheric Nitrogen into the soil so our green beans and other garden crops can uptake Nitrogen. This relationship between the beans, bacteria, and other plants fascinated me; I often think back to this lesson here at the University as I continue to learn about ecological relationships.
In high school, my passion for the environment intensified. I became really close with one of my teachers who would often discuss issues and ethics involved with overconsumption and industrial farming. There was a sudden and abrupt shift in my attitude towards the environment and society: the Earth didn’t work as one big symbiotic relationship. I began to realize many flaws in our systems for food production and industry due to the many social and ecological disparities they cause. I even began to notice flaws in my own lifestyle, despite my fairly sustainable upbringing, which inspired me to learn more about the natural world and how other societies around the world interact with the environment.
I decided to unenroll from High School in America and live abroad in Chile for a year attending a local high school and living with local host families. Life in southern Chile was very different than the United States. Although there were no formal recycling facilities, I was living much more sustainable: most people in my town had respect and gratitude towards nature, so we barely ever wasted food, didn’t use single use plastics, and all of our produce came from farms within our district. Seasonal food was also a celebration; because most food wasn’t imported from other countries or districts further north, we would all wait patiently for the berries and veggies that would arrive in the markets every spring. Not only did this system allow me to appreciate every bite of a blueberry, it allowed me to realize that berries I would eat from Wegmans in the winter have so many food miles.
I joined the Student Farm internship program and club because I have a lot of interest in sustainable food systems. My sustainability classes and experience in Chile have inspired me to get hands on experience working on a sustainable farm so I can understand food systems more intimately. I want to be part of that symbiotic relationship I witnessed as a kid and inspire other people to desire the same for themselves and the world. With that being said, I am especially excited for leading farm tours and collaborating with the local State College community. The outdoors is a wonderful place to learn, and it is clear that many people do not understand where their food comes from.
