‘Right in our backyard’

'Harvesting Rhode Island' to showcase local farms, debuts March 22 on PBS

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 3/12/15

Alex Caserta of Cranston has long had a passion for creating a visual record of the world around him.

“Documentary stuff has always been my thing,” he said, whether through photography or …

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‘Right in our backyard’

'Harvesting Rhode Island' to showcase local farms, debuts March 22 on PBS

Posted

Alex Caserta of Cranston has long had a passion for creating a visual record of the world around him.

“Documentary stuff has always been my thing,” he said, whether through photography or film.

He has been producing documentary work on Rhode Island’s people and places for more than two decades. A visual arts educator for more than 30 years, he is now retired and devoting his energies more fully toward that work.

He was involved in the program “Orchards in the Ocean State,” which aired on Rhode Island PBS in 2013. The hour-long film explored the experience of local apple growers over a 10-year period, highlighting the challenges they face and the traditions they carry on.

Now, Caserta is preparing for the television debut of another, ever more ambitious project – one he hopes will spur something greater.

“No one’s ever done anything like this in the state,” he said of “Harvesting Rhode Island,” which debuts on Rhode Island PBS at 6 p.m. on March 22 and showcases some of the “farms, foods and flavors” of the Ocean State.

“This is about Rhode Island, what we have right here in our own backyard,” he continued. “We have a lot of things right in our backyard that people are not aware of, and they don’t know where to buy the products…We’re trying to promote local farming. There’s so much more to show.”

Caserta served as the project’s executive director, working alongside director and editor Soren Sorrensen and director of photography Jason Rossi. It was made possible through a grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Agriculture in 2014.

Filming took place last summer, and the fall and winter were spent editing. In all, five half-hour episodes, each focusing on at least two locations, and on “specialty crops,” have been created.

“It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work,” Caserta said.

Among the locations to be featured is Big Train Farm, located on Pippin Orchard Road in Cranston. Owned by John Kenny and established in 2008, the land is leased by the state to Rhode Island farmers who are starting out. Among those leasing land is Urban Edge Farm.

Also to be featured is Salisbury Farm in Johnston. Established in 1860, it initially sold hay to a freight and stagecoach line traveling into Connecticut. It is owned by fifth-generation farmer Wayne Salisbury.

Other sites included in “Harvesting Rhode Island” are Portsmouth Nursery, established in the late 1800s by Portuguese immigrants; Rhode Island Nurseries in Middletown, established in 1885 by a Czechoslovakian immigrant; Hoogendoorn Nurseries in Middletown, established in 1921 by a Dutch immigrant; Maple Dell Farm in Foster, which supplies farm-to-table food for Loie Fuller’s Restaurant on Westminster Street in Providence; Rhode Island Mushroom Co. in Kingston, which was established in 2011 and is one of the largest growers of exotic mushrooms on the East Coast; Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth, where the farm was established in 1863 and the vineyard in 1982; Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, which was established in 1975; and the South Side Community Land Trust’s City Farm on Somerset Street in Providence, which was established in 1981 and incorporates educational and apprenticeship programs.

Caserta said his interest in agriculture stems from an early age.

“I’ve always enjoyed, even as a kid, being on a farm,” he said. “There’s a lot of love that goes into growing products.”

With “Harvesting Rhode Island,” Caserta is seeking to provide historical context to local agriculture, showing how it has evolved and how farmers are finding ways to remain viable in the modern marketplace.

“This state was filled with innovators from the days of the cotton mills,” he said.

Much of that has been through a shift on the part of many consumers toward “farm-to-table” and locally produced food.

“There’s been this movement over the last few years,” Caserta said, pointing to the growing popularity of farmers markets.

Despite those changes, Caserta said many consumers remain unaware of the local resources available or how to obtain locally grown products. Spreading that information, he said, is a driving focus for “Harvesting Rhode Island.”

The series also seeks to highlight the issues facing young and new farmers, the most significant being the cost of land. The state, Caserta said, needs policy changes to “make more land available to farmers,” a move he said would feed growth in other industries.

Urban Edge Farn, he said, provides an “extremely successful” example of what is possible, serving as a place for farmers who are starting out to hone their craft, learn the business and save money for their own land.

Caserta said he is “thrilled” with how “Harvesting Rhode Island” has turned out, and now he wants to continue. He hopes to have the opportunity to showcase other locally produced foods, including seafood and cheese.

“There’s so much to cover,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun, and I’m still educating. I get to use all of my skills…It’s all coming together.”

For more information on Caserta and “Harvesting Rhode Island,” visit www.harvestingrhodeisland.com. A full list of episodes and showtimes can be found at www.rhodeislandpbs.blogspot.com/2015/02/harvesting-rhode-island-new-local.html.

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