ISHPEMING — With school out for the summer, teenagers across the U.P. are doing a variety of different things.

Teenagers attending Camp Michigamme volunteered a couple hours of their day to help pull weeds, lay down wood chips, or anything else that needed to be done at the Partridge Creek Farm. The teens are in the midst of a mission week, helping out as much as they can.

“I think that this is absolutely wonderful. Urban farming and urban gardening is a growing field right now,” said Lexi Parish, a teen volunteer. “You can see the plants growing and it teaches people a lot about gardening in itself. A lot of us are from the U.P. and some of us are even from downstate. It’s wonderful to come together and work to better a community even if it’s ours or not.”

“I’m really pleased to see these young people that have come in to help us at the garden,” said Diane Darlington of Grace Community Gardens. “I can’t believe the commitment that they have to help us. I’m so proud of the hard work that they are doing. Everybody is digging in- literally digging in.”

“We have a mission to get kids engaged in this farm. It’s our primary mission to get kids engaged in this farm and give them the rewards of their work. Give them food, produce, teach them the value of hard work and the enjoyment of it,” said Dan Perkins of Partridge Creek Farm.

The Partridge Creek Farm was built in conjunction with the Grace Community Church as a vegetable garden. For information about the farm, click here.