Donna Guman-Fink

The woods, streams and rows of cornfields was my playground as a kid growing up on our family Dairy farm. Planting pine, walnut, apple, peach & nectarine trees in reaching distance of the house, was something I thought at time, most families did. A frequent phrase Dad would say, “If you take care of these they will be here long after I’m gone”.  Every Spring it was plowing & tilling the land for growing the crops, yet not disturbing the creeks or the hundred-year-old spring under the nearby tree. Now as an adult, I realize if the exposure to this type of learning environment is limited, where will the population glean the importance of land preservation? Just as it was taught to me, it’s my responsibility to share this knowledge so that future generations will enjoy the “fruits” of the labor” of those who came before them. Side note, those walnut trees I planted with my sister back in the 1978 are still around as well as my ninety-three-year-old Dad!