Roots Run Deep for New CRH Farm Instructor

It’s a homecoming for Alexander Hurla, the Community Resilience Hub’s newest staff member. He brings his love for the prairie and experience in the Veteran Farming Training Program at the Rodale Institute to his new role as the Regenerative Agriculture Farm Instructor.

Joining the Community Resilience Hub as the Regenerative Agriculture Farm Instructor is truly an honor. I’m excited to dig in!

A seventh-generation Kansan, my roots run deep here. From the red sunsets and the rolling hills to the wide-open skies and caring people, this land is part of me. I left it briefly when I served in the Marine Corps, but the prairie has always called to me. This is where my heart is, it’s my home, and I’m so thrilled to be back in a role where I’m helping to preserve it for future generations.

I’ve often wondered how this land looked when my ancestors first stepped foot here,  and, of course, that thought makes me wonder what it will look like long after I am gone. To me, that’s the most significant pull of good stewardship of the land – caring for God’s creation and passing on a healthy world to those who come after me.

There’s a connectedness in the land that transcends the years – every generation contributing to it in one way or the other. I saw that first-hand in the Veteran Farming Training Program at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania. I want to contribute in a way that helps those who come after me.

In addition to my love for the outdoors, I am passionate about writing. I’m moved to write stories when I’m surrounded by life and beauty on a well-stewarded farm. On the farm, we are writing the stories (on paper and on the land) that future generations will read years from now. I often find myself reflecting on the stories we are writing today – are they beneficial or destructive?

The Community Resilience Hub at Kansas Wesleyan University follows these approaches to bring the “culture” back to agriculture and ensure we are preparing good stewards of the land. Right here in Central Kansas, we can work together to strengthen our land and communities to pass on a secure and hope-filled legacy to those who come after us. I’m so thrilled to help write that story.