Jeff Goddard has compiled a list of plants, native and non-native, on Midland's property. 

By Ben Munger '79, Midland School Ranch Manager

“It is not easy being Green”, said Kermit the Frog when he first got a voice 30 years ago. It still isn’t, for anyone or any institution that has ecological goals, including institutions like Midland School.

Having spent the last 11 years managing the ranch part of Midland School we have indeed become Greener. The quail population is the healthiest it has been in many years with managed hunting and habitat improvement.  The riparian areas have been fenced from cattle and horses and are healthy and diverse with Alder, Sycamore, and Bay all seeding themselves.  It is close to the time we can reintroduce cattle for limited times into the riparian system because of the stability in the banks held by vigorous Willow and Mule Fat growth.  The comparison with aerial photos from the 1970s to today is truly amazing - and the difference is in the amount of green riparian vegetation. Kermit would blend right in along the upper Alamo Pintado.  

Midland used to have only one large cattle pasture. It is now divided into three, with options to add more. The effect has been to improve the management of cattle (amount of time and number of animals) on different parts of the ranch.  This has allowed us to insure a better cover of plant litter at the end of the grazing season, and improve the carbon and water cycle on the property.  No one has lost a job because we have made these changes and it has helped me teach soil science to teenagers - who never before have thought of dirt as an extremely important part of their lives.  The Natural Resource Conservation Service helped finance the fencing for riparian protection and pasture division with a cost-share program.  We have participated in three of these programs with the Federal Government to help us improve the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and wildlife habitat. Maybe Kermit should be a spokesperson for the NRCS, who is on the one hand vilified in the Santa Ynez Valley, and used to help obtain ranch goals on many large, prosperous ranches.  

The Organic Farm at Midland School is another Green project that Kermit would appreciate.  Frogs and toads are welcome especially if they eat their weight in insects. Well managed and learned from are the primary goals of the Farm.  We try to balance production with education.  Education that happens from the soil to the dinner table is a long conversation not peppered with sound bites.  Production can always be improved, like a poker hand, and we continue to draw new cards as the years progress.  Ask anyone that eats at Midland - the food has never been better tasting and better for the teachers and students.  An apology to John Williams, who cooked at Midland in the early 70s - his cooking school was in Southeast Montana on cattle ranches where he learned to make good stews.  Now we make almost the same stew, but it is our own beef, carrots, and onions.

There are other Midland projects that are also Green and require a great amount of hard work and commitment: a large conservation easement, solar panels to operate well pumps, a carbon sequestration study in our cattle pastures, and raising our own pork and beef for consumption at Midland.  It is just not easy being Green, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

By Ben Munger '79

Sunny Pang, a second year student from China just asked me, “Do you remember last year when I asked you about planting carrots?” I had forgotten, and I asked, “Is this for the horses?” Sunny was jumping up and down in small hops and nodding and I said, “Of course we could - is Monday or Tuesday a good day for you?” More hopping and beaming ensued, which I could see even though it was in the moonlight where students gathered to look at the Hercules Galaxy with Jeff Goddard. This was a terrific end/beginning of the summer season and the return of the students who have an interest in the Farm. 

Maybe this was the summer of the carrot. All of the plantings germinated well and we planted semi-religiously every two weeks in the heavier clay soils of the lower fields that we call the San Joaquin Field (the most fertile area and farmed more often; where the old track was). There were no really hot days or nights during the summer and it favored small-seed germination. The hot was saved for the day the seniors returned. The 105 degree heat only helped ripen the tomatoes and helped the weeds grow faster. Our main weed, Purslane, or Verdolaga in Spanish, thrives with water and heat, making for heavy weeding in September. 

In the first week of school we ate our own lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, cilantro, potatoes, corn, beef, peppers, grapes and carrots. BG (Kresse ’68) saved Tri-tip from our grass-fed beef for a special occasion which happened to be our first BBQ with the seniors and the faculty. The meat was amazing with the “Kresse secret marinade” that had a little more heat than usual. 

The summer Farm season was blessed by two great weddings of Midland faculty members. Derek Harwell ’88 and Emily Phipps were married at Midland and used the Farm for a rehearsal dinner that brought together Texas and California at one long table by the tractor sheds, with memorable warm toasts and an unbelievable moon rise. The wedding reception featured Midland’s grass-fed beef cooked at the soccer field. Katie Isaacson and Will Hames married at Katie’s family ranch, El Chorro, and Katie used the wheat grown by the freshmen in displays for the wedding reception. Katie worked on the Farm until a week before her wedding and then returned a week after - both she and Will value work, but will take more time in December to travel to Tasmania.

This was a great summer. No fires, no MJ fanatics (only a small amount), and no great heat with a daily marine layer hanging out over the Chamberlin Ranch until 10 AM most days. With the students returning it will get warmer in September and October, but we have extra hands to weed, pick, feed, wash and plant. Sunny will be out with Katie on Tuesday afternoon pushing the carrot seeder.