Full Circle: the Growing Veterans Intern Experience

By Chris Bullis, USN

GV alumni & PST graduate

Veteran Conservation Corps Intern 2020-21

My time as an intern at Growing Veterans has changed my life in a very real way. Thanks to GV and the Veteran Conservation Corps, I’ve been able to follow a new direction in my life that I’ve been interested in since I left the Navy – farming. Not only that, but the way that I approach my life is not with the same emergent, anxious feelings that I had before I began my time here. I’ve learned a lot, and still want to learn more, particularly about working in agriculture and with my hands. Over the past six months, I’ve had the opportunity to focus on new passions that I find exciting and provide a sense of accomplishment to my day to day.

I’ve had the time to pursue personal projects, such as growing oyster mushrooms, as well as focusing heavily on my own mental health. I’ve been trained in peer support through Growing Veterans, and have learned how to most effectively apply an empathic ear not only to others, but to myself. Working at this farm brought an interesting parallel to mind, as the regular maintenance that is applied to keeping this non-profit running and growing produce is similar to the self-care that should be applied to my own well-being to keep myself in optimal shape – there are times that things pop up and need direct fixing, while many things require careful planning with a specific approach. I imagine that’s where they came up with the term “dirt therapy.” Working in agriculture requires a lot of planning, a lot of patience, and some luck. Sometimes, things happen that we cannot control (poor weather, for example). We have to make plans to combat these events, and try to mitigate losses as best as possible, but I cannot be expected to predict the future, or do more than the best I can with the tools at my disposal. I think that these lessons have helped me to hold myself accountable to my own part in what happens, while accepting events that I have no power over. As a musician, I have always felt a need to be perfect in my performance, and as a Navy Corpsman, I knew that if I made a mistake, deaths would be on my hands.

“Over the past 6 months, I’ve had the opportunity to focus on new passions that I find exciting & provide a sense of accomplishment to my day to day.”

-Chris Bullis

While interning at Growing Veterans, I had room to calm down. I was able to practice patience and mindfulness in a controlled setting, allowing myself the space to make mistakes and understanding that there are few dire repercussions to most mistakes or delays. I found that without this kind of pressure, I actually paid better attention to detail, made fewer mistakes, and found prioritization quite easy. Farming requires lots of attention to detail to be placed on doing the right thing and the right time, as well as times where you have to let things be and try to find other ways to spend time without messing with the plan you’ve enacted. I think that before coming here, I had difficulty in finding my way through life as a civilian, as there are no concrete plans – not the case at GV. Here, I became part of a mission, helped develop plans for the 2021 season, and became part of a community in which I felt valued, something I’ve not felt since leaving the Navy.

COVID-19 threw a wrench in the normal way things go here at Growing Veterans. The staff here have mentioned that normally there’s more people, more projects, and more work to be done. While it’s likely that people who have interned here before me have had a different experience, I’d say that I’ve learned a lot about finding my own motivations and desires to spend my time. I have frequently struggled with a feeling that one must check all these boxes in order to be successful and happy, that we are all on the same track, and that some are ahead while others are behind. With the extra time here, I’ve been able to attend the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s Annual Convention, learned how to grow mushrooms, and was able to contribute to something bigger than myself. I think that my time here has helped me realize that there are many tracks that go at whatever speed I need, and that I have many options in front of me that bring me satisfaction without sacrificing my mental health. Not only that, but I think that GV gave some people an appropriate outlet for their own free time – working outdoors gave us an opportunity to allow some volunteers an escape from the extreme isolation that many people have felt in the course of the past year. Veterans tend to have a unique perspective toward isolation upon leaving the military, and I think a lot of the people who were able to come out this year appreciated being able to relate in their own way, particularly those who work from home in quarantine.

“I can say with absolute certainty that I have an improved outlook on the world since beginning my internship last year, & am thankful to everybody who makes this program possible…”

-Chris Bullis

Prior to my internship at GV, I had absolutely no experience in agriculture, and a limited understanding of growing produce. Over the past six months, I’ve been taught how to till, seed plants, make a seasonal farm plan, and operate a tractor. I’ve learned about different types of produce and the different treatment they need to grow well, and had the time and space to have my own projects I could never sustain in my apartment. I’ve seen how the farm develops relationships with local businesses to produce a final product, whether it was hot sauce, beer, or salves, and planning the farm according to what relationships it was decided we would invest in. I’ve learned about different programs that farmers can get involved in, such as the Farmer Veterans Coalition, and the different resources that such affiliation can provide. With all this experience, I’ve decided to further my education in agriculture by attending the Viva Farms Organic Farming Practicum, and in the next couple weeks, I will be working full-time at a for-profit organic farm in Mount Vernon.

Sean, Angela, Tonneli, Garrett, Jared, and every volunteer at Growing Veterans have given me a place that I am proud to have been a part of, and I intend to continue volunteering at GV as often as my future schedules allow. I really can’t overstate how big of an impact this place has had on me. I can say with absolute certainty that I have an improved outlook on the world since beginning my internship last year, and am thankful to everybody who makes this program possible. Thanks for the good times GV.