While many of his peers are choosing a college or corporate career path – Elijah Wackler opted to go all in on his dreams with hands-on experience. Nestled in Oakland County with limited space, Elijah says, “I am trying to learn the different areas of agriculture like a trade.”
Growing up in an urban area there was a limited amount of opportunities to learn about agriculture. In eighth grade he decided to get involved with a local 4-H club that became available. He began exhibiting educational displays such as Plant Science, and Wildlife Studies, among other divisions at the county fair and got deeply involved with his local 4-H community – this experience encouraged him to continue to explore the different avenues that the agriculture industry offers and where his dream began to flourish!
Currently Elijah works for a Christmas tree farm and a local nonprofit organization that focuses on agricultural education. In his free time, he is getting creative with different types of hobby micro farming. Micro farming is taking agriculture to the smaller scale providing an ample opportunity to have fresh food without a plot of land. He noted, “It is very different, working with raised beds and pots instead of just planting into soil.” For his micro farm, Elijah focuses on trying different practices with a variety of plants to see what could work well in the future.
While gaining experience and looking for more ways to expand his knowledge Elijah applied for GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth Grant. This grant allowed him to find an online or in-person educational course he was interested in! The CultivateGrowth grant can be used by a young, beginning, or small farmer who lives in Michigan or northeast Wisconsin for an agriculture program/event anywhere. Elijah used his grant to take an online u-cut flower course through Floret Flower Farms out of Washington.
This course was a perfect fit for what he was looking for as it allowed him to keep course content forever, highlighted how expansive the floral industry is, and gave real examples of how to have a u-cut flower operation. Elijah hopes to build on this knowledge as he builds his dream of owning an agritourism operation focused on flowers, pumpkins, apples, and Christmas trees! While the agriculture industry is expansive, he is taking every opportunity to dive deeper in order to reach his goals.
It started as a dream to own a Christmas tree farm and has since expanded into so much more. This course is just the start for Elijah, and the possibilities are endless as he continues to pursue his passion in agriculture. GreenStone aims to provide opportunities for all young, beginning, and small farmers with our CultivateGrowth grant. To learn more about our CultivateGrowth grant program, click here.
