Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Lisa Kershaw.
Hi Dr. Lisa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first was exposed to herbs through my grandmother when I was four. She had a beautiful greenhouse and garden and taught me how to grow herbs, plants, and flowers and how they benefit the environment and improve our health. I have visceral memories of swinging under her large tree and smelling the herbs growing all around, which we later used to cook or make teas with. Later, I began teaching as a special education teacher, certified in Emotional Disabilities and integrating agriculture into my teaching. With my students we built a greenhouse and growing spaces. I found that allowing my students to have experiences in growing food, building gardens, and relaxing in green spaces contributed to their overall wellness and improved their behavior. My experience in working with individuals with Emotional Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder lead me to earn her National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist. Serving as a District Teacher of the Year, and a South Carolina State Finalist Teacher of the Year, I worked to restructure an alternative school and serve as a consultant in the area of Emotional Disabilities and Behavior for a large school district. I served as the South Carolina Department of Education State Consultant for Autism Spectrum Disorders working to provide education, awareness, and programming for individuals with autism, their educators, and families. As a national speaker and nationally published in the areas of behavior and autism I continue to work in education while managing my business, Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursery, an organic vegetable and herb seedling nursery and growing education hub. I have also been a micro farmer of 30 years where I also teach others how to grow healthy food in any location. Over the past few years I have started or reinvigorated 7 school and community gardens, and held over 20 community youth growing events, providing garden education and experiences to over 500 students through my Sow & Grow Sustainable Growing Education Program. I am certified in Horticulture Therapy, and runs my own apiary, The Bee Suites. I have partnered with another non-profit to establish the GROW (Growing for Resiliency, Opportunity, and Wellness) Farm in Columbia, SC, which serves as an urban fresh produce mini-farm and provides education in food sovereignty, nutrition, mental health support and agriculture. On the farm I have created a sensory garden, a raised bed teaching garden, in ground food crops, and berry and fruit orchards. I am happily married to Martin Kershaw, the proud mother of 4 children, 2 stepchildren, and 2 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This journey has not always been smooth, but always with purpose. This has made it frustrating, at times, but there is always joy in the journey. Establishing the nursery was my first step into agriculture for the community officially. While I have always grown for my family, it is a whole new world to understand what it means to become a business woman and to understand who your audience is. Once the nursery was created, I had to fine tune my purpose and understand the need I was trying to fill. I had all of these ideas but I had to learn how to focus in and not spread myself too thin. In creating the GROW Farm, land and location became the challenge. Wanting to be in a specific area code, there was not a lot of available land that was on the bus line for easy access for the people we wanted to serve. Funding is always an issue. Big ideas require start-up funds. I have found that finding a “village” of supportive people, some to help with the work, some to make connections, some to provide education for me, and some to provide resources for me to look deeper into, have helped me to continue my work and grow. In this way I have been able to access grants, find donations and in-kind gifts, and educate myself on how to access other resources I have needed. Another aspect of doing this is recognizing balance in my life. Part of my village is there to support just me, and making sure I don’t overdo things! I love the work so much, I have to be reminded to take rest. I find when I do that, I actually am better able to further my work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursery. LLC and the GROW Farm?
Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursery is a vegetable, herb and companion plant seedling nursery. I grow seedlings using only agroecological methods. I soon realized, however, that people want to grow their own food but many times find they are not successful because they do not have the knowledge. Growing a plant always seems easy but bringing a plant to the point of producing healthy food consistently requires a little more knowledge. It is also challenging to grow herbs and vegetables from seeds. Knowing what plants should be grown together is also important. So I began to offer workshops in sustainable growing for individuals of all ages and abilities. My workshops teach not only how to grow food, but what to do with the food once it is grown. People will grow fresh food and then let it rot because they do not know how to use or cook it in meals. Through the nursery I also sell herbal teas that I grow as well as other herbal products. My business also grew to serve the community through a component called the Sow& Grow Sustainable Growing Education Program in which I help schools and community centers to start of reinvigorate gardens, providing ongoing education for children in schools to learn how to plant their own garden, grow their own food and then how to use the food. I charge no fees in working with schools and community gardens, but rather work through grants that I write. Through this I have been able to provide not only education and guidance, but also plants from my nursery, garden tools and garden supplies to build beds and work the gardens at no charge. My newest component joins the work my nursery does with another small business to create the GROW Farm. This is one of my proudest accomplishments! Granted a 2-acre plot of land, we have been able to create 5 unique gardens for the community: a raised bed teaching garden, in ground crops, a fruit orchard, berry garden, and a sensory garden. Here we not only provide free, fresh grown produce, but we also serve as a sustainable growing education and wellness hub offering events, workshops, and education for all. We collaborate with several organizations to bring education to and reach out to the community. All of this programming is unique in that we use regenerative methods to grow, and teach this to others. We help people understand that while you may not replace everything in your kitchen with food from your garden, any one can grow one thing that might add to their diet in a positive way and incorporate health and wellness into their life through the practice of sustainable gardening! While we are unique, we also work with others rather than set ourselves apart, so that we do not have to reinvent the wheel or duplicate what is already out there in order to be serve the community.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My partner at the GROW Farm is Jennifer Cunningham with Palmetto Learning Academy of SC. Mr. Lee Carroll granted us the land for the GROW Farm. Keisha Rainey, with Roots and Rain. LLC has been instrumental in helping me find grants and funding for programming, as well as opportunities to work with other organizations and expand reach in the community. My family has been immensely supportive as I worked to establish the nursery, through building, and social media outreach to let the community know what services we have to offer and they are still sticking with me as we grow. We also have a host of volunteers at the GROW Farm, led by Angela Williams-our lead volunteer who has worked from the start along my side to create and build the GROW Farm and its ongoing programming. Courtney Hunt with her organization Prevention is Possible, LLC is one of our favorite collaborators, providing needed education in the community we serve.
Contact Info:
- Website: joyfulsoulsnursery.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576380266234 and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557082291382
