Will Atkinson
1962-2016
1962-2016
In 2011, while running the Dandelion Ranch, a 1/4 acre community garden in Santa Fe, I put a post on Craigslist looking for someone with earth-moving equipment to help prepare the land for Gaia Gardens, a new urban farm I wanted to create.
Will Atkinson sent me a response stating that he had all the equipment needed and had done land preparation for a community garden in Albuquerque. The pictures of his work and the list of his Bobcat attachments were impressive.
Will came to survey the land and in February of 2012, arrived at the new farm site with his equipment and a dump trailer full of manure.
He worked for several days, going back and forth to a horse ranch to get manure, leveling the land and rototilling the manure in a soil that was reminiscent of a parking lot-compacted and full of rocks.
He worked 10 hours a day, covered in dirt and smiling. We had no money to pay for his work which would have cost thousands of dollars. We bought him lunch and gave him gas money.
Thanks to Will's work, by July 2012, we were able to start selling produce at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market.
Six months later, Will came back to prepare more land on the 4-acre property so we could plant garlic.
He came and visited the farm regularly and followed our saga through the 4 years of the farm's operation.
After closing the farm, I found out that Will had terminal cancer. He had never told me and was already sick when he came to help us at the farm.
I visited him a few times before his death. He gifted me a laser level which I use regularly.
Will's wife Suzanne donated metal beams, posts and trusses which were used to rebuild the bridge at the Mil Abrazos property as well as frame the 1,600' addition that will host a dining hall. Suzanne also let me use Will's truck and Bobcat to work on the new property.
The dining hall at Mil Abrazos will be dedicated to Will's memory.
Thank you Will for all your love, and for understanding the importance of community gardens and urban farms! I will always remember your generosity and kindness.
Your wild spirit will live at Mil Abrazos
Thank you Suzanne for your generosity!
Poki
Will Atkinson
1962-2016