Assistant Farm Manager Ember Fleming discovered her fascination with plants when she took a botany course as a student at McDaniel College in Maryland. A summer spent building and maintaining trails in Massachusetts with the Student Conservation Association awakened a love for working outdoors.
“I decided to try a season of farming and was instantly hooked!” she says. Through her studies as an environmental policy and science major with a concentration in biology, she learned about the importance of diversified farms practicing organic and sustainable methods.
A Duxbury native, Ember worked one season at Dragonfly Farms in Pepperell. She moved on to Siena Farms in Sudbury, where over four years she rose from apprentice to greenhouse manager and senior assistant grower. Stearns Farm appealed to her for the opportunity to get to know sharers during work hours and pickups.
“Serving my community is a large reason why I farm,” Ember says. “I want to share with everyone just how wonderful they are for supporting something that is significantly beneficial to the land and the lives of their families and the others that we serve.”
Farming the Stearns Farm land is rewarding, she adds, because the crops are so diverse for its size. “The fact that we can fit fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs on such a small plot of land amazes and impresses me every day,” she says. Beets, spinach, broccoli, kale, and “any and all herbs” are Ember’s favorite crops to grow.
Ember lives in Stow (but is moving to Hudson soon) with her partner Mike, along with six fish. “We hope our next pet has four legs and a tail,” she says. When she isn’t working, Ember enjoys hiking, reading young adult fantasy novels, tending her own garden, and learning how to make things.
