The Farm Education and Sustainability for Teens (FEAST) program celebrated the end of their summer experiences with a fundraiser dinner served to approximately 200 attendees at the Orcas Center on Sept. 7.

Guests, students and community members who supported the program dined on local food products including pesto, green beans and salad donated by every farmer participating in the program, beef and lamb kabobs from the Jones Family Farm on Lopez, tempeh, wilted chard and kale greens from the Bullock Brothers, blackberry cobbler made from berries picked by the students on Orcas and Lopez Creamery vanilla ice cream.

FEAST students received high school credit for participating in the summer program sponsored by the Orcas Island Recreation Program. With class time and independent internships in the community, the students completed 180 hours to receive a year’s worth of credit at the high school through the Career and Tech Ed program. “I have learned all about different approaches to farming, as well as living; how to reduce my impact on land, and how to properly appreciate, with awe and respect, the world I live in,” student Iris Parker-Pavitt said of the program.

“Many people contributed in many ways to making this program a success. It’s because of Whitney Hartzell that this is happening,” said Orcas Recreation Director Didier Gincig.

“We are going to do FEAST again next summer. We hope to have another group of great kids join the program as well as the kids that were involved this summer,” said Gincig.

The summer program included: permaculture design, tree grafting, plant propagation, organic gardening, bee keeping, wood carving, blacksmithing, biodynamic farming, crop rotation, farm animal care, harvesting, food preservation, mycology and bio-remediation, local economics, community event planning, energy systems appropriate to the island, carpentry, natural building including stonework, cob and plastering and wilderness skills including wild edibles and native food traditions.