Laura Reusche

An NSF-funded project supporting TESC's Dr. John Perkins and Dr. Kathleen Saul. This position involved assisting with the planning and execution of a symposium-workshop in Ludhiana, India, titled "Agriculture, Climate Changes, and Energy Transitions: Building Capacity to Maintain Yields of Innovative Agrifood Systems." The event took place as part of the Transforming Agrifood Systems in the Face of Climate Change and Energy Transitions conference at Punjab Agricultural University in November 2024. In addition to assisting with the professors' project, I also contributed a poster highlighting collaborative research at the Evergreen Organic Farm: 'A Variety Trial for Climate Change and Cultural Resilience: Analysis of Solanum aethiopicum.' After the aboard conference, I helped compile symposium results and provided editorial assistance with scientific papers for publication.

Rainbow Rotations Farm is a small-scale, biodiverse market garden, and artist business. As a farm business owner, I lease less than 1 acre on an established farm site for the cultivation of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and several ornamental plants. Regular routines include establishing and vending at markets, social media marketing, finance, time management, crop maintenance, harvest, produce preparation, ongoing fieldwork, and designing art. This is a single-owned and operated LLC business.

The Evergreen Community Gardens Club works in coordination with TESC's Student Activities staff to provide accessible gardens and host events for students, and the surrounding community. Coordination involves event planning, student and community outreach, plot distribution and mapping, financial budgeting, materials inventory and ordering, technical garden assistance and maintenance, use of Excel for record keeping, and social media management. In the fall of 2024, I was the lead planner of the annual Harvest Festival at the Organic Farm. I've also hosted work parties and workshops at the garden site.

The Evergreen State College's Organic Farm serves the campus and local community. Tasks as a farm marketeer included establishing market stands, sales, display, inventory, customer service, driving a produce van, and facilitating learning with students. Additionally, technical farm work like planting, field maintenance, irrigation, harvesting, produce preparation, flower arrangements, watering, seeding, cleaning, and tending to the henhouse. At this site, it’s important to adhere to OMRI standards and certifications.

As an intern, tasks were determined in coordination with Thurston CD’s Education and Outreach staff to bring educational programs and hands-on conservation volunteer opportunities to local youth and adults. Some tasks included assisting with general outreach activities, information distribution, volunteer recruitment, media and public communications, and event coordination. Specifically, supporting the planning and coordination of a district-led food and climate-focused conference, the creation of new community gardens, and marketing/community outreach for the spring 2024 Native Plant Sale. My work extended to assisting with habitat enhancement volunteer projects, and supporting Thurston CD’s staff with unique conservation projects.

Ball Horticultural Company produces and distributes numerous seeds and crops globally. In the greenhouses, duties included plant maintenance, pest scouting, water management, transplanting, propagation, applying beneficial insects, and facility organization and cleaning. Also, adhering to strict contamination protocols in clean stock greenhouses, and assisting in packing plants for global shipments. This role extended to maintaining outdoor trial gardens, and sanitizing pots. I worked full-time from 01/2021 to 09/2022, and part-time during the summer of 2022 and winter breaks in 2022 and 2023.

Nisqually Community Garden is a non-profit serving the Nisqually Tribe with culturally appropriate knowledge and nutritious foods. Frequent tasks included field preparation, irrigation, harvest, crop maintenance, planting, pest management, produce preparation, and sometimes medicine making. Tasks required the use of hand tools, and some power equipment. Identification of native plants, vegetables, fruits, and weeds was essential to fieldwork. I also attended community training, and assisted with events and market stands. The Nisqually Community Garden follows Indigenous and regenerative approaches to agriculture.

This sustainably focused small-scale farm sold plant starts, eggs and served fifty CSA customers. Preparing beds, pest and disease management, seed propagation, harvesting, washing and packing, planting, fertilization methods, compost, soil health, water management, weed management, and cover crops were frequent themes. Only hand tools were used. Also, caring for the henhouse and processing eggs. Lastly, assisting with the setup of events, such as their summer music festival and fundraiser.

Larimar Med is a spa focused on holistic health. services included facials, massages, functional medicine, IV infusion, and various 'biohacking' modalities, like cryotherapy. My duties included scheduling appointments, answering phones and emails, selling skin care products, packing shipments, learning about new products and services, collecting service payment, using software to file client documentation, opening and closing the facility, and cleaning common areas, therapy rooms, and equipment.

Salternative Spa is a wellness spa focused on mind and body health. Salternative Spa offers salt flotation tanks, an infrared sauna, a salt room, yoga, and meditation. My job consisted of scheduling appointments, answering phones/emails, collecting service payments, opening/closing the facility, doing laundry, helping with events, cleaning each room after services, cleaning common areas, selling service packages and memberships, and posting on social media.

Fox Valley Food for Health is a non-profit that distributes food to individuals and their families who are experiencing a health issue. All the meals are curated to encourage healing, including organic, and highly nutritional ingredients. I volunteered every week, cooking, prepping, and packaging food with the mentor chefs and other teens. In addition to volunteering in the kitchen, I volunteered at various events to collect money for fundraising, and prepared food for fundraisers. In my last years, I was chosen to be a member of their teen board. As a member of the teen board, I participated in board meetings, mentored other teen chefs, spoke at fundraisers, and received feedback from other teens. The other teen board members and I also organized a fundraiser for 2020, but it had to be canceled due to the pandemic.