Transcript
Welcome to BLaST the Airwaves with BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. Here at BLaST Intermediate Unit 17, we strive to transform lives and communities through educational services. For this season, we have a special guest co-host who is working to create and sustain pathways to employment in our region by uniting her community around common goals in STEM learning. This season’s guests come from 9 counties total, representing different local industries all across Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania. I’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Konsur-Grushinski, STEM Services Coordinator for NEIU 19 and current lead of NEPA STEM Ecosystem. Alexandra, welcome! Thank you for having me. I’m so excited to be able to work with you for our Celebration of STEM in Industry this year. Our STEM Ecosystem is holding a weeklong series of free events and opportunities highlighting industry partners and the benefits they have in our 5 county region. Our hope is that by listening to the wide variety of employment opportunities available in our region from folks in our community who live it everyday, we can shed a light on what’s possible for our young people. On this podcast, we will provide you with educational solutions and resources for all, no matter the learning environment. So teachers, administrators, students , caregivers, industry partners, what are you waiting for? What would happen if we started questioning? What if our students and educators got the opportunities to sit down with members of the community? What if we bridged that gap? What connections would we discover? It’s time to blast the airwaves.
Rebecca: Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Dave Loomis, an agriculturalist at Bohlayer’s Orchard in Troy, Pennsylvania, and Alexandra Konsur-Grushinski, STEM Services Coordinator at NEIU 19 and current lead of NEPA STEM Ecosystem. Dave, Alexandra thanks so much for joining us today to discuss STEM skills used in your industry. Specifically, we are going to be discussing how knowledge of different STEM skills are important in your current job position. So, are you both ready to Blast the Airwaves?
Dave: Yes. Thank you so much for having me!
Alexandra: Absolutely.
Rebecca: So, why don’t we get started, Dave. If you could start by telling us a little bit more about your role in industry.
Dave: Absolutely! My wife and I are actually the 5th generation to operate Bohlayer’sOrchard We operate a small orchard of apples and pears that we grow using organic means, and we also run a flock of approximately 95 sheep. The name of the breed is Romeldale CVMs which are a rare breed of livestock recognized by the livestock conservancy. And with this breed of sheep we raise them both for meat and for fiber, and this part has actually become a sustainable mainstay of our agricultural production.
Rebecca: Hmm. That’s really interesting! I didn’t even know you had that many sheep. That’s a lot of sheep.
Dave: (Laughing) That is a lot of sheep.
Rebecca: I definitely have to come visit.
Alexanrdra: And an orchard and sheep… You must be a very busy set of folks there. So my question for you Dave is can you describe your typical day? What is, what does your day look like?
Dave: Sure. And I’ll begin by mentioning that I actually have an off the farm job as well. So I’m going to talk especially about what my wife experiences as she is the individual who runs things on the farm, that the day and day out operation. On a typical day though, we start and finish our day by taking care of our flock. And we likewise too have a bunch of different activities with our sheep. The products that we we make from the fiber from our sheep. And then my wife she also does a lot of communication with clientele and with other individuals in in the fiber industry. This is probably one of the biggest changes over the years for us because we had utilized sheep over the generations. So my father, my great-uncle, my great-grandfather and even great-great-grandfather had a multi-functioning farm with sheep in some way shape or form, but really didn’t foster the fiber market like we are doing currently. Our sheep raise a renewable and valuable resource that is sought out by hand-spinners and knitters and other textile artists to create gorgeous products that may last even as family heirlooms in generations to come. This is a remarkable difference for us when we compared to and contrast with the notion of a growing fruit which is a perishable commodity and is is very time-sensitive and it’s a very welcome addition to our agricultural mainstay.
Rebecca: Wow! That is really interesting. So like so how many sheep again do you have?
Dave: We have 95 sheep.
Rebecca: And what made you think sheep and orchard? What what made you say hey I want to do both of these things? How did that come about?
Dave: Undoubtedly, part of this is history, and my father had seen as he had worked the farm that working with an orchard where our season commonly would would apex in the fall. And then also working with sheep which you can actually utilize lots of different timing for markets with sheep. Sheep really work in the equation, and it worked for him as well, but again, he didn’t necessarily grow sheep for fiber and that was part of our interest and passion that brought us to working with with an animal whose fiber can be worn right next to your skin comfortably. And so we have really ,really embraced this opportunity because we not only have sheep that are rare and become kind of a niche market in and of itself, but also we have this this gorgeous fiber that is produced in so many different colors right off the sheep that our hand-pinners and knitters and artists just love to work with. In their words, when they spin this this uh fiber, it’s like spinning butter. Quote, un-quote. Ha Ha Ha!
Rebecca: Wow!
Dave: Which is great, you know, it’s nice to be able to work with a product that is so much fun, and it gives back from that standpoint.
Rebecca: Do you supply, like when you say textile artists, I know your wife does a bit of textile work as well, is it mostly local, or so how far are your partnerships there?
Dave: So, we have clients all over the nation. And there’s undoubtedly even some circumstances where we’ve actually had to navigate shipping to Canada and to Mexico as well. So, it’s not out of out of the realm of possibility. And oh! In Germany. I believe we actually shipped to out to a military base in Germany as well to to one of our military service individuals stationed there. But, that too has been quite a change because working with with fruit, we would serve mainly our local clientele, And now with working with fiber and with working the sheep, we actually work all over the nation, and it’s not uncommon for us to even take sheep all over the nation to share our flock with others.
Rebecca: Wow. That’s impressive.
Dave: Thanks!
Alexandra: And it impresses me that there are sources of that type of fiber available locally in Pennsylvania. I don’t know how many knitters and crocheters would be aware of that. I myself am a crocheter, and I was not aware that this type of wool was available just in basically at my back door. So this is definitely an asset that you’re bringing to the community as well.Dave: Thank you so much for that! It’s really been an interesting challenge for us to take on, but at the same time too it is sustainable and will continue over the future as well.
Rebecca: So Dave, can you tell us you know, as we’re focusing right now with industry and STEM, how do you use your STEM skills in this position? Like you and your wife?
Dave: Yeah undoubtedly, and I would even include that we have STEAM skills. So we not only use science technology engineering and math skills, but we also use arts and artistic endeavors as well. Not only as we work with the fiber ourselves, but as we provide it to others. So, if I go by letter here, undoubtedly, science and agricultural science is the backbone. It’s essential in fostering the health of our land, our pastures, our hay fields, and then likewise our animals. With technology, I’ll speak to my wife’s roll again. She really utilizes technology and computer-based technology to reach out to our clientele across the country and beyond. Engineering skills are utilized when we put our material and our natural products to the test. For example, we utilize both ancient and modern mechanization to produce the products which may require trial and error for our consumers to receive our best product. Whether it’s as simple as a felt coaster that they can put a cold beverage on to as as hard-wearing as our dog coats which are referred to as a woof in sheep’s clothing. It’s a way for us to put our our sheep to work in providing their fiber to keep your dog warm. Textile arts then, are paramount in all that we do whether we engage in the artistic expression ourselves, or we support others. And we support others who are folks who do their own knitting and spinning all the way to students of Parson School of Design have reached out to us gather fiber for their senior project if you will. And these individuals are all in that act of creating. And then lastly, mathematics and measurement are not only important in creating prototypes for trial and error, but it’s also remarkably important animal husbandry like understanding mob grazing pressure on grazing paddocks and and rotating animals for both animal and for land health. All of this is so important, and it works in concert together to see animals that are healthy, providing fiber that is healthy for you and I to utilize.
Rebecca: Wow.
Alexandra: Fascinating. And so, I think one of the arguments that is made by students when they’re in school is one of those perennial arguments which is: When are we ever going to need this? When are we ever going to use what we’re learning in school? Right yeah, I’m Dave, I’m sure you’ve know this perennial argument. My question for you then is can you put that to rest about your and your wife’s positions and the careers that you’ve chosen? So what skills do you use everyday, that our students learn in school? And those can be subject matter related, or they can be different types of skills. Whatever direction you want to take this in, Dave. The floor is yours.
Dave: Sure! Alright. It is surprising the use of skills that our K to 12 students are actually developing that we actually put into gear just about every day, at least every week. I think it goes without saying that above and beyond science, math, art, even computer technology, family consumer science, there’s undoubtedly a portion of this that looks at business and looks at marketing. And communication skills are paramount, so both oral and written language communication skills that you undoubtedly practice in your K to 12 career. And really even more importantly and probably one of the things that I like to impart with the students that I work with and I know that my wife imparts with students that she works with, the most important skill that we can impart to our students is that notion that we never stop learning. And we always strive to stretch our learning, and even, and my wife uses this phrase all the time with students that she works with: sometimes you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable when we’re working to learn new things because when we learn new things, it gives our mind a new feat to tackle. And undoubtedly too keeps us always engaging not only in what we learned K to 12, but for the rest of our lives.
Rebecca: Yeah, Dave you bring that up, I mean I think it’s great. Lexie and I always talk about that. You know, being comfortable with the uncomfortable. A lot of times in our trainings, we were pushed into our uncomfortable, sometimes. It’s how we learned.
Alexandra: All the time.
Dave: (laughs)
Rebecca: That is very true, it’s all the time. But, you know what kind of training, obviously this isn’t something, I don’t know if you picked this up growing up with your grandfather or your great-grandfather, but if I’m a student, and I’m like: ooh I heard this podcast. This is really interesting, What would I, what steps would I start to take?
Dave: Yeah.
Rebecca: to start my own farm or something like that?
Alexandra: To become an agriculturalist.
Dave: Yeah uh undoubtedly, too there are some remarkable obstacles that will have to be overcome to be able to have your own property with a mob of animals grazing on a regular basis. That becomes something for a learner to work towards ways to overcome those obstacles. But if you have a solid education, and you have a solid foundation for learning and the the willingness to learn new things…Sure there’s formal programming that can be sought, whether you’re looking at textile arts, or if you’re looking at keeping animals healthy and raising animals. Sure there are all kinds of programs available to individuals who want to actually work in business and marketing and franchising, as well as entrepreneurship ideals. But, so much of it is is still, the foundation is learning. And if you work towards building skills one by one with a notion that nothing is fixed. If you want to learn it, and you take the time, and you take intentional time to learn, you will continue to make progress towards those skills that you’re developing. I think becomes really important to look at.
Alexandra: So Dave, I have another question for you which is clearly you’re passionate about what it is that you and your wife do. When did you discover, when did that epiphany happen when you realized this is what I want to do with my life? This is what I want to do with my time? How did you know? When did you know?
Dave: Sure. That’s a huge question. You know, when it came to it to being a part of the 5th generation of agriculturalists to run our Orchard, undoubtedly, I had all kinds of thoughts growing up: Maybe someday I’ll do this. Maybe I’ll actually make this my livelihood. And that was something that, that came about there. But, the biggest change and probably the most refreshing change was moving more so into the textile industry, and I think my wife and I when I started my career and in education, we were always talking about. So, what are ways in which we can actually contribute in a greater way with the resources that we have? And then likewise, too can we build something that we really will enjoy producing, but also feel good about when we go to bed at night that we’ve seen a hard day’s work come to an end, and a hard day’s work is coming next. Umm, and I think that that’s really what’s helped us not only propel us into this this avenue, but also keeps us going keeps us going each and every day and keeps us moving in different directions with this towards making our enterprise sustainable over the course of time, so that additional generations may be able to take part in this as well.
Alexandra: Thank you, Dave. It’s good to hear. Many folks, as I’m sure you’re aware, are not choosing farming. Many of our young people are not choosing agriculture as a career, and it’s great to know that this is a space that is alive and well. And that there’s still a lot of vibrancy there that can interest a lot of our young people.
Dave: Thank you so much.
Rebecca: Yeah, so Dave, we are going to go to one of my, and this I did not prep you for. But we are going to do one of my favorite parts. It’s called the Blast 5, and we’re just going to ask you not 5 different questions, but if you were to list off the top five skills someone needs in your industry, can you tell us top five skills?
Dave: Ok. So, undoubtedly, hard work is one of them. You need to be willing to to work in a feverish manner at times when it comes to bringing in a crop or being able to actually work with animals and in extremely long day end long time frame commitments. Likewise, too the willingness to learn is undoubtedly one of the one of the most important features. And that would be probably my second feature here too. being able to to work with and manage your time in a way that’s efficient becomes huge from the standpoint of you heard me say I work off of the farm. And so, when I get back to the farm, my time needs to be planned out, sometimes to the minute, to be able to get things accomplished within that time frame. School-based skills that we learn in K to 12 are undoubtedly something that not only brings about that foundation for learning, but undoubtedly too helps us continue our learning over the course of time. And the last thing when it comes to agriculture, one of the one of the skills that I really that is so important for students to recognize is that you’re part of something much larger than yourself. You’re not only taking care of yourself and your family, you’re taking care of a group of animals. And even more so than that, it is taking care of the land in ways that are respectful and working with the land in your resources in ways that will continuously generate positive flow and energy. And I think that too would be probably my fifth skill. And it’s undoubtedly intertwined with many of the others.
Rebecca: Yeah, those are great top 5 skills that I think are evidence, and everything that you just described to us today. If someone is listening to this podcast, and they’re like: Wow, this is really cool. I want to learn more about his orchard, or, is there any way? Are you on the web? How do they learn more about you and what you do?
Dave: Yeah, so undoubtedly, you can have folks turn to our website which is https://www.bohlayersorchards.com/, but also above and beyond that, if you’re interested in learning more about sheep. If you’re interested in learning more about rare livestock, there’s actually an organization called the Livestock Conservancy who have a very active website. If you’re interested in learning about more about the sheep that we raise. there is an active website for the National Romeldale Conservancy. So, there’s lots of ways for you to gather information. And also, on our website we do have the option where folks can reach out to us directly and can gather additional information from us whether it’s about our sheep, or whether it’s the way in which we raise our fruit. Undoubtedly, there’s ways that you can you can talk with us more. We’re always interested in helping individuals move and stretch in directions that are comparable to what we’re doing in our day-to-day agricultural lives.
Rebecca: Well, thank you Dave so much. It has been a blast, Blasting the Airwaves with you, no pun intended, same with you Alexandra. We celebrate you, Dave, and everything that you do in STEM everyday, especially today. And again, thank you for taking some time to connect with us and our listeners. It was a pleasure to have you on the podcast. Please take care, and I’m sure we will be talking soon.
Dave: Alright hey, thank you so much!
Alexandra: Thanks Dave.
We would like to thank you for blasting the airwaves with us today. If you like the show, please subscribe or leave a review. If you want to know more, check out www.iu17.org for further resources and show notes. If you’d like to learn more about NEPA STEM Ecosystem and the work we are doing in STEM and job pathways, please visit them at www.nepastem.org. As always, we want to thank you for what you do every single day. Remember, keep shining. We’ll be back next episode to provide you another educational solutions for all, as we continue to transform lives and communities through educational services.
Additional/Suggested resources mentioned in the episode:
National Romeldale Conservancy
BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 – www.iu17.org
Professional Learning Opportunities at BLaST IU 17 – https://www.iu17.org/professional-learning/
Website: https://www.nepastem.org
Facebook: NEPA STEM Ecosystem – @NEPASTEMecosystem
https://www.facebook.com/NEPASTEMecosystem/
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Music in this podcast provided by Scott Holmes Music on Tribe of Noise Pro.
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