AntFarm

Antfarms emergency operations program includes covid arpa basic needs program services, and other various support for individuals displaced or facing financial deteriroation due to the covid 19 pandemic. This program is very important to our local communities and to clackamas county. The covid 19 team works consistently helping people affected by covid 19.

Antfarms workforce development program - forerly known as youthcore, community connect, farmers market, and planet 365 programs have all combined and expanded as the new workforce development program. This program provides work in partnership with local community members, public lands, and agencies while teaching youth valuable work skills. Antfarm works will all youth, yet many are challenged with and often demonstrate low academic performance, behavioral difficulties, mental health challenges, and additiction. We engage all youth in learning objectives that not only address the basic work readiness skills, but also address life and social skills needs. Youth engaged in antfarms workforce development program learn five basic work readiness skills in addition to the specific skills required to do the work. In addition, valuable life skills and social skills learning and support are built into the daily routines youth are given tasks and responsibilities as a part of the team that creates an understanding of positive relationships, the ability to support each other, and the ability to work together as a team. Our youth have minimal opportunities too, so it has been amazing to witness the pride in our local youth when engaged in antfarms workforce development as they work on local projects. Youth who never ventured into the local natural landscape are now regularly engaged. We have also seen a strong sense of civic engagement and community pride. Partnerships include working with mount hood national forest, bureau of land management, recreational trail projects, vocational rehabilitation, youth transition projects, and many community members. Antfarm employed 97 youth and adults this year providing many of the youth first time job experiences. The program (formerly community connect) also provides free services to the community, mainly elderly, by youth workers and volunteers working with adult volunteers. The youth get the opportunity to learn trade skills and how to be part of a professional team, while also learning about the benefits of giving back to the community. The volunteer teams involved in the program do things like clearing sticker bushes from property and other landscape maintenance services, repairing damanged property, painting, etc for those who would otherwise go without these services. This program sees a large number of volunteer hours each year. The mount hood farmers market offers vendor space for over 25 local farmers and artists as well as several youth and family programs. One program that is very popular and important is teaching the power of produce, providing teaching activities about fresh fruits and vegetables to children under the age of 12. The market also provides snap, double up and wic benefits. This has become an important local resource for providing education and health lifestyles. The 2113 volunteer hours given to this program is humbling.

The youth and family program at Antfarm replace old programs and expand new ones. This program includes alcohol and drug prevention, youth demonstration projects with homeless youth, and other youth services. Youth and family services were expanded and were powerful supports and interventions during this year of the pandemic and continue to be. The learning garden has moved into the youth and family services program as has the cultural arts. These programs provide opportunities for youth and families to be involved in community activites and programs. The Antfarm learning garden is a vibrant garden utilized by the local community for youth learning and support of local food sourcing. Garden activities include learning about planting, growing, weeding, harvesting, and processing fresh vegetables. A great deal of food is given to seniors and families in need. The youth and family program is a large generator of volunteer hours each year, coming in at 7710 hours!

Antfarm care and bakery is a youth and family community center that supports youth development, healthy eating and sustainability. The cafe and bakery is the program that closes the loop between all of antfarms other programs. We use produce from the learning garden proram, teaching youth about sustainability and the farm to table concepts of healthy eating. The cafe and bakery employs youth and trains teens teaching them core skills that have allowed them to be successful in employment in the industry with other businesses. The cafe space includes the axis learning center which is a study and computer lab with state of the art technology, where students with adult mentors and tutors accomplish education and vocational goals. It also includes the cultural arts center which offers the community a space to have meetings and participate in school and community art, poetry, music, and photography projects. Since the opening of the cafe and bakery, this space has become popular for community meetings and a wonderful venue for community functions. Community support for the Antfarm mission through this program includes 480 volunteer hours assisting with direct kitchen services.

Through antfarms outdoor adventure program Antfarm provides an opportunity for youth to connect to the wilderness through outdoor experiences. Antfarm leads trips of youth hiking, showshoeing, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing. We have overnight camping trips and have climbed mountains! We take youth and families into the mount hood nantional forest twice a month. In 2021 the outdoor adventure program had support of 45 volunteer hours.

The vision of Antfarm came through a community known as redwind which follows an earth-based way of life focused on health of individuals, communities, and the earth. Founded in 1997 from the teachings of frank fools crow, the redwind community listened to his word, survival of the world depends on our sharing what we have and working together. Although the redwind community humbly practiced a native american lakota spiritual tradition, they chose to become involved in the many issues facing the people of the earth. In 1999 the community took a nonprofit organization status to build stronger alliances with others and develop greater ways of helping. This decision continued to focus the redwind community in providing traditional teachings at the teachings encourage helping the next generation to become good people.