Text by SOFIA ANTEBI and SOPHIE MATLOF
Photo by EMILY YAO
A change of scenery
FAMILY FARMS PROVIDE HOPE AMID PANDEMIC
W
HILE MOST students were scrolling through their phones at home, junior Nicholas Shinghal spent his afternoons herding baby pigs in his backyard. The piglets hated being picked up, so the only way to get them back into their pen was by chasing the tiny piglets back into the garage where Shinghal and his family took care of them until they grew enough to be moved onto their farm. The increased screen time and seclusion has led many to seek an escape from technology and to disconnect from the overwhelming reality of the pandemic. A few Palo Alto High School families, such as Shinghal’s, have renewed their connection with nature by stepping back from subur-
ban Palo Alto life and spending time on family-owned farms. v
“I think it has been an important experience for us to not only connect with the farm and ... our time up there, .... but also having a communal family project to work on,” Shinghal said.
Frog Dog Farms Frog Dog Farms — a 13-acre farm in Petaluma — is the Shinghal family’s passion project established in November of Anderson Orchards last year. Anderson Orchards, a 60-acre lot “My mom has growing peaches and alalways been into an- We wanted our farm monds in Butte Counimals, and the farm ty, has been owned by is an opportunity to to have a positive senior Senja Johnson’s get away from the impact on the envifamily for over 100 commotion of Palo years. While Johnson Alto, … enjoy na- ronment, rather than usually visits in the ture and give back a negative one just for summer, she prolonged to it by maintaining her stay at the orchard the land and the ani- our enjoyment.” during the pandemic. mals on it,” Shinghal “When COVID — NICHOLAS SHINGHAL, junior started, I just went there said. The farm is curbecause there were ... rently home to pigs, chickens, goats, ducks only two COVID cases there as opposed and geese, and Shinghal’s family hopes to to the Bay Area, where there were way eventually add miniature cows and sheep to more,” Johnson said. “I lived there for three the menagerie. months [with my family].” One of the Shinghal family’s main Johnson said upkeep for the orchard is goals when was to ensure its sustainabil- not easy, and requires year-round mainteity and guarantee that their endeav- nance and preparation for the busy summer ors were in harmony with existing season, during which she helps harvest the wildlife in the area while con- orchard’s peaches and almonds alongside tributing back to the natural her cousins and the farm’s staff. ecosystem. According to Johnson, being on the “We wanted our farm orchard has lessened her dependency on to have a positive impact her connection to her phone and the Interon the environment, net. While she does not completely go off rather than a negative the grid, Johnson says being in nature with one just for our enjoy- her family helps her take a step back from ment,” Shinghal said. her electronics. Shinghal values “I don’t have a whole lot of interest in the time and effort spent my phone or my computer [when I am on building up the farm and the farm],” Johnson said. “I definitely like appreciates how the farm to disconnect more.” has encouraged him to connect Additional reporting by with his family in a new way. Emily Yao and Antonia Mou
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HEN OUT OF THE PEN — Junior Nicholas Shinghal’s mom Jennnifer Chan holds a chicken in their backyard. “Tending to various animals here, like the chickens and bees, has taught us how to manage them, so it’s certainly made creating the farm a lot easier,” Shinghal said.
34 JUNE 2021
