Eric Sherdel hopes to grow food and start an agriculture learning center in Hanover.
By CRAIG K. PASKOSKI The Evening Sun; Posted: 06/29/2012 05:45:30 PM EDT
The ruffled, green leaves of the lettuce plants look strong. There are also the two short rows of corn in the back, young but taking hold. Then there are the cucumbers and broccoli trying to make a go of it.
It’s not much to look at yet, Eric Sherdel admits. He got a late start planting his vegetable garden. He built a hoop house out back and started the plants from seed. But getting the 25-foot-by-30-foot plot ready from scratch this year was a little more than he expected, what with double digging the soil and picking out enough rocks to build a knee-high wall for the rear of the garden.
It’s all a work in progress for Sherdel, a Hanover resident who is devoting himself to learning as much as he can about growing food through organic practices.
His plans, though, go beyond raising vegetables in his backyard. He’d like to purchase a nearby piece of property and use it to establish an organic farm and agricultural learning center to teach school children about farming, where their food comes from and how to eat healthy.
Hanover native Eric Sherdel hopes to gather support to purchase the 2 acres next to Park Hills Elementary School to use as an organic farm and agriculture learning center. (THE EVENING SUN BRETT BERWAGER)
Sherdel discovered his calling, he said, during a stint in California last summer. It was after he had gotten laid off from his job at Jack Giambalvo Motors in York, and he wanted to spend some time with a cousin and close friend in Santa Cruz exploring his options. While there, he toured the Dirty Girl Produce organic farm and the University of California at Santa Cruz’s Life Lab, which offers farm- and garden-based educational programs to students of all ages.
And he also saw the reality of industrialized farming. He saw signs posted at strawberry fields warning workers of the dangers of the pesticides used on the fields.
If there were warnings for those that worked with the plants, what did that mean for the people that eat the fruit? Sherdel thought.
“I just got to thinking that all of that stuff is going into you,” he said. “It all gets absorbed into the plants you eat.”
Sherdel was inspired by the expanding organic and sustainable farming movement in California, at Dirty Girl and other farms there.
“I toured their farm and I was just amazed at the way they do things,” he said. “It’s just a whole different world out there.”
While growing up in Hanover, Sherdel was always interested in plants and gardens.
Sherdel was hoping to get an internship at the Life Lab, but instead got a job offer to do automotive damage estimates for a firm in York. Reluctantly, he came home. There were bills to pay, he pointed out.
But Sherdel brought back with him a lot of useful knowledge that he was eager to put into practice and an enthusiasm to spread the word about organic farming.
“I’m just trying to get the message out,” he said. “I’m trying to get the message out that this is an option for people.”
Hanover native Eric Sherdel hopes to educate others about organic farming and eventually open an agriculture learning center for students. (THE EVENING SUN BRETT BERWAGER) out,\
Then he saw those 2 farmable acres near Park Hills Elementary School in Penn Township were for sale and he realized what he should do. It would be the perfect spot for an organic farm and learning center, he thought.
“I saw that sign and it just clicked,” the South Western High School graduate said.
Sherdel posted his idea, which he is calling “Learn As You Grow Farm,” on his Facebook page and approached school officials and others to gauge interest. And while many think it’s a good idea, making it a reality is more challenging.
The biggest hurdle is getting the money to buy the property, some $140,000.
“It all comes down to purchasing the land. I don’t have a lot of money. I just have the dream,” he said. “If I could do it myself I would.”
Sherdel is exploring the possibility of establishing a nonprofit that would be able to accept donations and work toward the purchase of that property or another plot sometime later.
So far, Sherdel has only begun to scratch the surface in pursuit of his idea. It has been hit and miss making the contacts and generating interest.
“There are people that love the idea, but not the support I need,” he said.
“There’s really not that many people in Hanover it seems that are into organic fruits and produce,” he said. “I hope to change that.”
Meanwhile, Sherdel continues to learn the ropes of farming in his spare time. He has volunteered at the Sonnewald store and farm and also plans to offer a hand at the Common Ground Farms in Abbottstown.
“It’s what I need to be doing,” he said.
Looking over his humble garden behind his house on Boundary Avenue in the evening’s twilight, Sherdel is optimistic about his backyard plot.
“I’ll be so much more prepared next year,” he says. “I hope to get an early start next year.”
And about the prospects for an agricultural learning center for the area? If it doesn’t work out with the two acres near the school, there will be other opportunities, he said.
“I need people that share the same vision I have,” he said.
“I’d really like to find a way to make this work,” he said. “I’m really determined.”
DIGGING IN
Those interested in helping Eric Sherdel with his plans to establish an organic farm and agriculture learning center can contact him at http://www.facebook.com/eric.sherdel.