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Landmark College Blog

Ridge to Reef Farm

Meg:

Because of high winds and seas, we ended up sailing down to St. Croix earlier than planned so as to avoid even bigger seas. It was a great sail down: the Roseway comfortably sails through the seas although we had to watch our footing and watch for the occasional wave threatening to splash those on deck. At one point during the journey I was sitting back with the captain while Rebecca was leading a class on the windward side of the deck, and occasionally we heard shrieks of fear and laughter as the waves rolled toward the boat. Apparently they were all watching Eric’s face (which was highly expressive) as he saw them coming. Miraculously the waves settled just before connecting with the side of the boat, sparing them major soakings.

Here are a few pictures from the boat:

Abby steering:
Abby steering the Roseway

Dylan R steering:
Dylan R steering the Roseway

Amanda practicing knots:
Amanda practicing knots on the Roseway

Eric climbing the rigging:
Eric climbing the rigging on the Roseway

We spent Friday and Saturday at the Roseway’s mooring in Christiansted doing various activities, including a rousing Deckhand Olympics (to measure their boating skills and knowledge), and headed up to Ridge to Reef Farm Saturday afternoon. We reached the farm during dusk, and all settled into our various cabanas and headed back to the Community Center for a delicious meal served up by the farm cook. Class time happens on the broad porch that surrounds the Community Center. Yesterday afternoon we had to attend to some basic household tasks (laundromat and food shopping), and we were relieved to finally get back to our new home.

Here are a few pictures of the farm:

View of the farm from the road:
View of the farm from the road

One of the cabanas:
one of the cabanas

I want to also show some of the classroom settings our students have experienced. The first two are from the boat, the first is in the salon, the second on deck during our trip down to St. Croix:

boat salon classroom

classroom on deck

And here is their current classroom at the farm:

farm classroom

Now we switch from Ship’s Log to Farm Log with some student entries below.

Amanda C:

Finally land for more than an hour! Those were my first thoughts after leaving the Roseway on the small boat for the last time.

After waiting around for a bit our taxi arrived and we loaded up to head to Ridge to Reef. The farm is pretty off the grid and our original bus couldn’t drive down the washed out, windy road. So we had to hop into a smaller, more compact van.

We immediately got a tour of the place and were brought to our cabins. The cabins are neat because it’s open with screens for walls so you feel and hear nature all the time.

After settling in for a bit we had dinner with the community, which was vegan burgers and a fresh salad all from the farm. It was an interesting meal because I love me a big juicy burger from a moo-cow, but I was willing to give it a try.

I’ve enjoyed the farm so far and the community values it has.

Daniel R:

The switch from boat to farm was a bit of a culture shock! Some things are similar, such as the 3-container system for cleaning dishes and the strong sense of community, even if the farm isn’t a community that we’ve completely integrated ourselves with yet. A very notable difference is the amount of space. Buildings and facilities such as the bath house, kitchen and cabanas are all spread out but the psychological effect that this has is not what I expected it to be. I thought that I would appreciate the extra breathing room and alone time, but I just miss the structure and routine of the Roseway! I’m sure that, as I initially had trouble adjusting to the Roseway as well, this adjustment period will pass as well. Later today we have our first of many activities run by the farm. We’re going to be using the produce of the farm to make our own dinner. Culinary 101!

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