Lucas' thirst for gardening knowledge led him to Project Grow in 2009. In his first year, Lucas lent his hand to the Heirloom Garden and by 2010 he was coordinating that very initiative. Near the end of 2010, Lucas began to take on even more responsibility within Project Grow by offering to restructure volunteer coordination an addition to running for a seat on the board. In this past year, one of Lucas' goals was recruiting volunteers at local universities and high schools. It was so successful that we had trouble placing all of the student groups offering to help!

As yet another testament to his passion for PG, Lucas currently finds himself seated on the board in the position of Vice President taking this (non-planting) time to prepare for the next season. Lucas strongly advocates creating partnerships, or at the very least, getting to know and understand the missions of (similar) organizations around Ann Arbor. One recent stop along the 'non-profit landscape' was at Agrarian Adventure. If you haven't checked out this group, you should certainly give them five minutes of your web-browsing time. The Agrarian Adventure partners with K-12 schools to enrich students' connection between the foods they eat, their personal health, and the health of their communities and the environment. Thanks to the work of Agrarian Adventure, students at Tappan Middle School are actually able enjoy some of their school-grown food in their own school cafeteria as part of their gardening education program. This arrangement with the school's food distributor is a first in the nation! Lucas is working towards strengthening PG's relationship with Agrarian Adventure and finding ways to collaborate that further the missions of both organizations.

When asked about Lucas DiGia, Eric Meves [PG's Treasurer] noted his enthusiasm and energy in implementing his ideas. Joet Reoma [Director of PG's CEC] also only has positive things to say about the work Lucas has done for PG.  "It is refreshing to work for or with someone who is as young as my children and cares about assigned tasks like a wise, professional project manager. If a board member needs a task done by volunteers, Lucas is the go-to person. In the field, if volunteers need food or drink or coaching, Lucas acts like the assistant coach, the water boy, and the food provider. He is calm and collected and a good role model for all who occupy the title Volunteer Coordinator. He readily learns from senior workers and appreciates the work of all volunteers. He is truly one of the more active and productive members of the board. We would not have accomplished setting up the Compost Education Center (CEC) of Project Grow without his constant watch over our plans, schedules and our growing need for volunteers."

So, what will 2012 bring?

Great Lakes Heirloom Seed Trial: Slow Food Huron Valley, the organization that ran this year's Home Grown Fest and the Local Food Summit, is committed to continuing the Great Lakes Heirloom Seed Trial in 2012. By encouraging local growers to use their own gardens to plant specific seeds, the group will hopefully be able to gain a geographical sense of where the best places are to grow specific varieties of plants. Having this information is a big step toward learning how best to garden sustainably and respect the soil. Project Grow made efforts to provide 

Hip-Hop Education:  Using music as a means for education is something that Lucas is quite passionate about, and at last year's Homegrown Festival Lucas used hip-hop to try and get people excited about gardening and sustainability. If you haven't already, you can check out Lucas' performance here. If education through music is something that you're also amped up about, I definitely suggest getting in touch with Lucas and getting involved!

Leslie Discovery Garden: Revamping this garden and using it to its full potential as an educational resource will be one of Lucas' main priorities in 2012. Click here if you are interested in joining that effort.

Fun Facts

Lucas' Greatest Gardening Pet Peeve? When good veggies die on the vine. How can PG become more diligent about getting fully ripened fruit off of the vine while also still respecting each grower's privacy? 

Favorite Veggie? Orach - a self-seeding annual also known as "purple mountain spinach". Orach is easy to grow and great fresh in salads or as a steamed vegetable. It is also one of the oldest cultivated plants known to man!

Gardening Horror Story? The Airport Garden, an area that has since been closed, completely flooded last year and was, fittingly, also entirely overrun by mosquitoes. In fact, there were so many mosquitoes plaguing the garden that Lucas found himself having difficulty getting any volunteers to go there. During the first planting of the season, as Lucas recalls, there were between 30-40 mosquitoes hovering over one person at any given time!