When Lisa Barker became Harley’s Food and Farm Educator in 2017, she already had deep roots in the school’s sustainability work. After collaborating with Chris Hartman ’93, P ’22, ’24 through the Good Food Collective and teaching in Horizons’ garden for the past 5 years, she stepped into her Harley role just as the Commons and hoophouse were coming to life.

Since then, Lisa has helped students build meaningful connections with the land through the microfarm and Harley’s bees. One of her favorite moments each year is the first day of Beekeeping: students suited up on the roof, feeling nervous and excited. Through Upper School classes, Middle School Bee Club, honey extractions, and creative advocacy projects — like when Charlie Jones ’26 crocheted bees to support a beekeeping nonprofit — Lisa has watched students discover their own sense of stewardship.

She’s especially proud of how the garden has evolved during her tenure. In her first year, she partnered with Davy Brooks ’18 on a garden redesign for their capstone project. Davy did a ton of research on permaculture and landscape design. Lisa orchestrated another redesign in 2024, one that was supported by generous gifts from Fritz and Leslie Kass P ‘26, ‘28, added new seating, fencing, and an outdoor classroom patio. The project became a true community effort, with Chris Hartman returning to help rebuild the seating area with students and a collaborative student effort, with Margot Hilyard ‘22, Nathan Bushnell ‘23 and, Izzy Goldstein ‘25 constructing a trail-side Little Library.

For Lisa, food and farming education fits naturally into Harley’s mission. “Food connects people,” and the garden gives students a space to care for something real, practice environmental stewardship, and take pride in the seeds they plant. Whether in Food and Farm class or Middle School Garden Recess, she sees students’ creativity and kindness flourish in this unstructured, hands-on environment.