Our Mission, Home, Purpose, and Business
Welcome to Mezzacello Urban Farm, our Twenty-First Century urban farm located right in the heart of downtown Columbus, OH. Our mission is grow, maintain, sustain and explaoin. Our vision is to blend education, sustainability, and community engagement through innovative practices in agriculture and STEM. We aim to foster a deeper understanding of food systems, environmental stewardship, and the interconnectedness of our ecosystems, career development and exploration opportunities, and improve our cities.
Mezzacello is not just a physical space; it embodies a vision of a sustainable future. As a home, it offers a sanctuary for learning and growth. Our purpose is to inspire individuals of all ages to engage with the natural world, to cultivate skills that promote self-sufficiency, and to build resilience within urban environments.
What’s In a Name?
Mezzacello is a made up name. We wanted to build a garden AND a micro farm. I wanted to call the farm Monticello 2.0 but my husband Rick reminded me that we would get sued. He then mockingly said, “we are poor, the best we could do is MEZZAcello.” I heard that and fell in love!
There are people who think it’s an odd name, but once they know it’s back story, it really grows on them. Our name is hardly our only problem though. It’s a problem I am hoping you can help us with. You see, most people think that Mezzacello Urban Farm is our home and yard ONLY. But it is so much more than that!
By transforming this abandoned house and yard into a productive micro farm, Mezzacello aims to inspire others in the community to explore sustainable practices. Mezzacello was more than just an agricultural endeavor; it became a model for blending the private space of a home with the public good of local food production. Through creativity and collaboration, the challenges started to become opportunities, demonstrating the power of resilience in modern urban farming.
“How would you feel, standing there in the echo of that taunt? The solar-powered lighting and odd shadows — alone with the poultry and rabbits? Knowing that the chirping crickets everyone hears are the fifteenth generation you’ve raised in the biodome. While above you the wind turbines are silently spinning. and spinning on a windless, warm, summer night driven by traffic wind gusts from a main street of downtown Columbus? People driving and shambling past you, largely oblivious to the fact that you WANT people to know how to do this.”
Sustainability Requires New Ideas
Sustainability requires new ideas that challenge existing paradigms and encourage innovative thinking across various sectors. As traditional practices often contribute to environmental degradation, fresh approaches must be developed to create a more sustainable future.
We had been wanting to start a bona fide non-profit business here at Mezzacello since 2017. I was employed by the PAST Foundation doing a job I loved and working on Mezzacello at night and on weekends. Then Came COVID19 Lockdown in 2020. We (and the rest of the world) were working from home and I found I had MUCH more time to spend tending to Mezzacello. The summer of 2021 came and kids and families were literally desperate for outdoor camps and workshops to get kids outdoors. I won a grant from the Ohio Farm Bureau and launched Mezzacello Columbus, LLC in 2021.
Since those first two highly successful camps, we started expanding our offerings and working mostly through the PAST Foundation and City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Department we expanded our camps to 8. In 2023 there were 10, and in 2024 there were 14 and 8 workshops. But the workshops and free trainings go ignored as most people are not aware that in our yard is a seed for change in the way we think about food, workplace skills, sustainability, energy production, and renewable resources.
So, Back to the Logo
All of this is embedded in our logo. The home, the garden, the mission, and the business. A home with a leaf (Working with kids around the world via zoom I have learned that many kids refer to Mezzacello as “Red House Green Leaf Farm”. We moved the logo from a cursive model to a more stylized script. But that does not yet change the narrative that there is something else magical happening here.
Last night as I was putting the ducks away for the night someone walking down the alley behind the manhattan euonymus hedge scolded me for hoarding so much land, resources, and technology all to myself. I was saddened and flummoxed. Yeah, if you didn’t know, you WOULD think I am a prepper, a hoarder, and more. But what more can I do? That scolding struck right at the heart of my pride and purpose.
How would you feel, standing there in the echo of that taunt? The solar-powered lighting and odd shadows -- alone with the poultry and rabbits? Knowing that the chirping crickets everyone hears are the fifteenth generation you've raised in the biodome. While above you the wind turbines are silently spinning. and spinning on a windless, warm, summer night driven by traffic wind gusts from a main street of downtown Columbus? People driving and shambling past you, largely oblivious to the fact that you WANT people to know how to do this?
Thus this dissection of the logo and long-winded blog post. What would you do if you THREW everything you had at a mission to change the world and found that people still didn’t get it? It’s gutting.
If you read this…
If you read this, give me your advice in the comments or on social media. I must do more. I need your help to change the paradigm of actionable sustainability in our systems and cities.
