Honouring Elaine and Carrying the Work Forward - Part 1
As we slowly move into an unpredictable spring, I wanted to send along a few updates. There are some new things unfolding this season, along with personal reflection, which I felt was important to share.
Elaine Ingham’s Legacy
Soil Food Web Advisors’ Meeting in October 2018. Photo courtesy of the Soil Food Web Organization.
We visited the team at the Hudson Valley Farm HUB (New York) as part of our gathering.
It’s been almost one month since the passing of one of the most influential forces in the regenerative landscape, and it still feels surreal.
Meeting Elaine for the first time at her experimental farm in Berry Creek, California — when she and Dr. Carole Ann Rollins were still partners — was intimidating. I was fan-girling hard, trying to absorb as much of her knowledge as I could while asking so many questions that, looking back now, probably contributed to why she needed to take so many breaks from the class.
But Elaine was more than her impressive scientific resume.
Beyond her analytical mind and rigorous approach, she was down-to-earth, funny and playful. She was also incredibly patient. Even when she had to explain the same concept over and over again, her commitment to her community of soil stewards never wavered. She answered every email despite how scattered her time was across so many projects.
Elaine loved red wine with her meals, and she longed for ordinary conversations about her family and grandchildren. I imagine that became her deepest desire as she unintentionally became a public figure in the farming world and was constantly scrutinized and criticized for her ideas.
We laughed.
We dined together.
We even danced together at her last conference here in BC where she was a keynote speaker.
Elaine changed the trajectory of my life. She helped shape how I see soil, land, and my place in this work.
She was an elder I admired and greatly respected.
And I am deeply grateful to have been welcomed by her with open arms.
Elaine holding a truffle mushroom at her former research farm in Berry Creek, California
You will be dearly missed, Elaine.
