Doing Right by the Land
Every sip serves a purpose. Every seed grows more than grain. Everything we do supports the Spirit of Change Fund. Launched in 2019, the Spirit of Change Fund champions the next generation of organic farmers by helping more farmers go organic. By donating 1% of our sales, we’re advancing our mission to help make a better future for our land and our farmers. More organic farmland means fewer pesticides in our soil and water — and a significant lasting impact on our environment.
Rodale Institute and the next Generation of Organic Farmers
Our primary partner in this industry-leading initiative is Rodale Institute, a nonprofit committed to growing the organic movement through research, farmer training and consumer education. Through our Spirit of Change Fund, Prairie Organic will provide scholarships for interns accepted into Rodale Institute’s Next Generation Scholarship Program, which passes on practical, hands-on organic agriculture knowledge and skills to future organic farmers.
Learn More about Rodale Institute
The next Generation of Organic Farmers
Congratulations to all 2019 scholarship recipients
Katherine Parise
St. Luke’s-Rodale Institute Organic Farm Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: I would like to understand the techniques and practices used to manage a diverse organic farm, especially alternative pest control options as well as how to plan and run a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA).
Katherine grew up in Pine Bush, New York, a rural town in the Hudson Valley surrounded by mountains and farmland. Exploring the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River watershed led to a passion for the environment. Katherine is currently a senior at Dickinson College where she is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. She also recently studied abroad at The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies in South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, completing research on topics such as marine ecosystems and fisheries management practices. Upon graduation, she hopes to continue her education with a graduate assistantship position or serve in the Peace Corps. Katherine is part of the St. Luke’s Organic Farm Internship, which aims to raise community awareness about eating healthy with a farm-to-hospital program feeding organic food to hospital staff and patients. During her free time, Katherine enjoys hiking, biking and reading.
Baylor Lansden
Position: Diversified Vegetable Intern
Rodale Internship: March – November 2019
Interests: I would like to understand how to create a profitable diversified farm which would add value to my life and my community.
Baylor grew up in Louisiana and in his early years participated in 4-H and the Future Farmers of America (FFA), which is how he became interested in farming. His path to a career in agriculture took a brief break with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Louisiana State University but got back on track with a master’s degree in food security from the University of Edinburgh. This shift back towards agriculture as a career choice was fueled by a growing awareness of the need for sustainable producers as well as a change towards support of sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, Baylor hopes to own his own diversified farm that specializes in tea production (Camellia sinensis).
Alex Miller
Rodale Internship: April – November 2019
Interests: I want to learn to farm organically because the way we grow our food affects the world around us.
Alex grew up in eastern Pennsylvania and believes it is more important than ever to grow and support local economies and build food resilience. For Alex, farming isn’t just a job but activism. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in business management which gives him insight into the business of farming. Now as a diversified vegetable intern at Rodale Institute, he’s learning the practical applications on how to run a diversified organic farm. Looking ahead, he wants to learn to farm organically because he believes the way we grow our food affects the health of people, the land, water and wildlife. He also believes thriving communities and sustainable wages are influenced by how food is grown.
Anna Johns
Rodale Internship: May – August 2019
Interest: I would like to learn how to farm organically and further understand the impact that it has on the well-being of people and the environment.
Anna is from Leesport, Pennsylvania, and is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where she studies business management and plays on the volleyball team. Her personal health and wellness became very important when she began her volleyball career in eighth grade. Volleyball training made her mindful and curious about food and how it effects a person’s overall health. Her interest in a healthy lifestyle sparked her passion for organic farming and its many benefits, which led her to Rodale Institute. With her degree in business management and her developing knowledge in organic farming, Anna hopes to start a program that provides people in local communities with employment, organic farming education and nutritious food.
Jacey Preston
Rodale Internship: June – October 2019
Interests: I am interested in urban farming and would love to begin a farm in the city to cultivate community and engage people with regenerative farming practices.
Jacey was born and raised in Texas and has spent most of her life there. It’s where she initially found her love for agriculture, growing up on land where her family farmed, fished and hunted. At the University of North Texas she learned about sustainable agriculture through an ecology course. This class, as well as participating in the farmers market on weekends and visiting farms, sparked a further interest in sustainable agriculture. Long term, Jacey hopes to start her own farm in or near a city to grow fresh organic produce and herbs for communities in need. Outside of farming, her pastimes include running, reading, painting and cultivating creativity in all things.
Thomas O'Brien
St. Luke’s-Rodale Institute Organic Farm Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: During this internship, I hope to develop an understanding of what food-centered community development looks like on a day-to-day basis as well as on a macro level.
Thomas O’Brien, originally from Fairfield, Connecticut, currently lives in Baltimore where he attends Loyola University of Maryland. He’s a senior and will graduate with a degree in business administration with a specialization in economics and a minor in environmental sustainability studies. Over the years, Thomas has worked on various small-scale organic farms, and in the future, he hopes to secure the necessary funding to start and grow a company that specializes in converting urban rooftops to state-of-the-art greenhouses. By combining modern day ag tech with the tried-and-true tenets of organic agriculture, Thomas believes that we can accelerate community-wide change by making organic, hyper-local produce the new industry standard. Thomas is part of the St. Luke’s Organic Farm Internship, which aims to raise community awareness about eating healthy with a farm-to-hospital program feeding organic food to hospital staff and patients.
Alaina Spencer
Rodale Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: Regenerative agriculture, particularly Dr. Vandana Shiva’s view that it can provide "… the answer to the soil crisis, the food crisis, the climate crisis and crisis of democracy."
Alaina was born and raised in Houston, Texas and became interested in the connection between food and organic agriculture studying abroad in France during college where she saw a slower pace of life more connected to local food. She studied geography and sustainability at the University of Texas and earned her master’s degree in Food Systems and Society from Marylhurst University. Alaina has worked on organic farms, as a line cook, and for nonprofits such as Food Tank. She wants to work with regenerative agriculture because she believes it can help mitigate climate change, increase farmers’ livelihoods and restore our soil for generations to come. She is also a practicing yoga instructor and likes to swim and read.
Hannah Buckwalter
Rodale Internship: May – August 2019
Interest: I am excited to learn how to run an organic farm that has less of an impact on the environment and produces healthier produce for the community around it.
Hannah grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, around large commercial farms and dairies. She also spent a lot of time at her family’s cabin in Kettle Creek, Pennsylvania, where she developed a love for nature. It was from going back and forth between her home and cabin that Hannah learned how much the conventional farming practices near Lancaster affected the waterways and natural habitats, making them far less pristine than those around the cabin. Having seen the effect that conventional farming practices have, Hannah hopes to learn sustainable farming practices at Rodale and use this knowledge to help conventional farms become more sustainable. Hannah is studying environmental science and studies at Juniata College, where she is currently a junior, focusing her studies on botany and advocacy.
Kirsten Bell
St. Luke’s Organic Farm Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: I would like to see an increase in organic farms to reduce carbon emissions, create jobs, help regions become more self-supported and connect communities to their food.
Kirsten is an environmental science student born in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and raised in various northeast U.S. states as well as Germany. She attended Elizabethtown College for a year and completed her associate degree at Northampton Community College. Her interest in agriculture came from environmental science studies where she learned that conventional agriculture is a large disruptor of natural carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles globally. Currently pursuing an environmental science degree at Kutztown University, she hopes to use her degree to work toward social and economic equity, preserving and protecting natural systems, and educating others about the world we share. Kirsten is part of the St. Luke’s Organic Farm Internship, which aims to raise community awareness about eating healthy with a farm-to-hospital program feeding organic food to hospital staff and patients. When she’s not working, Kirsten enjoys spending time with family, making music and art, and skateboarding.
Stephanie Weinstein
Rodale Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: I would like to gain knowledge about sustainable agriculture and eventually pass on my knowledge to my elementary students and get them involved in farming.
Stephanie was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and studied education and environmental studies at Brandeis University. Stephanie first learned about Rodale in a graduate course on sustainable agriculture and watersheds. She was fascinated and looked up Rodale, only to discover it was only an hour from where she grew up. She earned a master’s in elementary education and worked in restaurants after teaching, where she came to appreciate local ingredients and how they tasted better and made you feel good about what you eat. Stephanie hopes one day to develop new curriculum for elementary students around sustainable agriculture and creative problem solving to develop new and more sustainable methods.
Alexandra Watkins
Rodale Internship: May – August 2019
Interest: I would like to continue learning about plants and how to grow them organically for the benefit of humanity.
Alex grew up in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania. She has always had a deep love for the outdoors and anything to do with nature. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, hunting, reading, writing and drawing. In fact, she loves nature writing and art so much that by the age of 17 she published her first children’s book, The Spirit of Courage, Finding Courage. Alex discovered her love of plants through National Geographic articles, wandering through the woods and a stubborn mint plant that didn’t want to be made into tea. She continues to develop her passion for plants through Penn State’s horticultural program. In the future, she hopes to transform concrete jungles into green organic cities, have her own self-sustaining homestead, read, write and smell the roses.
Michelle Helner
St. Luke’s-Rodale Institute Organic Farm Internship: June – August 2019
Interests: I would like to work with a team to develop farming models that promote food access in rural food deserts.
Michelle is from Michigan and grew up in a suburb outside of Detroit. She studied German and International Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After graduating, Michelle left the U.S. to work in Leipzig, Germany, as an internship coordinator at a chamber of commerce, but she quickly learned that she was craving a different type of working experience. After spending months browsing agriculture podcasts and articles, Michelle decided to take the leap to try her hand at farming by accepting an internship with Rodale Institute’s St. Luke’s Farm, which aims to raise community awareness about eating healthy with a farm-to-hospital program feeding organic food to hospital staff and patients. She is confident that the experience with St. Luke’s farm will provide her with the foundation to continue a career in agriculture.
Aslynn Parzanese
Rodale Internship: April – November 2019
Interest: Through permaculture, I would like to restore the culture in agriculture.
Aslynn Parzanese grew up in Berks County, Pennsylvania and developed an interest in organic agriculture after supporting cannabis farms in northern California where she saw the need for making sustainable agriculture available to all cultures. When she returned to Pennsylvania in 2017, she started a residential garden internship with the Kula Kamala Foundation and Yoga Ashram and discovered the concepts of permaculture—farming systems that have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. She completed a permaculture design course (PDC) under the instruction of Dr. Enzo at the Permaculture Education Center and is now pursuing an Agricultural Supported Communities (ASC) internship at the Rodale Institute to learn how to fun a CSA-style (community supported agriculture) operation. She plans to offer a PDC course at Kula Kamala in 2020.
Eric Liu
Rodale Internship: May – August 2019
Interest: I am very interested in learning as much as I can about plants and hopefully contributing to the scientific community over time.
Eric grew up in Macungie, PA near Allentown. His grandfather, who is currently retired and lives in Taiwan, was a professor at Cornell University in the Pomology Department. When Eric was 10 years old, his family took a vacation to Taiwan to visit his grandparents, and Eric saw his grandfather’s small orchard. Eric was astounded and captivated by the variety and appearance of the plants. After that transformative visit, Eric participated in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science three times. During high school and in the summer after he graduated, he volunteered with the research department at Rodale Institute, and now, he’s focusing on horticulture as a Rodale Institute intern. He currently attends Cornell University as a Plant Science Major. Long-term, he hopes to do research on plants in a lab, agricultural, ecological or other setting.