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New Sylvester Farm Manager jumps into a busy spring season

Arielle Gardner believes in putting down roots, both in her new role as farm manager at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, and as a contributing member of the community.

With the arrival of spring at the farm, Ms. Gardner is deeply into all things agricultural at the moment, from seeds to mulch, asparagus to piglets.

She and her helpers have been cultivating seeds in the greenhouse and starting work in the fields, “mulching asparagus and re-mulching the garlic.”

She’s also been busy setting up a new compost pile, irrigation, planting and welcoming on board a new group of workers and volunteers.

“It’s quite a mountain to climb,” she said, making it clear she relishes every minute of it.

(Courtesy photo)

Soon, the farm’s pigs will be moved to a new field to help fertilize it, and eventually the pigs will be found at the Manor’s farmstand as bacon and other homegrown pork products. New piglets will arrive soon, as will 150 baby chicks that will eventually produce eggs with shells of blue and green.

“Yes, we’ll have green eggs and ham” at the farmstand, she said.

(Courtesy photo)

Juggling the many facets of her role comes naturally to Ms. Gardner, who’s traveled a variety of roads that brought her to this destination.

She grew up locally — her grandparents had an inn in Cutchogue called Top of the Morning — and after college, worked in 3-star Michelin restaurants, in New York and California.

But she found herself increasingly interested in producing the foods that would make their way to the table. From there, she moved on to the Napa Valley wine country, helping harvest the grapes for the well-known California vineyards.

When she made her way back to the Island, she decided to work with the beauty of flowers that could be harvested locally, forming a floral company called Littlespoon Designs, not only making arrangements for gifts and special events, but hosting lessons and activities to introduce children to fun with flowers and growing vegetables from seeds.

“I love making little backyard farmers, especially out of city kids who may have never gotten their hands dirty or held a worm,” she said.

As a member of the community, Ms. Gardner also believes in plunging in, putting down solid roots in the place that’s now her home, Shelter Island. She joined the Emergency Medical Services team, first serving as an ambulance driver and now as an EMT, as a way of giving service.

She said the team sees many elderly residents who live alone, and realized there was another way she could help.

For the last two Valentine’s Days, she’s surprised senior citizens on the Island with bouquets of flowers to brighten their day. She said thinking of her grandmother being alone after her grandfather died inspired the idea. “I know when I bring her flowers, it gives her so much joy,” she said.

Continuing the work of creating floral designs for weddings and other special events, she’s partnering with Ivy League Flowers in Southold. “I love being part of someone’s forever day,” Ms. Gardner said.

This is just the beginning of what will be a long and busy season at the farm, and she welcomes all offers of help. In addition to the farm’s workers, college apprentices will be on the team, and volunteers are indispensable. “It takes a village,” she said, and encourages Islanders to contact her at [email protected] if they want to help.

The farm is also planning to create a “you-pick” function to allow more members of the community to “step into the fields, pick a bouquet of flowers, and be a part of it,” Ms. Gardner said.

When she finds a rare moment to take stock of where she is, she sees herself deeply grounded in both the farm and the community where she has made her home. “Now I have such a great network of people in my life,” she said.