Maija Reed and Time and Space Limited

Maija Reed is the youth projects director for Time and Space limited in Hudson, NY
Karyn Novakowski is the farm and educational coordinator at Katchkie Farm and the Sylvia Center (www.katchkiefarm.com/index-2.html) in Kinderhook, NY

Tell me what Time and Space Limited (TSL) is?

TSL (www.timeandspace.org/tsl/) is an arts and community organization in Hudson New York and it’s in its 17th year of existence. It came up here to be sort of a theatre space in the community and to bring arts into the community and it quickly realized that the community needed more than that. So it became a community organization as well, and it serves the community in ways that are ever-changing. When some of the factories closed in this community and the Bangladeshi that were primarily employed there were laid off, our directors Linda and Claudia opened up our space as a place for the Bangladeshi community to come and for us to outreach into the community to find out who was looking for workers, what kind of work was available, and what training needed to happen. So we're open that way to the community and we bring theatre, film, speakers and art to the community as well. They've [TSL] always done things with children throughout the years, since they've come up to Hudson from the city and about 5 years ago when I came [from Peekskill] we began developing the children's programs more earnestly and with more focus. So it started off as part time - a few days each month we would do something with kids - and now there are weekly after school programs, summer programs, and weekend programs..

What are the different youth programs that you're responsible for?

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I've developed a relationship with Bard College over the years and I work with their students. We have a collaboration with their students and we offer tutoring, which is very important, and mentoring programs. And then we do an environmental program with their students every other weekend where we bring Hudson kids and Rhinebeck kids together to go to farms, to go camping in the woods, or to get out onto the river to talk about the ecosystems and the environment. We do projects around those things to build awareness. And then I’ve always done cooking programs and this year I decided that I was going to make that a primary part of our weekend programming because the kids love it, and it’s become more and more an issue about their well being. I get very concerned about what they eat. I see what they eat. I see what their busy families have to feed them, and I want them to be thinking about food differently so that they can be making choices when they become adults. And then when it’s their choice they might reflect on their past memories - "I liked kale. Yeah, that was good. I'll buy some kale".

We also do arts programs, theatre programs, and video programs. Things are always changing up. We have a greenhouse and growing food is as much a part of eating food. So that comes into the cooking programs and I'm always working to bring people into our space to work with the children. It’s not about me working with the children. It’s about introducing them to other people and having them develop relationships with other people. You learn more that way. And again hopefully when they're out in the world, it will just be a more comfortable thing for them – to know that these things and people exist.

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What is your favorite part of your job? What do you enjoy most?

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I like thinking of things to do - that I like to do, that the kids will like to do - and figuring out how to share them with the kids. And more and more I'm really enjoying playing with the kids - just being with the kids in a relaxed way. Letting them influence me - what it is that we're going to do. That’s my favorite part of my job.

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Can you tell me about your relationship with Katchkie Farm?

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About a year and half ago, we were contacted by Great Performances(http://www.greatperformances.com/). They were in the process of purchasing the farm up here and they were going around to surrounding communities, introducing themselves and figuring out relationships, like - "we’re interested in working with the community and how could we work with you". So it was very much about "well let's talk and get to know one another". So it’s involved a lot of conversations and visits from them to us. And last year when I met Karyn [Novakowski] and we finally made a visit out to their farm, I met Liz [CEO Great Performances] at Fall Family Day. And I got to see their space and they'd already seen mine. And it was like, "okay now how are we going to work together?” And we were finally able to determine - this is what I do; this is what I can bring to the table. This is what you do; this is what you bring to the table. But I always feel that it’s about collaboration. Karyn is so organized and so able to create these programs and to embrace the children and it was very clear that we could work together. We started by having her come here and doing one of our cooking programs so the kids could meet her and know who she was. Later we went out to her farm, reconnected with her and saw where her space was. Now this summer we're going to go back [to Katchkie Farm] for a whole week. This is our first really big effort together and I don’t think any of us knows where it’s going but it’s really about developing relationships. That's what my youth programs are. It’s about developing a relationship with a child and having that evolve as they grow. I have kids now that I met in fifth grade who are sixteen and seventeen, and we have a relationship. And so that's what I feel is happening with Katchkie. We're seeing what we can do with one another, what we can be, and we'll go from there. But Katchkie is an incredible resource. They're so committed to being up here and being a part of this community.

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Tell me about the farm to school meeting (www.farmtoschool.org/ny/farms.htm) in March? How did you end up there?

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That was incredible. I was really grateful because I met you and I got to know Karyn better because of it. And I was glad to see that the schools were initiating something in the area - at least Ichabod Crane School was initiating something. And I also was a little concerned at how conservative the thinking is at schools – “this is how we do things, this is all we can do”. And you had all these farmers sitting there, who were like "tell us what you need; we want to work with you". I feel like the schools are very insolated and isolated in how they think about food. I was shocked to hear that they are no longer able to prepare foods in their spaces and I would like to see us demanding the schools use the kitchens again - to figure out ways to produce food in that space to feed children and to really create a plan to work with farmers. I feel that there would have to be an intermediary, or a liaison, in order for those two worlds to actually understand one another. Or at least for the schools to understand how to take advantage of a resource. And the schools may have to do some very radiacally different things. They may have to learn about food again. They may have to train their workers to work with food again, and to cook. But I feel that as much as we're trying to educate children about food, it’s important to have food makers again. And we need to take the time to educate people about how to cook, and about how to cook for large populations, and about serving food. We've lost that somehow in a very short period of time. I'm very concerned about our schools. They think its okay to feed the food that they're feeding to our children. They think its okay and I don't get it.