Happy New Year from Rural Resources in Greeneville, TN!  Debbie reporting in and I cannot believe we are in a brand new year already.  It seems like yesterday that I was in this exact same point of preparing our teen curriculum and recruiting 15 new youthful faces into our program.  I am excited about the new gardens we will put in, the old gardens and teens that will get continued support to keep growing, preservation classes, and new teen programming staff.  We are preparing to begin expanding our teen program so we can touch more lives and impact our community.  We are currently searching for a new Garden & Grazing Manager.  Melissa Rebolhz has completed her AmeriCorps term and has decided to begin her own CSA.  She has been an amazing influencer on the teens and helped inspire them with the gardens.  We wish her the best of luck in her new chapter of life.  If anyone is looking for a rewarding job that will inspire and change youth of today, loves growing your food, and likes to play on a farm, we have the job for you!  Check out our website and apply, http://www.ruralresources.net/index.php/board/extensions/components/content-component/article-categories/235-employment-details-for-farm-manager-position.  We are looking to fill this position ASAP.

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This year we will be making leaf mold for all the garden spaces at teen homes and our facility.  Every year the City of Tusculum brings out a truck load or two of leaves.  We use them to mulch the gardens and for the pigs to root through and bed in.  This year we have received at least 5 truck loads!  I have been doing some research on leaf mold and am hoping to substitute this for some of our garden medium we use.  It is high in microorganisms and great for moisture control.  I will be reporting back to let you know how it is going and the methods we decide to use.  This will be the first task for our new Garden & Grazing Manager to help me with.  I had planned to start it this next week, but I decided to take a trip in the mud Christmas Eve.  It took a week for me to decide to take action and have my hand looked at.  Yep, I fractured it because I felt my body shouldn’t go where nature meant and used my hand as a break.  Well, I will be slowed down a bit, but will continue moving forward to get ready for growing in 2016.

Here are a few pictures from our end of the year dinner.  We spent time reflecting on the accomplishments of the teens and thanking everyone who supported the program.  We had a wonderful turn out and an amazing local meal prepared by the teens.  We look forward to cultivating and empowering teens in 2016.  Have a prosperous New Year!

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