Written by Leah McMichael, story-teller and artistic collaborator.

As For The Love Of confronted us with the deep human scars on the beauty of Indiana—stolen land, endangered species, wounded places, climate change threatening us all—we wanted to tell stories of humans healing the land as well. We wanted to participate in a story like that. 

One such story goes by the title “Regenerative Agriculture.” This is a way of farming that looks less like one-crop fields reliant on expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and more like lying on your stomach to watch the chickens who lay the eggs you eat peck around a giant cabbage gone to seed. Everything is in relationship, built on the foundations of soil health and biodiversity (varied communities of life at every level.)

At Falcon Creek Farm, regenerative agriculture means that cover crops, chicken manure and compost build a rich soil that feeds plants without need for fertilizers. Healthy soil holds water better, so there’s less need for irrigation. Pest control is supplied by other plants, not chemicals: native prairie grasses offer shelter to predatory beetles, while lacy alyssum attracts the parasitic wasps that keep tomato hornworms in check. A riot of cosmos and zinnias feast the pollinators who make tomatoes and beans and peppers set fruit. 

All these choices translate to a colorful field that hums with life—and to healthier produce, nutrient-dense and delicious and uncontaminated by chemical pesticides. This is the kind of table we want to spread. 

But we wanted to be a part of this story too. We decided to donate 5% of all proceeds from this show to Falcon Creek Farm, to introduce native fruit and nut trees to this dance of abundance. By adding to the plant community, trees will also increase the diversity of life in the soil and of birds and insects aboveground. They’ll stabilize soil against erosion with deep, long-lived roots. They’ll draw planet-warming CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it underground. And in a few years, the harvests will begin: a tasty matter of hazelnuts and serviceberries alongside healing elderberry and Aronia.

Falcon Creek Farm is tending the world we want to see. Life spills into life: thriving soil yields bright tomatoes, friendship thickens with collaboration, a pottery show grows up into an orchard. This is the way we stand up for all we love. 

Click the images below to explore other facets of For The Love Of!