Sustainable beauty: Great Kids Farm, Catonsville, MD

Wooden sign carved by great kids

There’s a faded sign on Rt. 40 in Catonsville towards Patapsco State Park that you’ve probably driven by a hundred times and never noticed. It certainly doesn’t stand out like those blaring neon signs across the street for the strip mall that seems slightly out of place. As a matter of fact, the area itself seems a bit forgotten. But if find yourself going southbound on 40 towards the city and get stuck at the traffic light (Nuwood Dr.is the intersection), it’s worth paying attention to that old, weathered marker.

The scenic views are plenitful

It reads, “George F. Bragg Nature and Horticultural Training Center,” a place I have never heard of.  I found myself at that exact light one day, and finally decided to see what it was about. Anything that had to do with nature or horticulture is always right up my alley, so I turned right and went down a very shady road that lead to a very surprising discovery.

Twisted root branch on path

When I reached the bottom of the road, there was another sign pointing up to a trail, so I parked my car and trekked up a hill where I heard strange animal noises. They were goats! I believe is the term for their language is bleating, which they continued to do as I got closer to their pen. They were all sizes and shapes and seemed very happy.

Apiaries

I kept on going when the trail opened up to what appeared to be a farm. Dilapidated office buildings and run down greenhouses caught my eye first, but then I looked down and noticed neat, little rows of planted lettuces, squashes and wild flowers that were in the beginning stages of bloomage. Volunteers of all ages and cultural backgrounds were scattered about, quietly focused on weeding, planting and painting, causing the shabby structures to eventually fade into the background.


Administration building

Despite its initial appearance, there was a zen-like energy surrounding the farm. The more I looked around, the more the property seemed like an oasis in the middle of a forest-- the Patapsco State Park literally butts up to the back side of the farm.  As I was taking a picture of some beautiful, early celosia plants, I fortuitously bumped into the Director of the farm, Tony Geraci, who happens to be Baltimore City School’s newest food service director. He was very welcoming, despite the fact that I may have been trespassing!

Early blooming celosias

He gave me a little background on the operation, explaining the property was recently purchased by the Baltimore City Public School system. They had been looking for a farm for their city food program. This hidden, former horticultural training center still had good bones to work with so they moved in and have been working on upgrading the farm ever since.

Assorted lettuces

Renaming it "Great Kids Farm," the city school system had an important mission: to educate students on the importance of growing sustainable food while teaching organic farming practices. The fruits of their labor will be incorporated into school lunches in hopes of lowering the carbohydrate, sugar and fat content that is a concern in public school lunch programs throughout the state.

Community Supported Agriculture 

Known fondly as the “Cafeteria Man” by students and volunteers, Geraci said the Great Kids Farm is determined to change the way city students look at vegetables and all things grown in the ground, as opposed to relying on fast food for nutrition which is an unfortunate reality in urban culture.

Stray garden onion

Geraci has a successful background in the farm to fork movement—he previously worked as the food service director in Contoocook County, N.H., a district with 11 schools and 5,000 students. He quickly converted the high carb, low taste lunches of the past into healthy, savory meals, often cooking them from scratch. The results were positive and well received.

Micro-greens for local restaurants

In addition to student lunches, the farm participates in the Community Supported Agriculture (C.S.A.) program, a new trend many Maryland farms are adopting to help under-privileged families. They are also growing micro-greens for local restaurants, such as Corks, Donna’s, Woodbury Kitchen and Dogwood.

A perfect eggplant from the farm

I spoke to several workers who told me how generous people have been with their time and donations to help rebuild the farm. Volunteers receive incentives for their time and efforts, including leadership opportunities and a percentage from farm profits.

Produce and flowers getting bagged for C.S.A.

The history of the property tells an equally interesting story of youth empowerment and change. After digging around on the internet, I discovered the Horticultural Nature center was named after an Episcopalian Reverend named George Freeman Bragg, a kind-hearted man who built a home here for orphaned African American children in early 1899. His goal was to care for and empower these children that would not likely receive many opportunities given the climate of the newly post slavery era. With his help, most of the orphans went on to become foster children or were adopted.

Greenhouse of forgotten plants

Walking around, one greenhouse stood out among the others--it was filled to the brim with giant rubber plants, overgrown philodendrons, root clippings in jars, and some unidentifiable old orchids. Unlike the orderly rows of micro-greens next door, this greenhouse was muggy, mossy and chaotic and definitely had a story to tell. Gloria Rosen, a long-time volunteer, was clipping some tangled strands off a pothos plant when she introduced herself. She told me this greenhouse was her favorite—her passion for rescuing old plants has been going strong since she was a horticulture teacher for 30 years in the public-school system. Many of the plants were donations or leftovers from the horticultural center where she also volunteered for years, and they are as cared for now as any other plant on the property.  

Dill 

In the largest building, across from the greenhouses, volunteers prepare the C.S.A. bags for local city residents. In addition to a nice assortment of seasonal fruits and vegetables, the bags also receive bunches of wild flowers.

Assorted squashes

One of the sections of the farm was under construction, it seems the entire property is currently being bid on by local architects and developers to give the buildings a much needed face lift. I can imagine living roofs and all sorts of sustainable touches coming in the following years. For now, Great Kids Farm is a functioning, happy place full of promise and great energy.



As I was leaving, Tony invited me to come hear urban gardener and advocate, Will Allen, the following night. Allen is a Mac Arthur Genius Grant winner and urban community farmer who will be discussing his book “Growing Power,” which deals with getting inner city children involved in urban farming projects. His Cabrini-Green Chicago Avenue Community Garden project became a huge success which serves as an inspiration to beautification projects all over America. I figured it was a perfect opportunity for me as I just helped write a grant for Catonsville’s first beautification project on Frederick Rd.

Near perfect sunflowers

Geraci concluded saying he feels the Great Kids Farm is a litmus test of what could be the future for all schools nationwide. He encourages visiting students to get their hands dirty by seeing how food gets grown and how fun it can be. With an eco-system firmly in place, all humans, plants and animals (except for deer, there is a good fence keeping them out) are contributing to the sustainability and success of this very special green operation that is quickly becoming a great farm. I believe Mr. Bragg would agree.

Great Kids Farm 
The George F. Bragg, Nature Study/Horticultural Training Center 
6601 Baltimore National Pike, Catonsville, MD 21228
410.747.8336 

To schedule a visit to Great Kids Farm, have your parent or teacher contact the Baltimore City School's Office of Food and Nutrition Services at the Command Center
443.984.2000 

To contact Will Allen at Growing Power, Inc., go to:

www.growingpower.org
www.growingpower.org/blog/archives/5