Know your farmers

2012 Season


Monica Caldwell, Farm Manager

Monica is thrilled to be working with SEEDS Farm this season!  She has a passion for growing and cooking good real food and for sharing this knowledge with others.  She comes to the farm with the experience and knowledge of running her own farm, managing the local farmer's market, and much more.  She is a Board Member of Just Food Co-op and is involved in many community initiatives pertaining to access to local healthy food for all.  Monica also teaches natural food cooking and nutrition courses at local food co-ops.



Melina Lamer, St. Olaf Spring Semester Intern

A junior Environmental Studies and Sociology & Anthropology double major at St. Olaf College. She enjoys playing hockey for the St. Olaf women's team, rock climbing, and longboarding in her free time. Over the past years, she's found a passion for food ethics, sustainable ag, and farm-to-school initiatives. She's interested in researching aquaponics in hopes of one day implementing the system at SEEDS and learning as much as possible about farm life, in order to start a future sustainable CSA in Alaska.


Lara Palmquist, St. Olaf Spring Semester Intern

Lara is in her third year at St. Olaf College and majors in environmental studies and biology.  She enjoys riding her horse, hiking, adventure, and spending time with the people she loves.  Lara is passionate about the community aspect of sustainable agriculture, an is excited to research sustainable techniques that will serve SEEDS Farm far into the future.  After spending a semester abroad in India researching agriculture, Lara is excited to expand her farming experience by engaging in the local SEEDS Farm community.  She looks forward to a semester of environmental stewardship, agricultural involvement, and lots of time on the farm!



Gabriel Trejos, St. Olaf Spring Semester Intern


My name is Gabriel Trejos, I am a sophomore majoring in Economics and Environmental Studies.  I am an international student from Costa Rica.  I really enjoy learning from different kinds of people and I am a lover of landscapes.  My father is an agricultural engineer, so agriculture has been a part of my life since I was a kid.  After I graduated from high school, I did some summer research with Dole to develop a 100% natural insecticide with the extracts of a plant called Wedelia Trilobata.  This summer, I will be doing a project with the City Council from Northfield analyzing the impact of agriculture in the urban economy of Northfield and I see what I have learned from SEEDS Farm as my first step to this project.  Working at the SEEDS Farm has been a great experience to have a better understanding of sustainable agriculture.  Also, through this experiene I figured out that I want to go into agricultural economics for graduate school.  I have really enjoyed working in the field and getting to know really knowledgeable people such as Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin and Greg Carlson.


Sara Hooker, Carleton College Mentee

Sara Hooker is excited for her first season at SEEDS farm! She is an international student from Ireland/Mozambique who is studying Economics and International Relations at Carleton College. Sara has become increasingly fascinated by sustainable agriculture and has done two policy internships in that arena with the UN World Food Program and the World Food Prize in Des Moines, IA. Now, she is ready to get her hands dirty and learn how a farm which has social as well as end goals works!


Anna Larson, Carleton College Mentee

Anna is from San Francisco, CA and is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a mentee at SEEDS.  She is interested in bio-dynamic farming and is excited to be able to learn how a small, sustainable farm works. She loves weeding and can't wait until harvesting begins!  This summer, she will be biking around New England and connecting with local communities that are mobilizing against fossil fuels.  She hopes she will be able to use some of her new farming knowledge while fighting fossil fuel dependence!





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2011 Season


Becca Carlson has been at the SEEDS farm for two seasons and is more than thrilled to be working at the farm this summer. A recent St. Olaf grad in Biology and Environmental Studies, Becca has become increasingly interested in sustainable agriculture. Next year Becca hopes to be an 'intentional bum' exploring the world and SCUBA diving.







Abby Benson is enjoying her first season at the SEEDS Farm.  Also a recent grad from St. Olaf, Abby has had organic farming experience leading STOGROW (St. Olaf Garden Research and Organic Works) and as an intern at Simple Harvest Farm.  As a studio art major and with a passion for sustainable agriculture, Abby hopes to some day become an art teacher and run a small scale CSA in the summer (big dreams)!  In the meantime, she is learning tons at SEEDS and soaking up every bit of the experience!



Joey Fleming interacts creatively with the natural world: he is a gardener, an amateur biologist, a taxidermist, and a potter.  He draws his surroundings obsessively and weaves found materials into his art whenever possible, while also embracing temporal art forms: live performances, films, and artwork made of biodegradable materials, making his work at SEEDS the perfect compliment to his creative lifestyle.