We love hearing from our 21 Acres volunteers. This note came to us from Zachariah Van Ry. We thank YOU for your service, Zachariah!

“As my quarter came to a close at U.W. Bothell, I wanted to take a brief moment to thank you  and 21 Acres for such an amazing experience over the past few months. Through my course work in Environmental Studies for the past two years, I have been bombarded by the overwhelming tidal wave of environmental problems due to industrialized agriculture. 21 Acres has been the port in the storm that I have been seeking. Not only have I learned many different practices that I can begin to work into my own garden, whether it is taking live cuts from plum trees, or planting a cover crop every fall, but I have also learned ways that society as a whole can begin to heal the earth. In my projects with Barry, I was shown that even the biggest buildings can carefully use every amp of power that they have to work with. With his guidance, I now have a solid understanding of how solar power works.  Furthermore, through my projects with Jess in urban agriculture, I was able to glean many different techniques of propagation and learn about seed saving, as well as seed swaps, all of which taught me that it is not necessary to spend large sums of money in order to have a productive garden. 

Moving forward, I look forward to meeting with Krystal to coordinate volunteering in the veteran half acre while I continue my own ecotherapy.  Thank you  for the life-changing experience over these past few months.  If there are any upcoming projects I can help with, please feel free to reach out to me.”