Final report for SNE23-010-NY
Project Information
The Growing Together Project was a retreat‑based educational initiative designed to support farmers and service providers through immersive, multi‑day learning experiences that center rest, reflection, connection, and renewal. Across retreats such as Coming Home to Self, Teachings of Leaves, and Veterans Who Tend the Land, among many other participant led workshops and programs, the project created intentionally facilitated spaces where participants could step away from daily demands, reconnect with themselves and others, and reflect deeply on how they want to live, work, and care for land and community.
Participants consistently described the retreats as rare opportunities to “unplug and destress from day‑to‑day responsibilities,” noting that the project met a critical need for restoration among people experiencing burnout, isolation, and overwork. By combining learning, reflection, and community building in a supportive environment, the Growing Together Project helped participants “come home to ourselves” while cultivating enduring networks of trust and mutual support.
The Growing Together Project employed a trauma‑aware, relational, and experiential educational approach grounded in adult learning principles. Rather than delivering prescriptive content, the retreats were designed as “containers” that supported self‑directed learning through guided practices, structured dialogue, and embodied experiences.
Key elements of our educational model included:
- Rest as pedagogy: Retreats intentionally slow participants down through spacious schedules, nourishing meals, comfortable lodging, and practices such as meditation, yoga, sound healing, and time in nature. Participants emphasized that rest itself was transformational.
- Discernment circles and open‑ended inquiry: Facilitators introduced and modeled deep listening and open‑ended questions, encouraging participants to listen without fixing and to trust their own insight.
- Experiential and reflective practices: Activities such as journaling, creative expression, ritual, land‑based reflection, and small‑group dialogue supported meaning‑making and integration.
- Intentional community design: Clear agreements around confidentiality, consent, and respectful listening fostered safety and belonging across multiple identities and backgrounds.
Participants repeatedly described this approach as “revolutionary,” “nourishing,” and deeply effective because it enabled them to access their own wisdom while being supported by community.
Growing Together evaluations indicated strong learning outcomes across personal, relational, and practical dimensions. Participants reported:
- Increased self‑awareness and emotional regulation, including greater calm, clarity, and internal peace. Many noted learning how depleted they were and what they needed to lay down or let go.
- New skills in deep listening and communication, particularly the practice of open‑ended questioning. Participants described learning to “hold space” more compassionately and to listen without judgment or advice.
- Shifts in perspective around value, balance, and sustainability, with participants recognizing that “not every challenge is an emergency” and that rest is essential rather than indulgent.
- Renewed connection to land, purpose, and identity, especially for farmers navigating transitions. Several participants shared that the retreats helped them reconnect with the land and envision more grounded futures.
Participants also emphasized relational learning, noting that listening to others’ experiences helped them better understand themselves and feel less alone.
The retreats catalyzed concrete actions and longer‑term changes. Participants reported:
- Making changes in work, caregiving, and leadership practices to prioritize rest, boundaries, and sustainability.
- Integrating deep listening and open‑ended questions into families, workplaces, and community settings.
- Seeking or creating ongoing spaces for reflection and peer support, including interest in continued discernment circles and future retreats.
- Increased willingness to share their own gifts, serve as facilitators, or bring learning back to their communities.
Many participants described the experience as “life‑changing” and expressed strong desire to remain connected, highlighting the project’s role in building durable networks of care and collaboration.
15 inspired alumni of the "Reconnecting with Purpose" program community (2020-2023 NY State NESARE PDP Program) will draw upon their gifts, strengths, and newly acquired practitioner skills to co-design and co-facilitate a variety of in-person and virtual programs focused on connection, trust, wellness and healing for 100 sustainable agriculture educators, change-makers, earth-workers, activists and farmers.
Description of Opportunity
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the writing of the initial proposal, the Northeast SARE community had begun to awaken to the inner work needed to achieve our shared dream to “honor the holistic connections among land, water, air and all living beings” (NESARE outcome statement). To honor our relationships in this interconnected web of life, we first had to look inward to remember who we are at our “core.” Through our previous NESARE professional development State Program, Reconnecting with Purpose, we learned that when agricultural educators, earthworkers, change‑makers, and farmers joined in community to uncover and reclaim their birth gifts, stories of self, and inner identities, they developed a sense of awareness, connection, and trust with one another that built collective grounding and strength. This collective strength enabled participants to act with the kinds of courage and integrity needed to create and sustain the bold, ambitious, and urgent change our farm and food system so badly needed (see graph), illustrating the most cited outcomes of connection, support, and strength).
Since 2020, our facilitator teams drew on the practices and principles put forward by the Center for Courage & Renewal to foster these transformations and impacts among the 75 participants we served; however, we had to turn away another 75 applicants. The need to develop a collaborator network of experienced facilitators prepared to design and curate inner‑work‑focused programs was high within the sustainable agriculture community. In fact, Reconnecting with Purpose was the first—and at the time remained the only—program within the virtual archival history of SARE to propose holding a space for inner work: a space to honor and nourish the roots within that give energy and life to the change we manifest in our work and lives.
Solution and Benefits
In the first year, facilitators designed a Practitioners Preparation course for 22 alumni who were eager to dive more deeply into the practices and principles introduced in Reconnecting with Purpose. As new Practitioners felt ready to live, embody, and steward these principles, they worked in teams around shared areas of interest to co‑design programs—both virtual and in‑person—open to the broader agricultural community. Themes identified included exploring farmer wellness and balance, fostering allyship and rural community safety, cultivating gratitude and reverence for the land, and addressing environmental grief and action.
Each of these themes offered unique benefits described in greater detail elsewhere in this proposal; however, the universal impacts of the work centered on building deep connection, relational trust, and a sense of community among and between a broad range of agricultural professionals working within the farm and food system. These closing words from a Farm Net Consultant and recent Reconnecting with Purpose alumnus captured the profound interconnectedness that arose through the Courage & Renewal approach: “I love you. I feel loved. I have finally found my family.”
Service Provider Interest
Interest in a place and space for inner work—the work of manifesting our core values, gifts, dreams, identities, and learning from grief, loss, failure, and setbacks—was enormous within the sustainable agriculture field. As stated above, each year of the former Reconnecting with Purpose program we received twice the number of applications we could accommodate, despite charging a sliding‑scale registration fee of up to $660. Alumni returned year after year to enroll in the five‑month program again, and several became leaders within the program itself.
This proposal emerged from conversations, reflections, and responses to a feedback form completed by 17 alumni who expressed clear need and strong desire for the program themes described above.
Advisors/Cooperators
- - Producer (Educator)
- - Producer
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
Educational approach
Engagement: For the Practitioners Preparation Course, 17 of our most recent Alumni of Reconnecting with Purpose asked for the course via our Closing survey (see results indicating 13 responses; we have an additional 4 who responded via emails). We reached out to all 75 previous graduates and with the resources available were able to support 22 practitioners.
The number and type of service providers:
The types of service providers generally being served through the Growing Together project are people of all ages, backgrounds, genders and religions who serve, and are called to work, at the intersection of farming, food, earth and nature.
In the 6 months following the Practitioners Preparation Course, 12 of these new practitioners worked in pairs to design and facilitate a total of six 1.5 hour virtual programs to the Practitioners' community based on Inner Work themes of their choice. These short programs took place each month and were an opportunity for newly prepared Practitioners to begin experimenting with the skills learned.
An additional 6 of these new practitioners collaborated with the Facilitator Team to co-design and or cofacilitate a longer (1/2 day - 2.5 day) retreat during Year 2 and Year 3 for the agricultural community.
6 practitioners who choose to collaborate on longer programs were supported through cofacilitator stipends and financial support covering retreat costs to make sliding scale registration fees for attendees possible.
Commitment & Types of Support: Our new practitioners were supported through mentoring from our experienced facilitator team and directed to resources or other Courage & Renewal programs and mentors when needed. As stated above, practitioners dedicating significant time to longer programs (1/2 day - 2 1/2 day Retreats) received stipends to support their time in program design and facilitation. Funds were also allocated to off-setting attendee costs for the general sustainable ag community who attended these programs. Having built deeply connected, trusting relationships prior, we trust our Alumni members' commitment and enthusiasm, but if health, family or some other life change needs attention, we encourage them to step back and tend to their needs. We intentionally chose the number (15) out of (22) in our Performance Target for this reason. Our experience thus far in offering inner work programs is that they both attract and yield abundance.
Educational content:
Growing Together project 2023-2026 Programs
The link below provides detailed descriptions of Programs and Retreats themes. The ideas for these programs arose from conversations with Year 3 Reconnecting with Purpose Alumni who wish to enroll in the practitioners’ preparation program. Newly prepared practitioners partnered with experienced facilitators/mentors to design and cofacilitate these themes in Years 2 and 3 of the project.
Click here: Growing Together Programs: Growing-Benevolent-Agricultural-Communities-2023-2026-Programs_V2
Describe the knowledge, awareness, skills, and/or attitudes service providers acquired:
New Practitioners co-designing and co-facilitating these programs first learned how to:
- Deepen their capacity to listen with whole attention and open-heartedness
- Explore Rhythm and Energetics in Program Design
- Incorporate Third Things to Frame Themes
- Hold Tension and Paradox while Holding Space
- Design Open, Honest Questions for Reflection
- Lean into their unique Facilitator Voice, Style and Presence
- Uphold Touchstones with both ferocity and grace
- Thread and Sequence Program Themes
Although each subsequent program had it's own impacts based upon the theme, generally Sustainable Agriculture Community Members enrolling in Retreats and Programs learned how to:
- Develop the skill of attentive listening
- Practice asking open, honest questions
- Create supportive networks among people of all ages, places and backgrounds connected to farm, food, earth and nature
- Reconnect with one's inner voice or teacher to source intuition and guidance
- Measure one's self worth beyond productivity and external expectations
- Evaluate the outcomes of one's work through the lens faithfulness
- Source and sustain courage for radical change-making
- Develop connected, trusting relationships with colleagues and peers
- Bring humility, vulnerability and love to leadership and service
Evaluation: For both the Practitioners Preparation Course and subsequent programs, we gathered vocal reflections via a Closing Circle and written feedback through a series of open, honest questions. Reflection, evolution and growth are inherent to the work of a Courage & Renewal Facilitator - evolving program design was responsive to our participants expressions. Additionally, cofacilitators met immediately after each program to offer one another peer feedback in the form of "rose, thorn, bud".
Milestones
- Engagement: (September 15th, 2023). The Growing Benevolent Agricultural Communities team, including Advisory and Key individuals meet to establish connection, build community and contribute ideas, questions and concerns to the entire program.
Status: Complete
- Engagement: (September 15th, 2023). New project website is unveiled at www.smallfarms.cornell.edu
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: The public facing project name is "Growing Together" and the new website was completed and is available here: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/growing-together/
- Engagement: (September 15th - October 15th, 2023) Outreach and open application period for the Practitioners Preparation Program.
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: Below is our press describing the retreat and vision for the project. We had a robust application pool. Our waitlist was full within 2 days of public announcement. Our applicants included about half alumni from the prior Reconnecting with Purpose program.
Coming Home: Recentering in Self and CommunityDate: December 1st, starting at 3pm through December 3rd, ending at lunchLocation: Light on the Hill Retreat Center, Van Etten, NYCost: Sliding scale from $0-$330 which covers registration, food and lodging.Description:"Community . . . is an environment where you can find a home in each other’s heart and soul. It is a living entity with spirit as its anchor, where a group of people are empowered by one another, by spirit, and by the ancestors to be themselves, to carry out their purpose, and use their power responsibly." — Sobonfu Somé, Welcoming Spirit Home
In this Retreat, you will recenter in self and community by journeying through a carefully curated arc of themes. Incorporating teachings from multiple wisdom traditions, clay, mosaics, movement, embodiment exercises, reflection, writing and more, "Coming Home" is designed to help us settle in ourselves and harness our gifts to serve our communities through bringing home the principles and practices to others. All content is grounded in the Courage & Renewal® approach which can be explored at https://couragerenewal.org/Project Timeline & Opportunities:December 1
December 3
2023
“Coming Home” Retreat at Light on the Hill
January
August
2024
Participants work in pairs to offer 1- 1.5 hour programs based on themes of their choice, drawing on the practices and principles, with support and mentorship. Some conversation guides/facilitation notes will be offered by invitation as models. These programs may be offered to our Cohort group or to audiences in your community.
September
March
2024-2026
During this 19 month period, interested participants will have opportunities to collaborate with project leadership to design and cofacilitate longer (.5 day - 2.5 day programs) open to the entire agricultural community. The following themes have been identified. Others will arise according to participant interests.
- Cultivating Farm Wellness, a program exploring how farmers can feed and care for themselves while feeding others.
- A Changing World, a retreat for farmers and earthworkers to explore fear, grief and gratitude in an era of climate variability and mass extinction.
- Creating Benevolent Agricultural Communities, a retreat for farmers and earth workers of all backgrounds exploring identity and integrity, connection, care and trust in the context of our urban or rural agricultural communities.
- Cultivando Bienestar, a similar program to “Cultivating Farm Wellness” offered en español and adapted to better serve the needs of the Latino/Latina/LatinX farming community.
- Leadership Embodiment. An interactive, experiential program for educators to engage with centering practice, centered listening, inspiration and support.
April
June
2026
The entire "Growing Together" Practitioners' Cohort, including Alumni and all Program participants from 2023 - 2026 attend a Community Celebration honoring the stories and experiences we've shared, the growth and evolution we've undertaken and the joyful impact of our work to build a culture of agriculture that fosters interconnectedness, allyship, and power.
- Engagement: (September 1st - November 30th, 2023) Facilitator/Mentoring team designs the Practitioners Preparation Program, a 2.5 day in person retreat.
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: I worked with Marcia Eames Sheavly, my mentor and long time highly skilled facilitator to design the preparation retreat which was ultimately titled "Coming Home to Self and Community. The agenda and resource packet are below. Look over the Coming Home Retreat Packet
- Engagement: (October 30, 2023). 22 Reconnecting with Purpose Alumni who expressed passion and enthusiasm to become Practitioners of Inner work using the Courage & Renewal Approach are officially welcomed to the Course. We will use the same standard formula to award needs-based, sliding scale scholarships to off-set registration fees as in the previous project.
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: Just over half of our attendees (14) were Reconnecting with Purpose Alumni. Since we had room for 27,we opened the course up for outside applications. Here is a bare bones version of our Coming Home Retreat Participants .
- Learning & *Evaluation: (December 31st, 2023) 17 new Practitioners complete the 2.5 day Preparation Course. They learn how to:
- Deepen their capacity to hold space with whole attention and open-heartedness
- Explore Rhythm and Energetics in Program Design
- Incorporate Third Things to Frame Themes
- Hold Tension and Paradox while Holding Space
- Design Open, Honest Questions for Reflection
- Lean into their unique Facilitator Voice, Style and Presence
- Uphold Touchstones with both ferocity and grace
- Thread and Sequence Program Themes
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: Our facilitation team and group photo are below. The evaluation results are here. Coming Home Retreat Feedback Anonymous.
Excerpted quotes:
"I just want to express that utmost gratitude for this space, the ability to grow together, and to come home to ourselves. I look forward to curating more workshops, sharing my gifts, and to be connected to community in these very inspirational ways. I believe that there is so much continual growing potential in this space... I'm so excited to grow, expand, and elevate as I bare witness to other in shared communal space being able to do the same and achieve their own personal journey of expansion."
"The was a magic to this group. Each time I attend, it gets better. "
"To me, the most important benefits of the Retreat were having the opportunity to join in a community of people from different backgrounds with common goals. The circle of trust and open and honest questions afforded me the ability to truly listen and gain better perspective of others and my goals."
"Some of the most beneficial sharing took place over meals where I learned and shared so much about how other famers have approached growing and building soil health as well as learning about small farm resources that could be very helpful in my own farm. And then there was the deep, deep dive within, exploring what truly matters for me and how I express this."
FACILITATOR TEAM
7. Engagement, Learning & Evaluation. (January 2024 - July 2024). 12 newly prepared practitioners work in pairs to design and facilitate a total of six 1.5 hour virtual programs to the Practitioners' community based on Inner Work themes of their choice. These short programs will take place each month and be an opportunity for newly prepared Practitioners to begin experimenting with the skills learned. These 1.5 hour programs will not be open to the general public to ensure a supportive space for these practitioners to debut as facilitators.
Status: We completed a total of 5/6
Accomplishments: We used funding from a different grant to invite participants to work in teams or solo to create short programs drawing from retreat practices during the 2024 year. Below are short summaries of the programs participants offered with photos:
- Pause, Rest, Be: Community Lunch and Conversation Circle at the Massachusetts Avenue Project, Buffalo, NY
Join Shontaé Cannon-Buckley and Violet Stone on Saturday, May 11th, from 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, for a community lunch served by Breva Kitchen followed by conversation and restorative yoga drawn from the book “Pause, Rest, Be. Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change” by Octavia F. Raheem. Our gathering will take place in the Community Room at Massachusetts Avenue Project, 387 Massachusetts Ave, Buffalo, NY 14213. Facilitators will share excerpts of Raheem's wise words to inspire large and small group conversation. Raheem writes "With so much shifting, now we are ready to go deeper. Alone and together. Let us begin with the end." This gathering will focus on the theme of "Endings". After some reflection and sharing, a restorative yoga teacher will guide us spaciously in and out of the Pose for Endings, Savasana. All are welcome; no yoga experience is necessary.
2. Sounds, Silence, Stillness at the Ellenville Community Library with Jamillah El Bey
Join Jamillah El Bey for a reflective program on July 13th, 2024 titled “Sounds, Stillness and Silence: Tools of the Inner Teacher”. We will start the program by opening our throats and clearing ourbodies and minds of stagnant energy. Then, through a series of breathing techniques and universal sounds the group will be invited to experience the calm of releasing blocked/ stagnant energy. The program will include invitations to write, draw and share in small groups. (No photo available)
3. Getting to the Root of Fear for Urban Gardeners and Urbalists with Jawhara Taitt and Angel Torres
Join urban earthworkers and herbalists Jawhara Taitt and Angel Torres for a transformative virtual workshop on Tuesday, September 17th, from 5pm - 7pm EST called "Getting to the Root of Fear". An important element of this workshop is trust. We invite all participants who strive toward being attentive and present for the entire 2 hour session. Please join us from a comfortable, quiet space where confidentially is possible.
4. Vibe’O’Clock with Meliq August and Jamillah El Bey at Rabbit Hole Farm
Join Meliq August and Jamillah El Bey for Vibe’O’Clock, a vocal jam/rap/poetry performance bout plant life and the earth around us. Hosted at Rabbit Hole farm in Newark NJ October 5th from 5-8pm. Reflective circle incorporating herbs and activities.
5. Asha Laaya Regional Support Network Meeting
Maryellen Sheenan and Violet Stone designed and cofacilitated this meeting with the intention of building connection, trust, appreciation and understanding between rural service providers and the deaf new Americans at Asha Laaya Farm.
8. Engagement, Learning & Evaluation. (September 2024 - March 2026) During this 19 month period, an additional 6 of these new practitioners will receive support and mentorship from the Facilitator Team to design and cofacilitate longer ( .5 day - 2.5 day programs/retreats) open to the entire agricultural community. We have intentionally not placed specific deadlines on these events because they will be scheduled according to venue and practitioner availability. Program coordinator and lead facilitator Violet Stone will work closely with these 6 new practitioners to arrange venue and facility needs, develop press and outreach, register attendees from the sustainable agriculture community, arrange scholarships, coordinate carpool and travel arrangements and other event planning logistics. We offer once again below themes that have been identified. Other themes may arise.
- Cultivating Farm Wellness, a retreat exploring how farmers can feed and care for themselves while we feed others. We can accommodate up to 25 sustainable agriculture community members in this retreat.
- Earthworkers: Grieving Loss, Remembering Reverence, a retreat for farmers and earthworkers to explore fear, grief and gratitude in an era of climate variability and mass extinction. We can accommodate up to 25 sustainable agriculture community members in this program.
- Creating Benevolent Agricultural Communities, a retreat for farmers and earth workers of all backgrounds exploring identity and integrity, connection, care and trust in the context of our urban or rural agricultural communities. We can accommodate up to 25 sustainable agriculture community members in this retreat.
- Cultivando Bienestar, a similar program to “Cultivating Farm Wellness” offered en español and adapted to better serve the needs of the Latino/Latina/LatinX farming community.
Status: Complete
Accomplishments: Please see the facilitator collaborations and program offerings from September 2024 - March 2026 below.
Retreat Collaboration with Practitioners # 1
The first full retreat facilitation collaboration took place from November 22 - November 24. Our facilitation team was comprised of myself, and 3 alumni facilitators of former retreats. A short description of the retreat and our team's biographies are below:
Apply Now for Farmer Rest Retreat: Teachings of Leaves
Farming can bring joy, delight, and awe, from apples reddening to lambs leaping. It can also be tireless and demanding. The energy and attention required to tend and harvest abundant food on any scale can make it hard to live in balance with life’s many other demands. When we consider the additional stresses of living during these times — extreme weather, hurried schedules, distracting technology, and distressing world news running in the background, it’s not surprising many of us are feeling pulled in too many directions.
If you’re feeling the need to pause, rest and lay some things down, our Growing Together project will be hosting an in-person retreat titled “Teachings of Leaves: Let Go, Lay Down, Rest & Rejoice.” This retreat is especially for farmers, growers, earth-workers and tenders who live in New York.
Start: Friday, November 22, at 3 p.m.
End: Sunday, November 24, at 1 p.m.
Location: Light on the Hill Retreat Center, 209 Blake Hill Rd, Van Etten, NY 14889
Registration Deadline: October 4 or until the waitlist is full.
Retreat Participants Announced: October 11
Apply Now
Damon Brangman (he/him)
Born and raised in the island of Bermuda, Damon Brangman a farmer/educator and musician founded Roots Rising Farm to offer hands on garden education through school and community gardens. Damon started farming at a young age, and his inspiration to grow food was his grandmother’s love of fresh vegetables. Through the curiosity of other youth in the community, he felt inclined to share the knowledge he was gaining from gardening, and also give them the opportunity to connect to the land. Damon traveled to New York City to study music production in 1997, and while there he became sick, and decided to attend a body/mind retreat in Ithaca, NY during the summer. The experience of a raw food diet, meditation, and yoga, encouraged him to make changes in his lifestyle, and eventually move to Ithaca a few years later. Having a strong background in music, and determined to continue healing from Crohn’s disease, he produces music with the intention of healing himself while also assisting others on their own personal healing journey. The earth is healing itself, and we play an important role in allowing the process to heal us, if we can only stop for a moment and listen.
Himanee Gupta (she/her)
Himanee is a farmer, writer, and professor who sows seeds to provide food, uses words to form ideas, and creates thoughts to help guide herself and others through learnings to sustain future generations. She is the author of Muncie, India(na): Middletown and Asian America, which blends memoir, ethnography, and critical thought on the question of what it means to be an American. She also has written, spoken, taught, and pondered extensively on the relationships between land, food, and spirituality and has drawn on her own experiences as a farmer and daughter of immigrant Indian parents in reflecting on her place in North American settler-colonialist spaces. A desire to contribute to the healing of historic intergenerational violence and ongoing trauma led her in 2022 to the Cornell Small Farm’s Reconnecting With Purpose Retreat, from which she was motivated to rekindle prior work with Reiki and to fulfill a long-held desire to transform her practice of yoga into teaching it herself. Since becoming certified through the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, she has led yoga workshops at numerous academic conferences and in community classes in the Saratoga area, where she lives, farms, and teaches at SUNY Empire State University. Her hope is to meet students where they are at, and to guide them to find peace, grounding, rejuvenation, contentment, and hope.
Kate Cowie-Haskell (they/them)
Kate comes from a background in anthropology, storytelling, and farmworking. They spent three years as a farm worker (working with vegetables, hops, and alpaca) before transitioning into a technical assistance role. Many conversations with farmers about crises like poisoned soil, extreme flooding, and prolonged droughts led Kate to wonder how the spiritual care network for earthworkers could be strengthened. This interest brought them from their long-time home in Massachusetts to Minneapolis, where they are pursuing an MDiv in Interreligious Chaplaincy and Eco-Justice. Kate loves to help people find words, rituals, and actions that connect them to a greater whole. They are particularly interested in helping to heal the disconnect that whiteness creates between individual health and collective wellbeing. Growing natural dyes, dancing, and reading sci-fi are some of their current personal healing practices.
Kate has been involved in Reconnecting With Purpose and Growing Together since 2022, and is deeply grateful for the exploration and expansion this community has offered.
Violet Stone (she/her)
Violet leads a wide range of retreats and workshops for the agricultural community drawing on themes of connection, wellness, purpose, integrity and courage. She sees this work as contributing to agriculture where all voices are warmly welcomed, honored and celebrated, including the voice of our intuition or inner teacher. In this highly technological age of automation and artificial intelligence, we have much to gain from the act of offering one another genuine listening, open-hearted attention, and wonder. Violet has led programs for the Cornell Small Farms Program since 2007 and has also served as the New York Northeast SARE Professional Development Coordinator since 2009. All of her programs are aligned with the principles of the Center for Courage and Renewal.
Here is a photo of our group:
AGENDA & RESOURCES
Here is our agenda and resource packet.
Evaluation and Quotes:
Here are some quotes excerpted from the evaluation:
"I spend so much of my life and work life looking outwards - to see what needs to be done, who needs to be fed, which balls need to be juggled, who needs to go where - that I don't spend much time looking inwards, to see what I need, where I am, where I want to go. The retreat helped me to get back in touch with myself, to let me recenter and find my grounding."
"When I arrived home, I held back from racing into preparing the farmhouse for winter chores, the seasonal late fall transplanting, & figuring out the expenses from now to around February. I simply prepared food, sat with the woodstove listening to its relaxing, restful sounds, drinking in its warm embrace & wrote a wee bit in my journal reflecting my falling leaves retreat experiences"
"I was surprised by how accessible a state of rest was for me once I was supported and encouraged to get there."
"I haven’t felt a sense of peace and joy in recent time yet the Retreat helped me realize that from the genesis of these themes, peace and joy are possible."
Here is our complete evaluation.
Mini Retreat Collaboration with Practitioners # 2
Most of our facilitation team continued to work together in the Spring to host a mini-retreat.
Growing Together Project to Host Spring Farmer Wellness Sampler
Farmers, earth-workers and growers from across the Finger Lakes region are invited to gather together for an upcoming farmer wellness event, hosted by our Growing Together project.
Join us to make new connections, invest in self-care, and expand your toolkit of wellness practices before launching into the growing season. The Farmer Wellness Sampler will take place at the Foundation of Light in Ithaca, NY, on Tuesday, April 29 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Our facilitation team of farmers and earth-workers will lead sessions featuring Qigong longevity exercises, instrumental sound healing, co-creating with cut flowers, and Kripalu-style yoga.
This free event is hosted by Growing Together, a project of the Cornell Small Farms Program and Northeast SARE and cosponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and Tompkins Food Future.
Schedule
After participants arrive and enjoy some appetizers and fellowship, the event will have an opening welcome before breaking into different wellness sessions.
Session 1a: 16 Longevity Exercises
These exercises have been used as a traditional method of rehabilitation and sports therapy; they are easy to learn and easy to practice. The 45 minute set combines breathing techniques, gentle stances, and coordinated movements to improve range of motion, flexibility, balance and circulation; every joint of the body is mobilized over the course of the set. The exercises can be practiced seated if standing is not possible. The reputed Doctor of Chinese Medicine, Wang Jiwu, created this series of exercises in the 1930s to serve as a front-line therapy at his busy clinic in Beijing. Distilled from the centuries old method of Xingyi Quan (“form mind boxing”), the Longevity Exercises artfully combine physical movement with intention to stretch and “clean” all the joints of the body while balancing the energetic system.
Facilitator: Connor Youngerman, Cornell Small Farms Program
Session 1b: Sound Healing
Participants are welcome to rest, sit or dance in whatever way you’re moved during this unique sound healing session with drums, flutes, stringed instruments, gongs and singing bowls. Damon and friends bring an improvisational approach to sound healing, tuning in to the energy of the music and the room to guide the musical sounds and vibrations.
Facilitators: Damon Brangman, Scott Pardee and friends
Transition Time | Fellowship
There will be time to reconnect as a larger group, before again breaking into different wellness sessions.
Session 2a: Yoga: Root Down, Rise Up
This Kripalu-style yoga session is all about connecting with the energy of the Earth, rooting down and rising up. We’ll start with some breathwork, then some gentle exercises to warm the body and flow into a series of postures designed to exercise and invigorate the entire body before settling into a restful savasana. You’ll leave feeling centered and prepared to engage with your own Earth work with renewed joy and vigor.
Facilitator: Himanee Gupta-Carlson
Session 2b: Co-creating with Cut Flowers
Those of us who sell cut flowers are skilled in quickly and efficiently constructing dazzling bouquets. But as we scramble to fill orders and make sales, we can sometimes overlook the beauty and magnificence of our flower companions. In this session, we’ll start by simply slowing down and becoming present. We’ll bring our awareness to the beauty and energy of the cut flowers around us, taking time to really notice and appreciate their offerings. Then, we will create bouquets with the flowers that speak most to us, focusing on creativity rather than technique. Bring a bouquet home, and offer a second one as a gift to another participant in the closing circle.
Facilitator: Violet Stone, Cornell Small Farms Program
Closing Circle
We will then come together for a closing circle before leaving this shared space and bringing our learnings with us back into our day to day lives.
About the Facilitators
Damon Brangman. Born and raised in the island of Bermuda, Damon Brangman a farmer/educator and musician founded Roots Rising Farm to offer hands on garden education through school and community gardens. Damon started farming at a young age, and his inspiration to grow food was his grandmother’s love of fresh vegetables. Through the curiosity of other youth in the community, he felt inclined to share the knowledge he was gaining from gardening, and also give them the opportunity to connect to the land. Damon traveled to New York City to study music production in 1997, and while there he became sick, and decided to attend a body/mind retreat in Ithaca, NY during the summer. The experience of a raw food diet, meditation, and yoga, encouraged him to make changes in his lifestyle, and eventually move to Ithaca a few years later. Having a strong background in music, and determined to continue healing from Crohn’s disease, he produces music with the intention of healing himself while also assisting others on their own personal healing journey. The earth is healing itself, and we play an important role in allowing the process to heal us, if we can only stop for a moment and listen.
Himanee Gupta-Carlson is a farmer, writer, and professor who sows seeds to provide food, uses words to form ideas, and creates thoughts to help guide herself and others through learnings to sustain future generations. She also has written, spoken, taught, and pondered extensively on the relationships between land, food, and spirituality and has drawn on her own experiences as a farmer and daughter of immigrant Indian parents in reflecting on her place in North American settler-colonialist spaces. A desire to contribute to the healing of historic intergenerational violence and ongoing trauma led her in 2022 to the Cornell Small Farm’s Reconnecting With Purpose Retreat, from which she was motivated to rekindle prior work with Reiki and to fulfill a long-held desire to transform her practice of yoga into teaching it herself. Since becoming certified through the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, she has led yoga workshops at numerous academic conferences and in community classes in the Saratoga area, where she lives, farms, and teaches at SUNY Empire State University. Her hope is to meet students where they are at, and to guide them to find peace, grounding, rejuvenation, contentment, and hope.
Violet Stone leads a wide range of retreats and workshops for the agricultural community drawing on themes of connection, wellness, purpose, integrity and courage. She sees this work as contributing to agriculture where all voices are warmly welcomed, honored and celebrated, including the voice of our intuition or inner teacher. In this highly technological age of automation and artificial intelligence, we have much to gain from the act of offering one another genuine listening, open-hearted attention, and wonder. Violet has led programs for the Cornell Small Farms Program since 2007 and has also served as the New York Northeast SARE Professional Development Coordinator since 2009. All of her programs are aligned with the principles of the Center for Courage and Renewal.
Connor Youngerman is a certified instructor of xingyi quan, bagua zhang, and qigong through the North American Tang Shou Tao Association and has been training and teaching traditional martial and medical arts for 17 years. Connor is the agroforestry and mushroom production specialist for the Cornell Small Farms Program, and grew up on a small family farm in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Agenda
The Agenda is attached.
Attendance
The attendance roster is attached.
Evaluation
We conducted a closing circle in which we took notes on verbal feedback, but we did not distribute a paper evaluation. Participants expressed:
- surprise at how quickly they relaxed, stretched and settled into ease
- gratitude that service providers at Cornell are offering opportunities like this
- gratitude for being seen and cared for by service providers/facilitators
- gratitude to gather with other farmers, enjoy fellowship and practice self care together
Event Collaboration with Practitioners # 3
Our next event was a Community Farm Supper for farmers of different racial and cultural backgrounds. This was a collaboration between alumni Bari Zeiger and the team at CCE Erie County, and Alumni Mildred Alvarado with the Futuro en Ag, a project which serves spanish speaking farmers. Below is a description.
Bilingual Community Farm Supper
Join Buffalo area farmers (Western New York) and earthworkers of all backgrounds and scales on Wednesday, August 27th for an evening of delicious homemade food and conversation from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at Groundwork Market Garden. This is an opportunity to grow your community by making rich connections with farming neighbors of all kinds and stages. Sit at small tables to share and listen to one another’s stories, experiences and reflections along the farming path. This evening of catered, sit-down dinner and open-hearted conversation is free to attend, and you’ll be warmly welcomed by a facilitator at each table. Spanish/English translation is provided.
Program Arc, Design & Resources:
Program HandoutAttendance:
For privacy and safety, we offer a list of the organizations who attended.
Photos:
Evaluation:
Farm Supper Facilitator Evaluation
Event Collaboration with Practitioners # 4
Our next event was a wellness retreat geared toward Farmers who had served in the military. This was a collaboration with Alumni Nina Saeli.
Coming Home to Self: A Retreat for Veterans who Tend the Land November 14th – 16th
The Growing Together project of the Cornell Small Farms Program, in collaboration with Farm Ops, is hosting a 3-day wellness retreat for farmer veterans in Central New York, November 14-16. This retreat is especially for veterans who are farmers, growers, and gardeners, but veterans working as educators or service providers are also welcome.
The retreat will include guided small-group conversations, movement, breathing, meditation, journaling and sketching, hands-on activities, outdoor walks, rest and quiet time, sound healing, and more. Practitioners of the healing arts will also be on hand Saturday evening to offer free, short sessions that encourage rest and renewal.
Light on the Hill Retreat Center, located in Van Etten, NY, provides a peaceful space for reflection and renewal on 236 acres of woods, streams, gorges, and walking paths. Inner Light Lodge offers spacious, light-filled accommodations with panoramic views extending to Pennsylvania. Participants may request single or double occupancy rooms with shared bathrooms, or opt for a private cottage.
The retreat program is grounded in a set of principles and practices drawn from the Center for Courage & Renewal approach, which helps us actively and intentionally choose to nurture ways of being with ourselves and one another.
Thanks to grant funding, this retreat is offered at no cost to veterans. Space is limited to 27 participants. Lodging and meals are included; travel is the responsibility of participants. Attendees will be notified of their acceptance the week of October 20. We request that all participants attend a 1-hour virtual retreat orientation. Several sessions to choose from will be offered prior to the retreat.
Here is our Veteran Retreat Attendance and photo of our group below
This was our program schedule. Retreat Schedule
REFLECTIONS FROM THE RETREAT
"Even days after I still feel a calmness in my heart that I have not felt for years. That in itself is massive"
"stepping away from my daily life into a space where my regular needs and chores (cooking, cleaning, etc) we're handled for me allowed me to devote my entire being to connection with myself, open up to healing, and commune with others"
"The retreat put me back in touch with the goodness within myself...amazingly, I think it was through observing and hearing the goodness in the other participants and facilitators that I could let that in. The activities and prompts that the facilitators guided us through (the discernment circles and intro groups) opened up sharing and exploration in a boundaried way that was supportive and also effective. I learned so much even just listening deeply to others' struggles, and gained so much from my peers as I shared my own. It was so wonderful."
"The best parts were meeting military veterans, connecting at the heart level with folks that were ostensibly "strangers." Sharing soulful music."
Here is the evaluation: Public Version of the evaluations
9. Engagement, Learning & *Evaluation (June 30th, 2026) The entire Growing Together Practitioners' Cohort, including Alumni and all Retreat/Program participants from 2023 - 2026 will be invited to a Community Retreat and Celebration honoring the stories and experiences we've shared, the growth and evolution we've undertaken and the joyful impact of our work to build a culture of agriculture that fosters interconnectedness, trust and love.
Due to Violet's departure from the role before the end of the grant term, we were unable to host this community gathering. Instead, we invited an outside facilitator, Graham Hall, to offer the Growing Together Community a closing retreat focused on the practices of Leadership Embodiment.
Leadership Embodiment for Farm and Food System Educators
February 27th - March 1st
Would you like to navigate the impact of stress and intensity in your work and life more skillfully, with curiosity and compassion? Would you enjoy connecting with others wanting to bring more conscious leadership to our work and lives?
Join educators, organizers, farmers, and earth-workers for an introduction to the practices of Leadership Embodiment at the beautiful Light on the Hill Retreat Center in Van Etten, NY. This workshop, held the weekend of February 28, is informed by the Japanese non-aggressive martial art of Aikido, mindfulness practices, and posture awareness.
Much of the effect we have on others is communicated non-verbally by our body language, tone and gestures. Some believe as little as 7% of our communication is conveyed by words. How we show up and the physical postures we hold are the key to lowering emotional reactivity, while increasing our power, resilience, and flexibility. Leadership Embodiment introduces participants to straightforward practices to effectively enhance our embodied leadership.
This 2 day, in-person workshop equips participants with tools that enable us to:
- Project a powerful, open, and expansive leadership presence.
- Create space for collaboration and teamwork, especially in challenging situations.
- Receive feedback and listen from a place of open curiosity without taking the feedback personally, and
- Stand our ground and speak our truth in the face of pressure and resistance.
Leadership Embodiment practices are based on principles from the Japanese non-aggressive martial art of Aikido, mindfulness practices, and posture awareness. Through simple physical exercises that apply light pressure, you will learn to recognize your personal patterns that arise when you are in stressful situations. Once familiar with your unique pattern, we apply centering practices to help you shift to a more creative, compassionate, and skillful state. Working with a partner, the learning exercises are examined step by step to create a lasting imprint in the body. Partner debriefs and group conversations create a dynamic, experiential, and supportive learning container. Participants will refine their personal declaration during the workshop and leave with a renewed commitment to offer their gift to the world
Here is a list of our attendees: FInal LE Workshop Retreat Participants (1)
Here is our retreat agenda: Detailed LE Workshop Schedule.docx
Here is our program packet: Intro to LE Feb 2026 Handout
Here is our program evaluation: Leadership Embodiment Workshop Retreat (Responses)
*Overall Evaluation Strategy: After each program and Retreat, we will collect feedback from our participants verbally via a closing circle, and written via a feedback form. Each facilitator team will meet to offer one another peer feedback via rose, bud, thorn immediately after each program.
All program evaluations and participant reflections were included below each event.
OTHER RESOURCES
Small Farm Quarterly Articles:
The Immense Power of a Pause: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2025/03/the-immense-power-of-a-pause/
Heads, Hands & Heart: Hidden Pearls Farm & Healing Center: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2025/10/head-hands-and-heart-hidden-pearls-farm-healing-center/
Podcasts
Milestone activities and participation summary
Participation summary:
Learning Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
15 inspired alumni of the "Reconnecting with Purpose" program community (2020-2023 NY State NESARE PDP Program) will draw upon their gifts, strengths, and newly acquired practitioner skills to co-design and co-facilitate a variety of in-person and virtual programs focused on connection, trust, wellness and healing for 100 sustainable agriculture educators, change-makers, earth-workers, activists and farmers.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 20 | 19 |
See summary below
| Activity | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Please see narrative below for specific outcomes | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90 |
Collectively, participants moved from insight to action by changing how they work, listen, relate, rest, and lead. The retreats resulted not only in personal renewal but also in the spread of practices that support resilience, relational trust, and sustainable community leadership—amplifying the project’s impact well beyond the retreat itself. Here are the biggest outcomes reported through evaluation data:
1. Changed Daily Work and Life Practices to Prioritize Rest and Balance
Many participants described actively slowing down, changing how they structure their workdays, and reducing burnout‑driven behaviors.
- Participants reported “taking things less seriously,” recognizing that “not every challenge is an emergency.”
- Several described intentionally incorporating rest into routines that had previously been nonstop, especially farming and caregiving schedules.
- Some noted making space for sleep, reflection, journaling, and seasonal awareness after returning home.
Action examples:
- Reprioritizing rest over constant productivity
- Adjusting pace and expectations of work
- Setting healthier boundaries around labor and responsibility
2. Applied Deep Listening and Open‑Ended Questioning in Their Communities
A widely cited action was putting the retreat’s communication practices into use, particularly deep listening and asking open‑ended questions.
Participants described:
- Using these practices with family members, coworkers, and community members
- Moving away from “fixing” or advice‑giving and toward holding space
- Being more present and compassionate in conversations
Action examples:
- Practicing open‑ended questions in meetings and personal relationships
- Holding space for others without judgment
- Supporting peers in navigating challenges through listening rather than solutions
3. Made Personal and Professional Life Changes
Several participants explicitly stated that the retreat prompted changes in jobs, relationships, or life direction.
- Participants described “reconsidering aspects of my job and close relationships.”
- Others mentioned gaining clarity around what mattered most and letting go of commitments that were misaligned.
- Some reported increased confidence and self‑agency to make changes they had been postponing.
Action examples:
- Re‑evaluating job roles or leadership approaches
- Making values‑aligned decisions about work and relationships
- Reconnecting with purpose and long‑term vision
4. Brought Retreat Practices Back to Their Communities
Participants frequently expressed intent—and in some cases action—toward sharing what they learned.
- Several said they wanted to bring the retreat model, listening practices, or wellness focus to their own communities of farmers, veterans, educators, or land stewards.
- Some offered to facilitate, organize gatherings, or contribute skills such as music, herbal medicine, or creative practices.
Action examples:
- Exploring facilitation or leadership roles
- Offering healing, educational, or reflective practices to others
- Designing community spaces for rest and connection
5. Strengthened and Sustained Relationships Formed at the Retreats
Participants showed strong interest in continued engagement, indicating follow‑up actions beyond the retreat itself.
- Many expressed desire for additional retreats, reunions, or virtual discernment circles.
- Some returned to the program multiple times or stepped into leadership roles.
Action examples:
- Maintaining connections with fellow participants
- Re‑enrolling in programs or alumni offerings
- Participating in ongoing networks of support and collaboration
6. Deepened Connection to Land and Seasonal Awareness
Especially among farmers and land stewards, participants reported practical shifts in how they relate to land and seasons.
- Participants described being more present with seasonal changes.
- Some expressed renewed commitment to stewardship grounded in reverence rather than extraction.
Action examples:
- Attending more intentionally to seasonal rhythms
- Slowing agricultural decision‑making
- Reframing land stewardship as relational rather than transactional
Additional Project Outcomes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3000 | $6000 | $0 | $9000 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 30 | 1 | 71 |
PARTICPANT QUOTES:
"I just want to express that utmost gratitude for this space, the ability to grow together, and to come home to ourselves. I look forward to curating more workshops, sharing my gifts, and to be connected to community in these very inspirational ways. I believe that there is so much continual growing potential in this space... I'm so excited to grow, expand, and elevate as I bare witness to other in shared communal space being able to do the same and achieve their own personal journey of expansion."
"The was a magic to this group. Each time I attend, it gets better. "
"To me, the most important benefits of the Retreat were having the opportunity to join in a community of people from different backgrounds with common goals. The circle of trust and open and honest questions afforded me the ability to truly listen and gain better perspective of others and my goals."
"Some of the most beneficial sharing took place over meals where I learned and shared so much about how other famers have approached growing and building soil health as well as learning about small farm resources that could be very helpful in my own farm. And then there was the deep, deep dive within, exploring what truly matters for me and how I express this."
"I spend so much of my life and work life looking outwards - to see what needs to be done, who needs to be fed, which balls need to be juggled, who needs to go where - that I don't spend much time looking inwards, to see what I need, where I am, where I want to go. The retreat helped me to get back in touch with myself, to let me recenter and find my grounding."
"When I arrived home, I held back from racing into preparing the farmhouse for winter chores, the seasonal late fall transplanting, & figuring out the expenses from now to around February. I simply prepared food, sat with the woodstove listening to its relaxing, restful sounds, drinking in its warm embrace & wrote a wee bit in my journal reflecting my falling leaves retreat experiences"
"I was surprised by how accessible a state of rest was for me once I was supported and encouraged to get there."
"I haven’t felt a sense of peace and joy in recent time yet the Retreat helped me realize that from the genesis of these themes, peace and joy are possible."
"Even days after I still feel a calmness in my heart that I have not felt for years. That in itself is massive"
"stepping away from my daily life into a space where my regular needs and chores (cooking, cleaning, etc) we're handled for me allowed me to devote my entire being to connection with myself, open up to healing, and commune with others"
"The retreat put me back in touch with the goodness within myself...amazingly, I think it was through observing and hearing the goodness in the other participants and facilitators that I could let that in. The activities and prompts that the facilitators guided us through (the discernment circles and intro groups) opened up sharing and exploration in a boundaried way that was supportive and also effective. I learned so much even just listening deeply to others' struggles, and gained so much from my peers as I shared my own. It was so wonderful."
"This program has opened so many doors for me. First it’s currently connected me to my current garden home. Which gave me a chance to utilize my skill set I am currently Compost Director. Secondly it gave me a chance to get into more rural farming, learning, and networking opportunities. It opened me up to my passion for connection and facilitation. And I met the most amazing cohort along the way."
"My family has had many challenges to accessing land in which to grow food and/or livestock. These retreats have opened up networking opportunities for which we can begin breaking those."
"The first retreat was very grounding and rejuvenating for me. I learned a lot about styles of communication different than my own. The space provided me the safety to be able to try out new ones. I look forward to continuing to be able to grow more together."
The Growing Together Project created restorative, trust‑based spaces that supported deep rest, personal healing, strengthened community bonds, and lasting shifts in perspective and practice. Participants consistently described the experience as life‑giving, transformative, and catalytic for both personal and collective change.
Deep Rest, Healing, and Reconnection to Self
A central impact of Growing Together retreats was providing time and permission to rest, often described as rare, necessary, and profoundly healing.
-
Participants emphasized the relief of stepping away from constant responsibility:
“The most important benefit… was the chance to unplug and destress from day‑to‑day responsibilities… It was a true gift of time and presence.”
-
Many experienced physical, emotional, and mental healing:
“Even days after I still feel a calmness in my heart that I have not felt for years. That in itself is massive.”
-
Rest was not passive, but transformative:
“I was surprised by how accessible a state of rest was for me once I was supported and encouraged to get there!”
Participants frequently named sleep, peace, and renewal as outcomes:
“That I was finally able to sleep.”
“I hadn’t really felt a sense of peace and joy in recent time yet the Retreat helped me realize… peace and joy are possible.”
Safe, Trust‑Centered Community and Belonging
Growing Together retreats intentionally fostered psychological safety, confidentiality, and trust, enabling authentic connection among people who often arrived as strangers.
-
Participants repeatedly named the “safe space” as foundational:
“The safe spaces created and the confidentiality.”
“The facilitators were fantastic in creating a safe, welcoming, open‑hearted space.” -
Deep bonds developed across difference:
“Connecting at the heart level with folks that were ostensibly ‘strangers.’”
“A true sanctuary.”
This sense of belonging shifted participants’ assumptions:
“It altered my stereotype of military men and women.”
Strengthened Relationships and Shared Humanity
Participants consistently described relationships as the heart of the experience, strengthened through shared meals, dialogue, and time together.
-
Community building happened organically:
“Some of the most beneficial sharing took place over meals.”
“Meeting military veterans… sharing soulful music.” -
Participants felt seen, validated, and less alone:
“Provided comfort in knowing I am not alone on the path of life’s challenges.”
“Collectively validate our humanity, hearts and souls.”
Many expressed grief at leaving and desire for continuity:
“Departing and leaving my new friends!”
“I hope that we can keep momentum going… more connection than one and done.”
New Skills in Listening, Reflection, and Communication
A distinct hallmark of the Growing Together Project was teaching and practicing open‑ended questions and deep listening, which participants found “revolutionary.”
-
Participants described this approach as relieving and empowering:
“The notion one is not listening to ‘fix’ anything… is revolutionary.”
-
These practices supported self‑agency and insight:
“Allowed the speaker to identify his/her own sense of resolution within.”
“Talking authentically with others reinforces one’s authentic sense of self.”
Many named plans to bring these skills into their communities:
“I am so interested in exploring ways I can bring this to my community.”
Perspective Shifts, Resilience, and Life Changes
Participants reported lasting internal changes—in outlook, stress response, and priorities.
-
Several described increased resilience and balance:
“I feel much more resilient this week… It’s time to return old paths to nature.”
“Not every challenge is an emergency.” -
Others referenced concrete shifts in life and work:
“I am making changes based on some of the conversations.”
“Slowed me to understand the importance of slowing down and being more intentional.”
The retreats helped participants reconnect to purpose and land:
“I feel re‑connected to the land and can envision a future more deeply connected with rural areas.”
Lasting Gratitude and Desire for Continuation
An overarching impact was deep gratitude paired with strong interest in continued engagement.
-
Participants frequently described the experience as life‑changing:
“This opportunity has been life‑changing for me.”
“Just an immense and sincere THANK YOU.” -
Many expressed eagerness to return, facilitate, or stay connected:
“I would love to be a facilitator in the future.”
“Despite it being too short, I would do it again.
SARE Outreach
The NYS NESARE PDP coordinator reaches a huge audience by way of being housed at the Cornell Small Farms Program. Information about NESARE grant opportunities, announcements about NESARE programs, events and job opportunities are all distributed through the Cornell Small Farms Program list-serve, which reaches over 20,000 farmers and ag service providers, and through the Cornell Small Farms Program website, which receives over one million unique visitors per year.
The NYS NESARE PDP coordinator responds regularly to inquiries about NESARE grant opportunities as well as requests for interviews and information meetings on a broad range of sustainable agriculture topics from students, ag educators, ag entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations and farmer advocacy groups.