*cino Staff Makes Work Move Forward

Interns Featured Image Illustration by Emma Crevier

Each year, *culture is not optional (*cino) is a host site for a group of AmeriCorps members to lead and carry out projects that help advance the Huss Project at 8th and Broadway Streets in Three Rivers. Huss is a former Three Rivers elementary school which *cino uses as a base of operations for sustainable food growing and distribution, cultural programs, and community-building work.

Over time, *cino plans to renovate the building for variety of educational programs. Its first major construction project ended earlier this year when it opened a library and multipurpose space called the “Imaginarium” in the school’s former Kindergarten Room. There is also a new outdoor pavilion that hosts events, performances, and a weekend farmers’ market that is new this summer.

From left to right, Nikki Ambs, Tiffany Chiang, and Jeff Torano assist customers at the Huss Farmers’ Market under its new pavilion. (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

On the acreage behind the building, large vegetable gardens produce food that is sold at the farmers’ markets. The sizable, leftover surplus goes to community food programs.

This summer’s staff of 10 is *cino’s largest yet, and includes Executive Director Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma, two full-time caretakers, three AmeriCorps Summer Associates, and four yearlong AmeriCorps volunteer service members. The caretakers help with projects around the site and with oversight of the others. The Summer Associates perform a variety of tasks, including help with the gardens, operating the farmers’ market, and setting up for events. The AmeriCorps members each take on specific responsibilities that help grow the organization’s capacity.

Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Watershed Voice spoke with each of the ten staff to learn more about the work they are doing at Huss, their backgrounds, and how their time with *cino and in Three Rivers has been going.

There have been some commonalities. All of the Summer Associates and VISTA members said the best part of their experience has been working with and getting to know each other, the *cino community, and the Three Rivers community at large. All of them said they enjoy working outside and helping run the farmers’ markets and other food programs. Each sees their position as an opportunity to perform meaningful work and develop skills and experience they would not otherwise get.

Nonetheless, each brings a unique background to their work. They come from Michigan, the south, and the east coast. Some are current or recent students, while others have had careers before coming to Huss. Their educational and professional backgrounds range from farming and scientific research to engineering and design.

Jeff Torano (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Among the current VISTA members and Summer Associates, Jeff Torano started first, late last summer. The Kalamazoo native studied chemistry at the University of Michigan, and after college, spent time working in lab chemistry in Toledo, Ohio.

Through that work, Torano discovered he didn’t enjoy the lab, although the job did align with his values. “It is an important job, these kind of in-house environmental inspectors before wastewater would get released from these factories.” Torano is interested in water quality issues, likes people, and wants to help keep people safe. He said, “that job spoke to me from a moralistic aspect, but the work itself was not enjoyable for me.”

Since Torano grew up mowing lawns and performing other outdoor work, Huss was a better fit. “That was a bit unforeseen for me. I thought I’d do this thing for a year and by the end of it, I’d be like, ‘okay, good, I did this thing. I got that out of my system and I’m ready to go back.” And, kind of the opposite has happened.

Since arriving in Three Rivers, Torano has enjoyed getting to know the Huss and Three Rivers communities. He has attended potlucks with other staff, frequented open mic nights at Lowry’s Books, and formed friendships. His work has also helped him become familiar with the larger community. As part of an asset mapping project, Torano and others interviewed individuals from 56 organizations in the Three Rivers area, enabling him to recognize some of those faces elsewhere in the community.

Working outdoors in a way that helps people has helped Torano identify how he’d like to move his career forward. He said, “I kind of want to do work to save the world in some way, even if it’s doing little bits to save the world just in this corner. Just in Three Rivers. This tiny little farm providing fresh food for children who will, in 20 years, maybe have developed or have experiences for the better because of this place that lead to some sort of butterfly effect.”

As the end of his term grew close, Torano applied to a number of water quality monitoring positions around the country, supporting his desire to be outside as well as his values. “If I could provide in some way fresh drinking water in a space where otherwise it would be difficult to get, maybe that can make somebody’s education or quality of life a little bit better.”

Shaina Opperman (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Shaina Opperman also comes from a science background. Originally from South Lyon, MI, she studied environmental studies and sustainability at Michigan State University. Most recently, Opperman was a research assistant at the University of Michigan, where she studied people’s perceptions toward the concept of diverting human urine from the waste stream for reuse as fertilizer, as well as logistical questions around the idea.

When that work wound down, Opperman explored other opportunities. “I have family members who have done AmeriCorps before, so it was always something in the back of my mind that I might want to do sometime.” Opperman began her VISTA service year in May.

“It’s been great so far. Everyone has been really welcoming,” she said. Her work has centered on building capacity with the farmers’ market. *cino Executive Director Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma said Opperman “does a lot of the data stuff for the farm market and coordinates with partner farms.”

Opperman’s laboratory experience involved getting to know people, and she applies that experience at Huss. She said she values “the importance of building relationships and building trust in communities, really listening to and really responding to what knowledge people have about their communities and their own experiences, and collaborating with people to respond to that in a way that really honors their experiences.”

With family in Colorado and access to lots of trails in her hometown, Opperman enjoys camping, hiking, and being outdoors. She said she likes the work for that reason and is making use of local recreational opportunities. “We’ve been finding lots of things to do around here. Been to lots of the parks and even just walking around here, and the rivers. Just getting to know more of the landscape and the people has been really fulfilling.”

She is enjoying getting to know her fellow *cino staff. “We all have food-oriented projects we’re running at the house,” she said. Currently, she is perfecting her technique for making English muffins. “It’s all about right temperature, right time,” she said.

Opperman also likes Three Rivers. “There are lots of people that are really passionate about this place and proud of what’s here, and also the possibilities of what we could continue to build on. And to see those things in action in such a way that’s really personal for people has really kind of inspired me to learn more and interact more with different elements in the community.”

Melody Spencer (right) sorts produce with Tiffany Chiang at The Huss Project. (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Brad Armstrong and Melody Spencer also say they like Three Rivers. Like Opperman, the two began their VISTA service in May. For both, this is their first time in Michigan.

Spencer has worked over 10 years in digital marketing. She is from the south and studied communications and marketing at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Most recently, she was Charlotte Region Marketing Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity.

“I lost my job because of funding. Brad found these positions, and it was like, ‘we should just apply and see what happens.’” Spencer said she and Armstrong learned her mother knew of *cino after they discovered it themselves. “I told my mom about it, and she was like, ‘oh, I know about those guys. I’ve been following them for like, ten years.’” The coincidence made the opportunity feel “meant to be a little bit.’”

Regarding Michigan weather, Spencer said, “I actually like it. I’m a little terrified of the winter, I’m going to be honest. I’ve been here since May. This feels amazing right now. I’m used to sweating to death. I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, for six years, which is right on the coast. Summers are oppressively hot and we’re constantly running away from hurricanes.”

Regarding working at Huss, Spencer said, “it’s definitely different from anything I’ve ever done. I’m used to working on my computer all day, but I’ve really fallen in love with being outside and learning about different plants, watching how the food system works together.”

Vander Giessen-Reitsma said, “Melody’s been doing a lot of the publishing end of things and communications stuff,” focusing on the farmers’ market and surplus food distribution. “I’m loving getting to know the neighborhood and really helping people understand the food and learn to actually utilize it,” Spencer said. She is helping *cino become more effective at spreading its message through its website and social media and would like to continue fostering growth.

“I have a lot of ideas. I’m really interested in writing some grants to get us some more funding, helping to grow the community more and get the word out,” Spencer said. “I know that (*cino has) struggled with the marketing piece, and since that’s my area of expertise I’d love to have more people know about what we’re doing here, because what we’re doing is definitely unique and needed, especially during COVID.”

Regarding longer-term involvement, Spencer said, “It’s hard to plan anything with the way the world is. I would love to get more people that I know down here helping the community, and just bolster it and keep it growing, because the more people that help and the more hands do the work, the better it’s going to be.”

Brad Armstrong (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Armstrong sees a potential future here. “We got here and instantly felt peace, and just like a sense of home. We’d like to set the intention now that we hope to make this a bigger thing.”

Armstrong is from Connecticut, where he last lived. His last position was in customer support for an online travel and marketing company. Before that, he did community development-based church missions work. He was planning to go to the United Kingdom when the pandemic began. Having recently discovered *cino, he said he “started talking to (Vander Giessen-Reitsma), and it was like, ‘well, I guess Michigan might be the thing.’”

Armstrong spent his 20s in a variety of places, with jobs ranging from ski patrolling and bartending to wilderness rescue and environmental education. By his 30s, he said, it was “time to start being an adult, make some money.” That led him first to freelance consulting as a web developer.

During that time, he grew his interest in food sustainability, and looked into restaurant recycling and composting. That, in turn, led him to an experimental venture in indoor farming and aquaponics. “I tried that for a few years and was just in way over my head with the technology piece of it. After getting burned out, Amstrong turned to mission work.

However, he maintained his interest in sustainability and food systems, and was glad to discover *cino. “When I heard what they were doing here, I was like, ‘that’s awesome,’” Armstrong said. “Four or five different things that I’m interested in that have been not really connected, just all kind of converged.”

Continuing his interests, Armstrong hopes to start a compost program, “maybe a business or cooperative. I’ve been reading, and studying and planning, just kind of fixing, you know a little compost here and talking about how we can grow it.”

Armstrong called *cino “a stronger community than I’ve had, definitely over the last couple of years and maybe even for a long time.” During the time he was planning his next steps, he said he wanted to be somewhere “where there’s a little bit of space and I can grow my own food.’ As long as I’m participating in that, then I’ll be able to help other people or answer this thing in a better way. So, it’s good to be doing food system work right now.”

Tiffany Chiang (left) helps Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma sort produce as Margaret Wenger (right) looks on. (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Tiffany Chiang is also interested in food systems. She is one of three Summer Associates this year. “I was interested in learning more about growing food for a community where it’s hard for people to get access to fresh food where it’s not super expensive, so this was a good program for that,” she said.

Chiang grew up in Kalamazoo, where her parents own a restaurant. She graduated from the University of Michigan in May, where she studied in a program called Biology, Health and Society. Torano and Chiang attended high school and college together. “He texted to say happy birthday, and then he told me about Huss. I didn’t know what I was going to do this summer after graduating, and so he was like, ‘oh, you should apply,’ and told me about the program. I thought it sounded interesting, and so here I am.”

“I think it worked out for the best,” Chiang said. “It’s a lot of fun. Everyone’s super nice. The community is great, like even the partner farms that we work with.”

She helps with the farmers’ market on Saturdays, and during the week tends the gardens. Her work has included “a lot of planting, a lot of potato bug and squash bug picking. Now that it’s coming around, we’re harvesting a lot more things. We clean up inside when it’s raining, whatever needs to be done.” Chiang also helps with events under the pavilion.

The Huss experience is largely new to Chiang. She does not yet see a direct way to tie her *cino work with her college studies, but said, “I guess like the society part of it, like working with the community, has had some crossover. Some of my public health classes I guess, like with COVID, some of what we’re trying to do with the precautions we’re taking, there’s some crossover there.”

Regarding her time at *cino, Chiang said she is “very glad I did it.” The work has lent her some perspective. “It’s good to work with your hands in learning, I think,” she said. It has also provided her some insight on potential career options. “I was trying to figure out what I like doing besides what I had been doing in college, and so I think this is definitely one of the paths I want to continue down, in sustainable agriculture and stuff like that,” she said.

Jaz Popa (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Jaz Popa’s interest in farming is firm. She would “really like to do that in Detroit. They have some awesome programs going on, teaching people how to garden and providing food for food-insecure community members.”

Popa grew up on the New jersey seashore and calls herself a “girly-girl.” She began college intending to pursue actuarial science.  “Everyone’s like, ‘oh my gosh, you’re a farmer?’ They can’t believe it because I’m wearing heels with all my makeup on. They’re like, ‘you farm?’ and I’m like, ‘yes.’ No one expected me to ever be digging in the dirt when I was a kid. But, everyone’s really excited. They like what I’m doing. They’re supportive.”

Popa’s draws her interest in agriculture from her roots. Her father was an arborist. “We have a tree farm in the middle of Michigan, a black walnut tree farm, so his father made him and his siblings plant all the trees. He grew up with that, and I grew up with him taking me to the farm and teaching me about that kind of thing,” she said.

At the University of Michigan, her father’s alma mater, Popa majored in environmental science and minored in food systems. She had an internship at a farm belonging to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, which she said provides “therapy for I believe car accident patients.”

“Farming can be really beneficial to your mental state of mind and your physical well-being,” Popa said. “So, we did a lot of that, and we also did a lot of donating food to different parts of the hospital. We had a subsidized CSA where we were able to serve food-insecure community members, and we taught them what the vegetables were and how to prepare them. So, that was a really awesome program.”

Upon graduation, Popa found open positions were no longer available due to the pandemic. A friend pointed her to AmeriCorps, which led her to *cino. Since arriving, she has been working in the garden, doing “a lot of harvesting right now, which is awesome. Fertilizing, getting the soil to high quality with no weeds has been probably the main thing.”

Popa appreciates the exposure to a growing program like Huss after the well-established program at the hospital. She looks forward to urban farming. “Detroit just has a huge culture around it. I can’t remember exactly, but including gardens and households and everything, I believe it’s number one in the country. It’s definitely number one in Michigan. It’s definitely a big part of the culture, so it’s a great place for me to start.”

Nikki Ambs (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Nikki Ambs has geographic ambitions far beyond Michigan. She hopes to land in the Pacific Northwest once she graduates from Western Michigan University.

However, of the three Summer Associates, Ambs has the closest ties to *cino and Three Rivers. Her aunt is Julie Keefer, a longtime *cino supporter and board member. Ambs grew up knowing many of *cino’s staff and volunteers. She graduated from Three Rivers High School in 2018.

She now majors in graphic design, and it is this interest that draws Ambs to the Pacific Northwest. “They have a really big art scene out there, and a lot of artists or creators, so it’s a big place for that. Along with that, I just like the culture and the vibe. Also, it’s just beautiful. You have the ocean and the mountains and the forests, so you’ve got it all in one, which is awesome.”

Ambs’ said she became an associate because, “honestly, I just wanted to go out of my comfort zone and do something that I wasn’t, like, I wouldn’t say interested in, but I wasn’t really aware of or thought I’d go into. I don’t think I’d do this as a career or anything of course, but I just wanted to see what it was like to work in the community and learn more about everyone here where I grew up.”

For the present, Ambs is enjoying her time at Huss. Her graphic skills are coming in handy, and she likes the mix of duties. “I’m doing a lot of the farm work of course, but I’ve done the signs for the farmers’ market, and the newsletter. So, I’m doing a few art things here and there, but I also like getting my hands dirty.”

When she lands in Washington or Oregon, Ambs said she doesn’t plan to farm for a living but might like to stay tied to it in some way. “If there’s any place I can help out and volunteer and kind of get to know the community, so I could learn more people and build new friendships out there, since, you know, coming all the way from Michigan out there, it would be nice to find my own little community that I could join.”

Ambs’ favorite thing about the summer has been “creating relationships and close friendships and getting to learn more about each person and spending time with them all day, and farming, and helping the community,” a set of traits that nearly everyone else also said they liked about the program.

Margaret Wenger (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Vander Giessen-Reitsma and Huss caretaker Margaret Wenger said the program has been fruitful and they are happy with this year’s crop of Summer Associates and service members despite the season’s unusual circumstances.

“This summer, all things considered, is going remarkably well,” Vander Giessen-Reitsma said. We’ve had to make a number of adjustments on the fly, making changes as the situation around the global pandemic changes. But we’ve got a really good crew of folks working at the Huss Project this summer, and we’ve been able to do a number of capacity-building projects that we don’t normally have time for in a summer when we’re doing events and things like that.”

Dan Truesdale (Dave Vago|Watershed Voice)

Wenger, who lives onsite with her husband and fellow caretaker Dan Truesdale, agrees. “It’s been a weird summer in some ways, both weather wise and social climate wise, pandemic wise, all those things, but I feel like both the groups of folks we have working here and the systems we’ve figured out working together, and then how we’ve been able to take care of this land and produce a lot of food this year, has been really exciting and great and just come together really well despite adversity.”

Vander Giessen-Reitsma said, “We’re really grateful that this group of people has coalesced so well. That has made working through this difficult time a little bit easier, to work alongside really great people. So, I’m grateful for that.”

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.