A UC Santa Cruz farming event on Saturday aims to show there is more than one kind of seed-sower.| *sigh* Santa Cruz, the center of California's fruits'n'nuts culture. |
| Being GLBT means loving Mother Earth better than anyone else, at least in Santa Cruz. |
"We're here to celebrate farming, gardening and the community of queer people," Cheney said.
Organizers hope the event will bring awareness to UCSC's queer farmer community. "There have been a lot of gay, lesbian and queer farmers who have gone through the horticultural apprenticeship in the last 40 years," Cheney said. "I think it's important to recognize that there's diversity amongst not only students, but farmers as well."
| A discovery for the GLBT folk of Santa Cruz, but perhaps not news for the farming community. There have been bachelor farmers for forever, without anybody asking where they slept. |
Participants can go on farm tours at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to see organic produce such as artichokes and blueberries. Future farmers can learn pickling and fermentation techniques and beekeeping tips.
Seed-sowers can share a favorite dish at the 6 p.m. potluck while drinking homemade lavender lemonade, listening to live music and watching queer farming films.
Cheney said she hoped the event would allow members of the queer community of all ages and their allies to meet each other, turning strangers into friends. "I see it as not only an educational experience but heightening the morale of queer people and teenagers in our community," Cheney said.
The event's sponsors include The Rainbow Chard Alliance, based at UCSC. The organization is a collective of queer farmers who support each other and future queer farmers while promoting good land use and earth-nurturing farming practices. Other sponsors include the Apprenticeship Program at the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and the UCSC Lionel Cantú LGBTI Resource Center.