Greta Weirich

“I still remember the first time I stepped foot on the farm. I had sat silently towards the back of the van squeezed near one of my closest friends, Emily Rose. The van was almost completely quiet, except for one or two Leadership Team members pointing out the LEAF staples – the pants horse, the cat house, and ‘man running.’ At that point, I still wasn’t 100% sure that a place like LEAF was meant for me. I was shy and bad with getting criticism, I hated public speaking, and most notably, I hated being outside. But when I stepped out of the squeaky van and saw the gorgeous land before me, something in me was willing to take a chance. That first day at LEAF was the start of a long journey. I am not the girl that I was on that hot June day over four years ago, but I am instead someone who has put consistent work in and has opened her arms freely to allow herself to grow. So, allow me to share a little bit about my time here on this second home since I’ve spent countless hours cultivating what I land.

Summer of ‘22 was what broke me out of my shell. I realized that people were willing to take chances on me in ways that I hadn’t experienced before. I noticed this through our Real Talk process where we get constructive criticism and are told what we’re doing well. I saw it in the trust I was given in leading my very first farm task! I watched as people listened to what I had to say with care and challenged me to say more. I watched this shy, awkward girl branch out and see that there was more to who she was in comparison to who she was seeing in the mirror. 

In the summer of ‘23 I joined the Program Team. This team is built to cultivate the crew culture within the new hires. Personally, I never thought that I’d fit into the Program Team. They had to be willing to help wrangle the 16 new crew and lead with confidence – which was not me, but when a previous Program Coordinator told me that he thought I should join, my thinking began to change. Knowing that other people had the confidence that I could do this made it easier for me to try. Unsurprisingly, this was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. Being on the Program Team helped me to understand where I thrived. I loved watching people bond, I cherished the deep and meaningful conversations that came towards me, and I wanted to watch these people who came to the farm feeling lost, discover themselves like I did.

The summer of ‘24 looked a bit different for me. That summer, I was a Program Lead and it was one of the most difficult summers of my life. I didn’t really understand why, but I was in a pretty rough place. That summer, I had to learn a lot about how to take care of myself. I was lucky enough that I had a community to fall back on when I needed it most. I opened up in ways I hadn’t before and listened to the knowledgeable people around me to help me figure out how to handle these emotions. And even in this, I still found my vulnerability supporting others – another thing I didn’t know was possible until then.

In this final summer, I’ve pushed further than I’ve ever pushed. This year, I’m a Program Fellow and part of the Farm Team. I work close to 40 hours a week, Monday through Saturday, and my work in the program spans across all sorts of planes. Specifically, I never expected to be on Farm Team. When I joined this year I thought I’d be inferior and incapable of holding that responsibility, but in joining this team something in me clicked. I learned how to be more direct and I even learned a deeper appreciation for not only the work we do, but how we do it. I began to create systems to help things continue running smoothly after I’m gone, I stepped up to answer things I was curious or unsure of, I felt pride in my hustle and seeing the product I created being sold. I felt a connection to the land, food, people, and myself all at once. That is what LEAF is about. 

If I’m being honest, knowing that I won’t be here anymore is a difficult thought. Knowing that there will be no more cheering after a perfect pack-out in Post Harvest, doing silly check-in’s about landscapes, rolling around in the grass at lunch, or playing games about donkeys in the Thunderdome scares me. Knowing that I won’t have that breath of fresh air after school on a crisp fall evening is confusing. I’ve been at LEAF through pinnacle moments of change and hardship in my life and watching a consistency that has meant so much to me disappear physically is weird. But what I do know is that this program has set me up for success in my future and has given me the confidence to grow out of my regular bounds. These skills will not only be carried with me but have already helped me decide so much about my life. Teaching is my passion, and as I look at all four LEAF generations I’ve been a part of, I am honored to know that I’ve been there to cheer you on and watch you grow in some way. It’s by far one of the biggest honors I’ve been given and I can’t thank you all enough. And if I could tell the scared girl who was cramped in the back of the van anything, then I’d tell her: “You made the right choice, and once you step on that farm, you’ll know why.”