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Welcome!

Hey there! Glad you could stop by to learn more about Green Bridge Growers, the innovative social venture with the mission of  growing good food and good jobs for young adults on the autism spectrum.

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Building Community, Building Hope

3/27/2019

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Chris had the pleasure of sitting down for a conversation with one of our team members, Melissa Tomas, to hear more about her hopes for Green Bridge Growers and the many ways she's participated in our mission and supported our growth and development as a venture. Thanks, Melissa, for all the ways you build community and hope through your involvement with GBG!

Chris: Thanks for talking to us today about Green Bridge. It’s always great for our supporters to know more about those who contribute their time and talents with us. Could you share some of your background in farming and gardening and how you got interested in it?

Melissa: I started gardening—or being interested in gardening—when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree. I decided then that I would do an agriculture extension program, and I did a minor in horticulture, so that was the area that I decided that I wanted to go into, and I fell in love with it. And then I continued my education, and went on to get a master’s degree in agriculture education, and I knew then that I really enjoyed teaching people about gardening, teaching people about plants, and at the time I thought that I was going to be a high school teacher - but I wanted something different, so while my kids were young I started volunteering, and started a school garden at their school, and it just kept going from there.

I ended up getting a job and started a community garden, and I just fell in love with teaching people how to garden, explaining the process of growing your own food, and sharing the importance of knowing where our food comes from and how to grow our own food, educating people about farming-small-scale and large-scale farming. That’s how it all started for me!

Chris: How did you hear about Green Bridge Growers and what attracted you to Green Bridge?

Melissa: Originally, I found out about Green Bridge when I moved here about 4 ½ years ago. My sister let me know that she saw something on Facebook about Green Bridge Growers, and I was looking for a place to start volunteering. Since I was new to the area, I hadn’t really had a chance to really know what was going on in this area with gardening and farming. So when my sister told me about that, I was interested, and I looked on Facebook, and I was able to get Jan’s information and contact her and ask her if she needed a volunteer, how I could help, how I could start volunteering. And that’s kind of how we got our start I have been volunteering now for 4 ½ years.
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Chris: What made you interested to want to work with people with disabilities, either autism in particular or disabilities in general?

Melissa: I was living in New Jersey and I’d just finished my Master Gardener program there, and my instructor, was very into horticulture therapy, which I had never heard of until I was in that class. And so I started looking into becoming a horticulture therapist, but then we decided to move here, and I couldn’t find any programs here. So I was given a book called Gardening with Children with Disabilities. And I read that book, and I just knew that was what I wanted to do in some way, shape, or form. I wanted to basically do horticulture therapy without the title of horticulture therapy. My nephew has autism, and that kind of also sparked me. I wanted to help in any way that I could—create some sort of a foundation for him to be able to do something in that field if he chose to. So then when I found Jan, it was just the perfect fit. I knew I wanted to do horticulture or gardening, and then she was already doing that type of work with people with disabilities, so I knew that that was the fit for me, and being at Green Bridge Growers was going to be where I wanted to be.

Chris: What gives you the greatest satisfaction in your involvement with Green Bridge Growers?

Melissa: Probably the two things that stick out to me the most are being able to just work with the group of people that I have been able to work with. I thoroughly enjoy working with the Day Program at Hannah & Friends, and I really enjoy being able to work with you and Matt and Aja. The relationships that we’re able to form—they mean a lot to me, and that’s one of the big reasons that I’m involved - the satisfaction that I have is to see the joy in everybody that I get to work with and how much they enjoy gardening. The other aspect is, I see Green Bridge Growers as such a wonderful space, and I wanted to be involved from the ground level of a business that will create such wonderful opportunities for people in the future, and be able to educate not only people with disabilities, but people without disabilities about food production and farming and where our food comes from. So that’s truly where I draw my satisfaction, is just being around the people that I get to work with, and being able to spread the education about farming.

Chris: What are your hopes for our work in the future?

Melissa: Well, I see Green Bridge Growers really as a farm model, hopefully for others to look at, and it has a twofold purpose: we want to help create jobs to address one problem, which is unemployment in adults with autism, plus we also want to create an opportunity for local foods to be grown here in the area and then used locally. So my hopes are that other people can look at Green Bridge Growers as a model and be able to implement that type of scenario in other cities across the country, and by doing so, we can impact that unemployment rate for autistic adults, and we can also help impact the fact that—you don’t have to travel as far—you don’t have to have your food necessarily come in from as far, you can have locally grown food in any area. So being a part of this model of farming and creating jobs, I hope that it can be spread across the country, and people will be able to look at it and model their own business after Green Bridge Growers.

Chris: What’s your favorite crop to grow and eat? And do you have any special recipes that you enjoy that use this vegetable?

Melissa: My favorite thing to grow is seedless cucumbers. I love a fresh cucumber, so that is my favorite thing to grow in the summer. And it’s my favorite thing to eat. It’s not really a specific recipe, but one of my favorite things to do is just chop up a cucumber, some tomatoes, and some feta cheese in the summertime and just eat a little salad like that. It makes me think of summer when I eat it, and it makes me think of warm weather. So it’s definitely my favorite vegetable to grow!
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Grow with Us as an Americorps Member!

2/20/2019

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GREEN BRIDGE GROWERS AMERICORPS SERVICE MEMBER POSITIONS NOW AVAILABLE!
Green Bridge Growers grows local food sustainably using year-round agricultural innovations such as aquaponics, while training and providing employment to under-resourced young adults on the autism spectrum confronting a 90% joblessness rate. To advance our mission of growing fresh, healthy food for our region and bringing financial stability and employment to autistic adults, we seek Americorps Members to participate in our mission in these areas:

  • Work alongside our core workforce to grow sustainably with four-season aquaponics, composting and creating healthy soil, seeding and transplanting in our greenhouses, and using regenerative practices to grow food organically.
 
  • Provide assistance to our communication efforts, branding and marketing, social media, website updates, email marketing, and graphic design.
 
  • Creation of a print and digital resource library that provides a compilation of key agricultural topics and practices; development of a training tool tailored to the learning style of our core workforce of those on the autism spectrum.
 
  • Outreach and partnership-building with potential volunteers and community collaborators to advance our expansion and growth as an organization.
 
  • Public relations alongside our core workforce to sponsor tours, programming, special events, and outreach to the community.

For more information on Americorps opportunities with Green Bridge Growers, contact Jan Pilarski, jan@greenbridgegrowers.org, 574-310-8190, and check our social media for background on our work: @GreenBridgeGrowers FB and Instagram, website greenbridgegrowers.org. Thank you for your interest!

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Composting: It Happens at GBG!

1/17/2019

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As a sustainable farm, composting is an important part of what we do. Composting is a way to allow organic materials to biodegrade so that the resulting material, compost, can be used to fertilize crops, since compost has many of the nutrients that plants need to grow. Unlike using artificial fertilizer, composting adds nutrients to the soil in a natural way, using microorganisms that are already in the soil. Composting is done by both microorganisms and larger organisms like earthworms.

There are two kinds of processes that produce compost: anaerobic decomposition (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen). When anaerobic decomposition takes place in nature, it usually takes place in places with low oxygen levels, like the muds at the bottom of marshes. Aerobic decomposition, on the other hand, takes place where there is sufficient oxygen, like ground surfaces like the forest floor. A couple differences between anaerobic and aerobic decomposition are that anaerobic decomposition often gives off unpleasant odors and doesn’t give off much heat; whereas aerobic decomposition gives off no odors and releases a great deal of heat.

Several requirements for efficient composting include aeration, moisture, particle size, and temperature. Aeration is important to allow aerobic decomposition to take place, since aerobic decomposition is quicker than anaerobic, and doesn’t allow foul odors to develop like with anaerobic. Moisture is also important, because a dry compost pile won’t biodegrade very well. There should be enough water that the compost is damp but not soggy, because too much water can create anaerobic conditions. Also, grinding the organic material into smaller particles can reduce the time it takes to biodegrade the compost. The smaller the size of the particles of the compost, the more quickly the microbes can break down the compost. Finally, temperature is important to ensuring proper decomposition of compost. Lower temperatures slow down decomposition, while higher temperatures speed it up.

Many different types of organisms help to break down compost. The most important ones are bacteria. The bacteria present in a compost pile depend on the raw material present, the amount of moisture in the pile, the amount of oxygen in the pile, the temperature in the pile, and various other factors. Compost normally contains a large number and wide variety of bacteria, fungi, molds, and other organisms.
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One form of composting that people can do in their homes is called vermicomposting, which is the biodegradation of organic material by worms, such as earthworms or red wigglers. The waste from the worms, called worm castings, is high in nutrients and is an excellent natural fertilizer. Average people can even purchase worm bins for their homes, and once you have worms and some starting organic material for the worms to eat, you’ll be ready to start vermicomposting. A couple tips: you need to make sure the worm bin is balanced between carbon-rich (paper, cardboard, dryer lint, etc.) and nitrogen-rich (fruit and vegetable scraps) organic matter. Also, there are certain foods that worms don’t like to eat. For example, citrus fruits are poisonous to worms, and worms also avoid garlic.

We encourage you to do your own composting, perhaps starting by having a worm bin to use at your house. If you have the room for it on your property, you can also start an outdoor compost pile. Composting helps the earth, and we hope you do your part to repurpose food waste and create healthy, sustainable soil! 
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Sustainability Matters: Recycling

9/21/2018

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As a social venture with an environmental purpose, we believe in recycling. Since recycling reduces the need for companies to harvest new raw materials, it reduces the amount of pollution that factories produce when processing raw materials. This helps to cut back on air pollution and water pollution, and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Manufacturers can cut air pollution by 73 percent and water pollution by 35 percent, according to the University of Central Oklahoma. Recycling also helps companies save money on manufacturing new plastic products from petroleum, and save money on mining and extraction costs. Recycling also helps significantly reduce the amount of waste that gets sent to landfills. When companies recycle plastic bottles, they can save up to 60 percent of the costs to produce new bottles. Also, if the whole world doubled the amount of aluminum it recycles, then we would keep more than a million tons of pollutants out of the atmosphere.

Now, recycling isn’t as simple as throwing all your recyclables into a bin and letting your recycling collector pick it up. So-called “single stream recycling”, or throwing all the recyclables into one bin without having to separate them, is convenient, but it results in less material actually being recycled. Roughly 25 percent of what we try to recycle is too contaminated to be able to be recycled, according to the National Waste and Recycling Association.

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There are some ways to try to make sure your recycling is more likely to get recycled, even if you use a single-stream system. This resource goes into detail about what the best ways to do this are. There are several key steps. First, learn the rules for what materials your local recycling program will and won’t accept. The best way to do this is to actually call your city’s information hotline to ask them which materials they are and aren’t able to recycle. Second, be sure to rinse food residue off of your containers. There’s no need to wash it with warm water and soap; a cold rinse will do. Rinsing your containers will prevent food residue from getting onto paper products and making the paper harder to recycle. Third, try to break apart cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycle bin. It’s harder for machines to process boxes that haven’t been broken down. Break boxes apart, pull off the tape, and break them down into pieces that aren’t any bigger than a standard sheet of paper. Finally, try to consume less, and to reuse more of your empty containers. Unfortunately, much of the contamination isn’t caused by us directly, but by companies who design their products in such a way that they’re more visually appealing (and therefore sell better), but are often harder to recycle. For this reason, reducing and reusing are more important than recycling.

Recycling can often be tricky, but if you follow the advice above, then you will help ensure that more of your items will be recycled. Reducing, reusing, and recycling matter for both the planet and its people!

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Pollinator Power

8/14/2018

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Today I’d like to talk to you about pollinators. Why are they so important? Because pollination is necessary for plants to reproduce, including plants that humans eat for food (as well as plants that are eaten by meat animals which are in turn eaten by humans). Without pollinators, the crops we grow for food couldn’t flower and produce new fruit (to eat) or new seeds (to grow new plants). Also, without pollinators, the animals we eat for meat would not have any food to eat for themselves, and without any plants or animals for us to eat, we would have nothing to eat at all. Bees are one of the major species of pollinators, but bees aren’t the only ones that help pollinate. Flies, ants, beetles, birds, and many other species can also pollinate as well.

Pollinators can also help us indirectly by pollinating plants that help promote a balanced ecosystem. Not all of these plants are ones that we depend on for food or products, but they do help with processes like feeding beneficial insects, or cleaning the air and water, or providing forage for animals whose meat we consume.

Species of pollinators often specialize in pollinating a certain plant, which helps the plants avoid extinction. This also helps provide food for the organisms that depend on the plant, like birds that drink from flowers or squirrels that gather acorns. In addition to providing us with food, plants also remove carbon dioxide from the air, remove waterborne pollutants and toxins from stormwater, suck airborne chemicals out of the air, and keep cities cooler through evapotranspiration. We have pollinators to thank for helping plants reproduce so the plants can carry out these vital functions for us.
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Unfortunately, the population of pollinators appears to be declining, and their loss is affecting the agricultural community. Urbanization can also lead to habitat destruction or fragmentation. The use of broad-spectrum pesticides can also harm pollinator habitats.

And in thinking about the importance of pollinators, bees are critical to the well-being of all of us and the planet. Bees feed us, plain and simple.

They are responsible up to 90 percent of our food production, and most cereal crops, many fruits and the majority of vegetables depend on at least some pollinator action.

Others, like almonds, would be gone in a generation without the bees who move from bloom to bloom at harvest time.

Plus, pollination of grasses helps to feed our animals, resulting in products many of us consume every day, such as meat, dairy and eggs.
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Another contribution of bees is that they also keep our cities healthier. By pollinating trees, wildflowers, plants in gardens and parks, and more, they provide us with a cleaner environment. That’s because plants:
  • Draw carbon out of the air and fix it in the ground
  • Suck up toxins and pollutants from stormwater
  • Clean chemicals and smog out of the air so that we don’t breathe it
  • Keep cities cooler through evapotranspiration
  • Provide natural views and environments, which are psychologically soothing and restful
Here are several tips for helping establish a healthy habitat for pollinators:
-Consider the soil characteristics, sunlight, drainage, and other factors when choosing plants.
-Plant a variety of different flower colors and shapes to attract many different kinds of pollinators.
-Choose native plants if possible. These plants will be better adapted to the native pollinators, as well as to the soil type, climate, and precipitation. Also, in planning your garden choose flowers in the blue-purple range which are very attractive to bees, and flowers that produce pollen which bees will seek out.
- Use chemical-free pest-management practices to avoid destroying pollinator habitats.
-Select plants that flower at different times of the year, so that these plants can provide nectar and pollen to pollinators throughout the growing season.


At Green Bridge Growers, we are extremely conscious of the priority of pollinators on our farm and in how we design and locate our crops to maximize the presence of bees. With support from South Bend’s Tri Kappa Foundation, we have built beehives at our farm to draw bees to our site and we’re also planting pollinator gardens and have areas on our farm that have been planted with bees in mind. We are happy to do our part to protect, nurture, and develop the pollinator population, and hope you’ll do the same!
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Trees, Glorious Trees!

7/1/2018

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At Green Bridge Growers, we care a lot about the earth, and that includes trees. Trees have many benefits for the environment. They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, helping to slow or reverse climate change. They also help cool the air around them by releasing water vapor into the air, acting as a natural air conditioner. Also, trees planted around houses can reduce heating costs by 10-15% by acting as a windbreak, and their shading and evaporative cooling effects can reduce air conditioning costs by 20-50%.

Trees also help absorb pollution from the air. They can absorb airborne particulates and reduce smog. This is especially important in urban areas, and can help improve a city’s respiratory health.

There is also a link between the presence of trees in neighborhoods and lower crime rates in the neighborhoods. Also, studies have shown that patients with trees outside their windows heal faster. In addition, children with ADHD show fewer symptoms when they are exposed to trees and to nature.

At Green Bridge, we have planted several trees on our property. We have planted a few small evergreens next to the barn at our site on highway 331, and we have also planted some trees at Hannah & Friends, including tulip trees, sugar maples, plum trees, and Canaan firs. My favorite is the sugar maples, because I’m looking forward to using them to get maple syrup when they get big enough.

Please plant trees of your own! It’s a great way to help the environment.
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Greens and More Greens at Green Bridge Growers!

5/22/2018

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So much is growing at the Green Bridge Growers expansion site in Mishawaka! We continue fully outfitting our aquaponics system with additional vertical grow towers, and the plants we’ve been tending and “overwintering” since late last year are flourishing and taste great. Here’s the inside scoop on what’s happening on the farm with Matt and Chris sharing their impressions, and Darren of Logan Center doing the interview to help everyone get an excellent idea of all the growth underway.

Darren: What’s growing at the farm right now?
Matt: Regular kale and red Russian kale.
Chris: We also have some spinach growing there as well, growing alongside the kale.
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D: How are the plants doing inside our high tunnel, the greenhouse where we grow in soil?
M: They’re doing pretty good.
C: Yeah, they look like they’re coming along really nicely.  Some of the kale is getting really big right now. And they taste great because these plants took in a lot of extra sugars having been tended during the colder winter months.
D: Great, can you describe it, the look of the greenhouse?
C: I’d say the kale is enormous,  like a couple feet high, don’t you think?
Matt:  Definitely.  The thing I’m focusing on right now is getting our system in balance, and handling some algae issues with our gutters. The plants look terrific.

Darren: What are you guys doing these days for your work?  What sort of jobs do you do, you know, like, when you’re at Green Bridge?  What needs to be done?
M: Well, for me, for example, I’m handling the bolting of our plants - that means trimming certain flowers on kale.
C: Yeah, to trim the flowers on the kale so that the energy doesn’t all go into the flowers, so that it can go into the leaves.  And we are really working to get a handle on maintaining our system and cleaning out any algae the system might produce.

D: Okay, tell me why that’s important. Why do you guys clean out algae?
C: I guess it’s to make sure the fish get enough oxygen. Algae takes oxygen away from the fish and out of the system. The cleaner our vertical growing tower gutters are, the better things are all around when you grow aquaponically.
M: The gutters are important! We have to make sure the water as we have it plumbed will run smoothly through the system, and each cluster of towers has their own gutters. So overall cleanliness and sanitation is very important in farming and in aquaponics. Our equipment will last longer the more we keep it clean, too.

D: What do you each like to contribute or add to the farm with your special skills and talents
M: Well, for me it would be business, like thinking of ideas, marketing, what can we do to improve the products, and asking for other businesses to use our products. Sharing our story and social mission, for sure.
C: I studied organic farming so I know a good amount about farming and organic farming and how to grow the crops.  And Matt also says I’m really good at--being really precise at planting seeds.
M: That’s true.

D: Is there anything else that you do outside of the marketing aspects and recruiting?  As far as your customers?
Matt: Well, all I do is just basically give them--just tell them about awareness about--not just for the business but also about the autism part too and how we are using our talents to grow good food.  Like for example, Down to Earth, we developed a business relationship with them. They’re an organic store. And we’re still working with them.

D: So what are some of the things you’ll tell people when you’re out and you’re trying to tell the story Green Bridge? What are some of the things that you would say?
C:  First off, that we’re a sustainable farm and that we do a unique method called aquaponics.
M: We believe in growing organic and do not use pesticides.  So most importantly, we can offer people fresh and healthy plants without using pesticides in our system. Our food is tasty, and it is grown with the talents of people with autism.

D: What are your hopes for Green Bridge Growers?
M: To expand - maybe to other locations and cities, possibly down the road.  Get multiple restaurants to use our stuff. And looking forward to big things with money.
C: Yeah, I really like organic farming and I like being able to use my talents to grow crops, and yeah, I’m also looking forward to bigger things with money as well.

D: What would you like others to know about why it’s a smart idea to hire people with autism?
M: That we have different intelligences, and strengths.  Chris is “book smart”, and I am “street smart.”
D: So what do you mean by that?
M: Well, book smart is to have a knowledge of organic farming.  Chris knows what to do, and how to keep the product going. Street smart for me is telling people--telling businesses about our ideas and trying to spread it to restaurants, stores...you know, using economic knowledge, using money.

D: What do you think about that, Chris?  He always says you’re more book smart--
Chris: Oh yeah, I guess that’s kind of true.  I was always fortunate to be one of the top people in my classes in school. I like learning.
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D: So give me a sales pitch.  You guys know what a sales pitch is?
Matt: Oh I know what it is.
Darren: All right, so give me a sales pitch about Green Bridge Growers.  I want to buy some stuff.
Matt: Well, for beginners, Green Bridge, we care about using non-pesticide for our business, and it’s local, and we have a greenhouse, we have an aquaponics system, and we can use those plants, not just for business, but also--you can also understand the plants themselves.  And we can also use--not just for restaurants, but we also make for ourselves too, like you can make tea, kale chips, etc. And basically what we grow is local, not from another state. What we grow are home-grown plants from this area.
​Chris: Yeah, and in addition to it being local and  not being shipped in from another part of the country like much conventional farming is -- what makes Green Bridge unique is first of all, the fact that we use aquaponics, which is really sustainable and  that uses 90% less water, but also that we employ people on the autism spectrum. We are entrepreneurs.

Darren: What do you like about working with people on the autism spectrum?
C: First of all, I myself am on the autism spectrum, so I like associating with people that are similar to me, so there’s that.  What about you, Matt?
M: Basically the same thing.  The only difference is that his specialties lie on science, and my specialty relies on business. People with autism have a lot of skills, and putting those skills to work.

​D: So do you think there’s more opportunity out there for other people on the autism spectrum to work with you all?
M: Yes.
C: Yes, I think so. We’ve gotten a few of my friends on the autism spectrum saying they would  want to join Green Bridge, so yeah, I think so.

D: Do you think they can contribute different ideas or things to the company?
M: Yes--
C: I think so.
M: --They can.
D: How so?
M: Well, there’s going to be some ideas that we already said, they may have something to offer that’s unique. Because sometimes when you’ve got multiple minds, it could lead to greatness, and I believe that we always want to hear everybody’s perspective to build a team.
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The Autism Advantage

4/10/2018

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​To mark Autism Acceptance Month, GBG highlights the capacity of those on the autism spectrum to contribute their amazing gifts to the workplace. More and more, entrepreneurial ventures are being created worldwide to foster the growth and talents of autistic young adults. And now, traditional employers are discovering the benefits of hiring autistic workers and are incorporating them into specialized training programs and interview processes tailored to their strengths.
 
This CBS Sunday Morning feature on “Good Work” targets the benefits and value of hiring autistic workers. We share it with you to shine a light on why it’s clearly an advantage for businesses to hire inclusively and put the potential of autistic individuals to work.
 
At least 80% of adults with autism are unemployed, and the figure is often thought to be as high as 90%. And in the next decade, the situation will only become more serious - half a million autistic individuals will become adults and “age out” of available services and supports.
For many with autism, the biggest challenge is to get past the interview stage of applying for jobs. But at a number of corporations, things are changing.
 
Jennie LaFleury, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft and herself profoundly deaf, developed a hiring program to bring more individuals with disabilities into their workforce. “For us, this is an opportunity to bring tremendous talent to the corporation. People with disabilities are a source of strength, a force of nature,” she said. “And autistic workers have a terrific ability to recognize patterns, pay attention to detail, and offer so many new insights.”
 
A cooperative program based in California, created by the German company SAP in alliance with firms such as EY and Ford, has brought 128 individuals on the spectrum into the workforce. One of the starting points for these companies is the importance of looking past differences, and developing vetting programs for employees that focus on problem-solving and collaboration. Employees are assigned mentors, and ongoing training in “soft skills” like workplace social skills is an ongoing feature of employment for those with autism.  Autistic employees are not set adrift, and the training provided when employees are hired is extensive. A welcome feature are the numerous opportunities for socializing and making friends with other autistic employees.  
 
What’s the best part of approaches like this? “Hope,” said one of Microsoft’s newly hired software engineers, an autistic software engineer named Christopher. “I like using my skills and being surrounded by people who understand and support me and think I’ve got a lot to contribute.”
 
GBG works right here in our community to develop the capacity of those with autism to contribute their skills and put their gifts and potential to work. We are happy to share this excellent video with our supporters to highlight the enormous abilities of those with autism related to the workplace – most certainly, a true autism advantage. ​
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Disability Awareness: It’s Not Optional

3/16/2018

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For Disability Awareness Month this March, Green Bridge Growers had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a weeklong series of panels and workshops at Saint Mary’s College dedicated to the theme of disability awareness. One particular speaker, Kevin Callaghan, particularly touched us with his powerful message of inclusion, breaking barriers, and leading a full, accomplished life as a disabled adult. Kevin leads an extremely active life, is employed, owns and drives a car, and serves as a mentor to others with disabilities. With his permission, we are sharing highlights of his Saint Mary’s College presentation to demonstrate the potential and capabilities of those with disabilities – Kevin is truly a treasure!

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Good afternoon! I would like to share some stories with you today about myself.
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I was diagnosed as mild intellectually disabled. Labels!! Does this mean I can’t do things just like anyone else? No! I can and have done a lot, just at a slower pace. I was able to learn how to crawl, walk and talk just like you, but at a later age. I learned how to ride a bike, swim (I even know how to do the breaststroke and butterfly stroke). I can drive a car, I live in my own apartment. I am very self-sufficient. It wasn’t easy though. I had to work harder to accomplish a lot of my goals. 

Being bullied and teased by my peers was the hardest part. I could not understand why they didn’t want to be my friend. Even before I attended school, when my parents took my younger brother (who is also mildly intellectually disabled) and I to a playground we would be teased. My parents would be very upset and talk to the kids that were teasing us and explain how some children are different than others, but in the end, we all wanted the same thing. We wanted to play and have fun at the playground just like they did.


We moved to Indiana when I was 7 years old. Thankfully my parents chose a neighborhood that had kids my age. My parents made friends with the other neighbors quickly. Their children were a little hesitant at first to form a friendship with my brother and I, but once we got to know each other, we found out we had a lot of things in common and we became the best of friends. Most have moved away now, have families of their own, but we keep in touch.

School was difficult at first. The bullying and teasing by my peers continued. My friends from the neighborhood tried to help me out whenever they were there at the time of the teasing. As I got older, teasing was less, but there was always that one bully that was relentless.

I loved learning, but certain subjects in school were harder for me to understand, such as English and Math. I loved Social Studies and Science. Social Studies was my favorite subject. Before GPS was available, I used to read road atlases all the time. My parents never needed a map when I was traveling with them as I could tell them which roads to take without looking at the atlas.

I joined Special Olympics when I was 8 years old. It helped me in many ways. I always enjoyed running, and I liked competing. Being able to compete against other athletes with similar abilities, I began to feel like an athlete. It also gave me confidence!
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I decided to try out for my high school's cross-country team. As a sophomore, I was the slowest guy on the team; but, I had a great coach who didn't care about what I couldn't do. He only cared about what I could do. With Coach's encouragement, I qualified for the 300-mile Club! Before you knew it, I started passing guys. By the time I was a senior, I was the fastest runner on the team and was voted the MVP at the end of the season. My personal best was running an 18:02 on the 5K course at Culver Military Academy. Would you ever guess a Special Olympics athlete could do something like that?

But, the highlight of my running career was yet to come. Seven years ago, I competed for Team USA in the Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece. I ran on the same track that Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Hicham Al Guerrouj of Morocco ran in the Olympics in 2004. I competed against some of the best Special Olympics athletes in the world and was very happy to win a Bronze medal.

But today, I am 33 years old and have struggled to maintain my health. When I ran in high school I was 6'4" and weighed 140 pounds! I've gained almost 10 pounds a year since high school. I now understand what too many microwave dinners and too much Mountain Dew will do for you, and now I am again working to stay on the road to good health.

I work three-part time jobs. I am employed at Mary Max Theater in Logansport, taking tickets, filling up ice and soda machines and various other duties. I also work for Pepsi, stocking shelves at Wal-Mart and Martin’s Supermarket. Occasionally, ARC of Indiana receives a grant from the State of Indiana that allows me to interview disabled people (not all are intellectually disabled) to see how they are doing in a nursing home or group home setting.

I love music and attend a lot of concerts and have met many bands after their performance. Last year I received my license for Scuba Diving and I am looking forward to diving at Epcot DiveQuest in their large aquarium later this month and in the Caribbean in a few months.

Recently, I traveled to DC as a Health Messenger for Special Olympics, meeting with senators and diplomats. I want to help other athletes and individuals like me, with their health.

My parents have always said “Live life to the fullest”. I would like to think I have at this point, but I know there are many more life adventures ahead of me and more ways to live fully and to the best of my potential.
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Autism Entrepreneurship

1/15/2018

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We are grateful to Genomind for their original blogpost about autism entrepreneurship and Green Bridge Growers, which we offer here to provide background about our work and mission and the great need for meaningful employment for those on the autism spectrum. 

Managing Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Entrepreneur’s Success Story 

If you travel to north central Indiana, you can go to Green Bridge Growers, a commercial greenhouse filled with herbs, lettuces and sunflowers. At the site you’ll meet Chris Tidmarsh, a 30-year-old entrepreneur with degrees in chemistry, environmental studies, the French language and a robust passion for agriculture.

Chris also happens to have autism. He’s one of the 3.5 million Americans who live with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

After being abruptly fired from an environmental research job because of his difficulties communicating, Chris and his mother, Jan Pilarski, teamed up to create Green Bridge.

“There is a deep, deep need for hope and jobs,” Jan said. She often shares the story of her and her son’s success with other parents whose children have autism to illustrate that a successful career is possible.

Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Chris’ path is similar to that of others who are building their own businesses—he possesses the knowledge and vision to accomplish his goal. On the job, he acts as a mentor to those who work with him, and his hard work and dedication are paying off. In the fiscal year 2018, Green Bridge is projecting a revenue of $80,000 and profit of $30,000.

Unlike other entrepreneurs, Chris encounters a number of daily challenges. He has a difficult time assessing tasks, delegating them to others and executing his vision. While he dreamed up Green Bridge, he leans on his mother and network of support to fulfill his vision.

His story resembles that of other entrepreneurs who have ASD. Many have difficulties with executive functioning and may have a limited ability to follow rules of social interaction. Difficulty maintaining eye contact and reading facial expressions can create issues as an entrepreneur works to build up his or her business.

High-Functioning Autism in The Workplace
Adults who have ASD have an estimated 80% to 90% unemployment rate. “One of the ways people choose to address this is by creating a business that allows them to be self-employed,” says Angela Geiger, CEO of Autism Speaks, an advocacy and support organization.

By creating their own companies, people on the spectrum can develop a work environment that meets their comfort level. Entrepreneurs who have autism thrive in self-created workplaces and often find success through building a network of supporters.

To help someone on the spectrum achieve self-employment, supporters can identify and build on the individual’s skillset, instead of trying to change a behavior or push them to do something they can’t do.

Growing Up With Autism
Chris was diagnosed with autism as a preschooler. Since he was their first child, his mother says she and her husband didn’t notice certain behaviors that may have concerned a more experienced parent. As he grew up, his parents focused on immediate next steps–elementary school, middle school, high school and college.
After graduating college, Chris successfully landed his first job.

“I was doing a lot of office work and behind the computer. I’m not the best with that style,” he said. “They generally communicate verbally, and I’m more of a visual learner.”

His time as an environmental researcher didn’t last long and after just three months he was let go. Back at home, his parents noticed that his peers with degrees who were the spectrum were also unemployed.

“It was hard for us to have this young man with a lot of ability unable to use it,” said his father, Jay Tidmarsh. “That was really concerning. I really believe in the importance of work. It’s a part of who you are.”

During this time, Chris dug into his love of the earth and became a master gardener. From there, the idea of Green Bridge started to grow. He and his mother began researching viable business ideas. Together they visited several farms and a software business set up by a young man on the spectrum.
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​Beating The Autism Workplace Odds
With the help of his family, Chris began to develop an idea for his business. One key component was for him to offer training for others who have autism. Jan applied to a program designed to help startup social enterprises through her alma mater, Notre Dame.

During their presentation, Chris spoke about the difficulty people who have autism face when trying to find work. The result? They won the social-impact prize, which provided $15,000.

From there, Chris and Jan met with farmers and wholesalers to determine market potential and set a course for business development and expansion.

The success of Green Bridge Growers has helped Chris in a number of ways. He’s more comfortable conducting tours of the greenhouse and speaks about communication challenges that those on the autism spectrum face in front of large audiences. He’s also moved out of his parents house and is living with a friend who is also on the spectrum.

“My goal is to be self-sufficient,” Chris said. He’s thrilled by the progress Green Bridge has made so far and is optimistic about the future.

“It does provide hope not just for me, but others on the autism spectrum to find and keep jobs,” he says. “I think I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.”

Read about Chris’ entrepreneurial success here.
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    About Us

    Green Bridge Growers is a social enterprise created to put to work the many gifts and skills of young adults with autism.  Our founders, Chris and Jan, are building an exciting venture that grows fresh local food and grows great jobs for autistic adults. We invite you to learn about us and follow our work! 

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61591 Bremen Highway
Mishiwaka IN 46544

574-310-8190
info@greenbridgegrowers.org
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