By Terry Bergdall
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| Gooseberry Acres in Dwight, IL |
My first cousin and his wife (Garry and Deanna Atkinson) and the family of their son (Luke Atkinson, Meredith, and their 4-year-old son, Owen) have a small farm in Dwight, Illinois – a rural farming area about 40 miles south of Joliet. On the weekend of Sept 20-21 my wife Pam and I travelled an hour and a half on Amtrak from Chicago to Dwight.
| Eggs, Honey, Fresh Bread & More |
| Luke and Meredith have fulltime day jobs: he’s a grant-writer with a nonprofit organization in Chicago and she is an independent travel agent with an established list of clients who appreciate her personal attention. Both accomplish the bulk of their work through the internet. While their day jobs keep them financially afloat, their primary passion is addressing global climate change through small-scall regenerative agriculture. |
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| Farmhouse with frame for greenhouse in front of garden. |
Luke and Meredith moved from Oklahoma to Illinois four years ago, attracted to the Chicago area by a network of college friends. Two years ago, they obtained a vacant 100-year-old farmhouse on a 5-acre parcel of land near Dwight and moved from an apartment in Chicago to begin activating their vision. A year later, in anticipation of retiring from their work in Oklahoma, Garry and Deanna bought a house within five miles of Luke and Meredith. Soon they will begin living fulltime in Illinois, delighted to be close to grandson Owen.
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| Feast for egg-laying chickens |
Surrounded by large scale commercial farmers that produce mono crops of soybeans and corn, Luke and Meredith grow organic food. They have established contracts to sell small amounts of organic produce to local schools where each week Meredith also provides 160 sourdough par-baked crusts for lunch pizzas. By raising a few chickens, they can also sell a small number of eggs. They have planted new apple trees, adding to a few existing fruit trees already on their property. Grandpa Garry is an experienced beekeeper and Luke and Meredith anticipate adding this to their regenerative farmwork under Garry’s guidance.
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| Regenerative garden and solar array. |
The photo above shows the enclosed garden Luke and Meredith have built where sweet corn, pumpkins, cherry tomatoes, squash, and other vegetables are grown. They installed solar panels behind the garden last year to electrify the house. (Barely noticeable in the distance are three wind towers on a nearby commercial farm.)
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| New greenhouse for winter veggies. |
To the side of the garden, is a new “high top tunnel” greenhouse. This was done through an assistance grant they negotiated with the US Department of Agriculture in 2024. The greenhouse is about the same size as their garden and with durable plastic will provide a warm environment, allowing them to grow vegetables during most of the winter. |
| Open for business! |
It was all very exciting for Pam and me to be with a young family deeply devoted to an alternative lifestyle in order to fulfill a vision of caring for the future of Planet Earth.
