After exiting the buses that took sophomores and chaperones to Martha’s Community Farm from the Mount, Nora Benamar ‘27, Annie Seminack ‘27, and Maggie Sneed ‘27 sat down before their hard community service began.

“I am most excited to be without my phone and connect with my classmates,” Annie Seminack said.

After all students were safely off the buses, a staff member of the farm gathered all students and chaperones to give them a tour of the farm. She explained the different types of jobs they need help with, where certain plants grow, and the purpose of their work. Then, she let them pick their jobs.

One of the jobs on the farm was going around the land and raking leaves into piles. The sophomores contributing to this job raked about 8 piles of leaves, helping the staff on the farm tremendously.

As well as raking leaves, another job was to help plant trees, add mulch, and pull weeds. Not only did many volunteer for this job, they all dug, and plucked with smiles on their faces.

“I decided to pick weeding as my volunteer opportunity today because I felt like I would really get to connect with nature,” Tara Ciolko ‘27 said.

In the same area as weeding, groups would switch between mulching small areas and weeding. Almost every service group had an upperclassman who helped guide them with their service.

“I chose to weed with many others because it felt like I was getting rid of the bad in the garden, and bringing in the good,” Kaitlyn Camuso ‘27 said.

Not only did some sophomores voluntarily pick weeds, but another group decided to volunteer and help the staff carry big, heavy items all the way from the barn, across the farm, and to the dumpster. These students used all their strength and helped out the farm staff enormously.