New AmeriCorps joins the team

Name:  Maggie Smith

Hometown: Long Lake, NY in the central Adirondacks

Role at GardenShare: AmeriCorps VISTA member

How long? August 2017 – August 2018

Why I do what I do at GardenShare: I grew up between the Adirondacks and the North Country. I will always call the Adirondacks home, but I think the North Country might be my future home. I started to appreciate local farmers in high school while attending the annual Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, where regional food systems and organic-style growing was framed as more sustainable in the face of the global climate crisis. In college (and during a summer spent apprenticing at littleGrasse Foodworks in Canton), I learned to see food and farming from other perspectives – including culture, socioeconomics, and practicality. St. Lawrence County has such a rich farming history, and the potential is there for that small-scale agriculture industry to revitalize. The North Country community has got to come together to focus on getting the good food of local growers into the mouths of the people who live here – both those who can easily afford it and those who can’t. In the short term, I believe we must address hunger. In the long term, I believe GardenShare’s many initiatives are addressing poverty itself.

Role outside of GardenShare: I’m a daughter, sister, partner, and friend! I also worked as a Summer Naturalist at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake this summer, work as a part-time farm or garden hand, and help out in my dad’s boatbuilding shop.

Hobbies: Exploring in the woods, travelling whenever I get the chance, climbing trees, gardening, doing arts and crafts, sailing trailer-sailboats with my dad, paddling canoes, knitting, biking, hiking, going to museums, and cooking or preserving food – especially fermentation!

Most recent accomplishment: Graduating from Hamilton College with a B.A. in Geosciences.

Favorite book? That’s a tough one. But Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck, is definitely one of my favorites. It’s short and memorable.

Last read? I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter series, and am halfway through The Prisoner of Azkaban.

What one word would you use to describe yourself? Adventurous.

What are you most proud of? The wonderful friends I’ve made over the years, the love and support I’ve been able to offer them, and learning how to ask them for the same support when I need it.

What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Veggies, cheese, my mom’s cranberry-apple chutney, eggs, and venison (thanks to my brother). And everything must be labeled!