For some returning combat veterans, it might be all the therapy they need.
Their hands in the soil, that is, Tiffany Summerlin said.
Growing and nurturing something, opposed to knocking it all down with the weapons of war.
And for others who never wore the uniform, she said, it might be something as simple and celebratory as putting down roots in a vocation they never dreamed would be for them.
The agency is hosting an agriculture training workshop — again, for veterans and everyone else, she said — from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, at the agency’s “high tunnel” complex at Mylan Park.
“We’re trying to create opportunities for our veterans and our community,” said Summerlin, who served in the U.S. Marines herself.
These days, she’s executive director of Operation Welcome Home, the nonprofit outreach agency that helps veterans transition to civilian life.
All of the above — the component for vets and the community — digs in this weekend at Operation Welcome Home.
In the agriculture world, a high tunnel is a specially constructed type of greenhouse known for its high crop yields.
No pressure if you didn’t know that, Summerlin said. That’s the point of the day.
Lewis Jett, a commercial horticulture specialist with the WVU Extension Service, will conduct sessions on the proper pruning and trellising of tomatoes.
He’ll also cover the finer points of high-tunnel crop maintenance and sequential planting for a continual harvest.
Ways to best scout for garden pests will also be discussed, Summerlin said.
Then Jett will show how to best plant culinary herbs while harvesting beets and Swiss chard.
Whether you’re a horticulture hobbyist or someone considering making a go in farming on a slightly larger scale, Saturday is for you, Summerlin said.
Even though West Virginia’s more-rugged-than-not terrain might suggest otherwise, the turning of the soil has long been associated in a region where coal is still king.
The state’s official seal, which was adopted in September 1863, depicts both a miner and a farmer on its crest, in fact.
To date, there are more than 20,000 working farms in West Virginia, Summerlin said.
And each one, she said, can provide a vitamin-enriched oasis to the “food desert” that is the Mountain State.
Food deserts are those places where markets that sell fresh, locally grown produce are sparsely located.
There’s that, plus the residual supply chain issues from the pandemic and the new ones generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine — neither of which are helping, Summerlin said.
In the midst of it all, though, there’s a bumper that adds to the mission of Operation Welcome Home, she said. Bolstering veterans in West Virginia, means bolstering everyone in West Virginia.
“It’s about teaching people to be resource- and self-sustaining,” the executive director said.
Visit Operation Welcome Home at www.welcomehomewv.com for more information on all its programs.
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