Becca is a farmer, educator, and food access advocate with experience in farm management and youth education. As the Director of Children’s Farms in Action, Becca Harley manages the growing and educational programs at the Montbello Urban Farm, which provides fresh produce for the community. She also facilitates several school-based and community garden programs. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, focusing on agroecology, food systems, and social work. Becca is passionate about land stewardship, community engagement, and youth empowerment.
Interviewer: Lunia E. Oriol
February 2025
What is your current position?
I have been the Director of Children’s Farms in Action since September 2024. We’re located in Montbello, which is in the far northeast neighborhoods of Denver. We run about a ½ acre of school garden sites, and all of the food that we grow is for free for the community. We distribute the food through our partner organization called Struggle of Love Foundation, and they set up regular free food distributions, one of which is located in the same parking lot as one of our gardens, so we walk over our produce to distribute. We surveyed community members in the neighborhood who were already getting food from this distribution and asked them what they wanted us to grow. Our 2025 crop plans are all based on their feedback.
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Youth education is a huge part of my job. A lot of the programming that we do is at K-5 schools. We run weekly programming for all of the grades. Every single grade at the school will get access to garden-specific programming, and the curriculums parallel what they’re already learning in their classroom. We’re trying to offer more of a transdisciplinary education in the garden by thinking of it as a supplementary classroom, as opposed to it being a break from learning.
We also do a really big seedling and seed distribution. We’re part of this really cool coalition of food and farming organizations within the city of Denver, so we get discounted seedlings from a greenhouse in Denver, which we distribute for free to people in the neighborhood. A part of this is offering educational workshops and doing “house calls.” Similar to how a doctor would go to your house like, I’ll go to people’s houses and answer any questions or identify pests.
On top of all this, I perform garden consulting for other school gardens in the area, who don’t have a farmer on staff. I also run a summer internship program for high schoolers in Montbello.
What did you study at University of Michigan?
I graduated in 2021 with a major in Program in the Environment (PiTE) with a specialization in Agroecology. I minored in Food and in Community Action and Social Change from the School of Social Work.
Which courses, authors, speakers, or assignments had a significant impact on you?
The first class I took at UM was BIOLOGY 101: Food, Energy and Environmental Justice, taught by John Vandermeer. It’s a basic introduction to food, but it was really helpful to go into my education and professional career with that broader overview of the history of food and agriculture. It was my first critical look into food systems, and it’s what got me started down this pathway because I was introduced to the Campus Farm through that class.
Food Literacy for All was also very helpful because I was able to see a wide variety of different career pathways and different facets of food systems. Food systems are so interdisciplinary and broad, so there’s room for every interest. Being able to see all those different interests in Food Literacy for All was really helpful.
What sparked your interest in sustainable food systems?
What got me really interested was working at the UM Campus Farm. I worked at the Campus Farm all through my undergraduate: first as a summer intern, then as the Campus Farm Food Safety and Orders Manager. After I graduated with my undergraduate degree, I spent two more years there as a Campus Farm Management Fellow. I don’t think I would have done this as a career pathway without having worked there. It is so lovely to start a seed and watch it nourish it into a plant, knowing that it would in turn nourish my community, my neighbors, and my loved ones.
Could you share your experience as a Campus Farm Management Fellow?
The Campus Farm Management Fellow was a 2-season growing position for recent UM graduates, and I was in that role from May 2021–December 2022. I facilitated all of the farm’s growing operations, including the management of the farm staff and volunteers. Although it was mainly focused on growing produce, I was able to add other things that interested me. I supported the Urban Agriculture Internships by creating training and orientations for program participants. I also helped facilitate the relationships between the Campus Farm and its partner farms in Detroit and support their farming operations when they asked (e.g., utilizing the Campus Farm’s extra greenhouse space to grow tomato plants for a farm). In my position, I was able to leverage the many resources available at my disposal to support the farm’s programming.
Also, when I was a Campus Farm Management Fellow, the Campus Farm began hosting ENVIRON 465: Campus Farm Practicum. Although I wasn’t a GSI for the course, I sometimes helped co-facilitate the class and was able to take on an educator role more formally than I had been other times at the Campus Farm. That experience was really helpful because it showed me that a huge part of why I worked in farming was not just growing and distributing food, but teaching.
Did you know that you wanted to work with youth?
Not necessarily, but it is just kind of a natural fit. I’ve always really gotten along with kids, and what makes me so excited about working with youth is that this work is how you spark generational and systemic change. I can help facilitate a really intimate relationship between them and their environment, the land that they’re on, and the community they reside in. It is really wonderful to be able to introduce the concepts and values surrounding environmental stewardship, food justice, nutrition, and healthy habits to youth.
Do you have any advice for UM students interested in food systems careers?
Academia, of course, has a lot of great benefits, but what has been the most impactful for me is actually being in community. Being at farms serving their communities, talking to my neighbors about their experiences with food security, working with those who are showing up for their communities to influence policy—these experiences have been the most impactful for me. Yes, I learned a ton at UM, and I wouldn’t be here without my experience. I also think that I would not have the same love, appreciation, and reverence for the beauty of growing and distributing food in a way that is dignified and respectful of the people around you, without working in community.
