From left, Damon Smith, Kara Cidern (Lanoka Harbor), Ryan McCall (Surf City, LBI), Cookie Till (Margate), Luis Ortiz Pacheco (Bridgeton), Ethan Wickes (Pine Beach), Leah Martin, Eric Dahan (Vorhees), Lainey Ludwig, Jacob Post (Galloway), James Chairman (Ventnor), Megan DiCiurcio (Ocean City)
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – A group of Stockton University media students Friday, Dec. 15 screened several short videos they created as part of a service learning project to spread the word about a group of businesspeople toiling in the soil to create a sustainable future for the world.
Collaborating with Stockton University is a top priority for Cookie Till of Margate, whose nonprofit, A Meaningful Purpose, operates Reeds Organic Farm and Animal Sanctuary on Spruce Avenue in the township. The students and their supporters viewed five videos in the farmers market building.
“This is an opportunity to engage students in learning about sustainable farming practices and help us get the word out about thinking globally, but acting locally,” Till said. “The program engages them in the sustainability movement and their filmmaking will help us reach a younger audience.”
Reeds Farm offers garden learning programs for organizations and schools, vocational education and life skills for people with developmental disabilities, farming career exploration, botanical arts and mindfulness, and urban gardening and nutrition education.
Adjunct Professor of Communication Studies James Chairman of Ventnor called Reeds Farm a “magical place” that engages the community and helps people learn about sustainability in farming practices. The eight students enrolled in the service learning film production class spent the semester visiting the farm, interviewing farmworkers, vendors and producers of locally-sourced food products, whom they quickly discovered each have their own inspirational story to tell.
“I loved the course and not only learning about documentary film production but also learning about the farm, its sustainable farming practices and the people who work here,” senior Luis Ortiz of Bridgeton said. “We all need to be part of the sustainability movement and do what we can to positively impact the environment.”
Ortiz produced and edited several of the less-than-2-minute videos that are posted on the A Meaningful Purpose@Reeds Farm YouTube Channel.
One of the videos features Till speaking about how she would visit the farm “in the country” when she was growing up, and how she later purchased products from the farm for her restaurants.
When the farm closed and went up for sale, Till vowed to find a way to save it from potential development and ensure farming continues there. A Meaningful Purpose was formed in 2020 to address the needs of food insecurity, soil regeneration, provide jobs for the underemployed, and educate the community about farming, cooking and marketing locally-sourced products.
She hopes the videos will be shared online to help to spread the word about how the farm is engaging the community in its operation, and hopefully, raise some funds to keep the operation going and growing.
Student Ethan Wickes of Toms River produced several of the documentary shorts to share a “branding” message about the farm, but he also enjoyed “getting closer to nature,” he said.
“We came out here three times to decide what we would film and then we used Stockton’s full video production equipment, including field cameras and boom mics, to capture raw footage,” he said.
The students then worked their magic at Stockton’s film studio to edit the shorts. In all, they screened five shorts during Friday’s event, but there are several others on the YouTube channel that tell the stories of the people who make the farm hum, including Damon, who grows numerous varieties of hot peppers grown from seeds collected from around the world in the Unity and Peace Garden at the farm.
Another video focuses on Dawn Robinson of the Dawn of Light Company, who was injured in a car accident 11 years ago and uses a wheelchair to get around. She manufactures soy candles from fragrances extracted from herbs grown at the farm.
Another video includes commentary about the healing power of holistic remedies from Herbalist Leah Martin who overcame addiction to become Reed’s executive farm manager.
Chairman said he visited the farm last year with Till’s friend Stephanie Lutz Koch. When he learned about what Till was trying to accomplish at the farm, he knew it would make a great focus for the documentary filmmaking class he was teaching as part of the Communication Studies curricula.
Chairman, who relocated to the South Jersey area after living and working as a television producer in New York City, said he is working on another branding project with the NFL. He said he will have two classes next semester and both will continue creating content for the Reed’s Farm YouTube channel.
“The YouTube site is where we’re trying to drive traffic. That’s our number one priority,” he said. “Hopefully, we can make the YouTube profile grow and make the Reeds Farm community stronger.”
To view the videos and subscribe to the channel, see www.youtube.com/@AMeaningfulPurposeatReeds
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