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The Geneva Peeps egg cooperative is made up of 67 (give or take) Geneva residents. We are small business owners and third-graders. We are race directors and amateur astronomers and teachers, graphic designers and actors, toddlers and stay-at-home parents. We are volunteer firefighters and engineers, tee-ball coaches and members of the church choir. We come from all walks of life and all corners of Geneva. Some of us were born and raised in Geneva; others have chosen the city as a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Most of us did not know each other before we joined.
On a May evening, we gathered for a public meeting at the Geneva Neighborhood Resource Center. Some of us saw one of the posters that were hung up all around the city; others heard by word of mouth. We met one another and discussed the rules that would guide the cooperative and the values we wanted to uphold. Our children took part in the discussions, too; look for them at future City Council meetings, because they are tomorrow's active citizens. The ones who will do for themselves, and not tell others what they should do, shrug their shoulders when nothing gets done, or criticize the efforts of those who are engaged.
Our plan was to raise a small flock of chickens (quiet hens, not roosters) in the city limits. Each member or member family would take one shift each week caring for the hens, letting them out of the coop in the morning, or putting them in at night, making sure they had everything they needed to be healthy and happy. Our first task was to organize a cleanup of the State Street lot. With help from across the community, we hauled thousands of pounds of scrub and garbage from the site, transforming it from an eyesore to an attractive green space. We built a coop and an enclosure and organized our weekly shifts and coop-cleaning assignments.
Once our hens start laying, we will be rewarded with a share of fresh, natural eggs. For many of us, however, the intangible rewards are even more valuable. Community. Pride of place. Self-sufficiency. Watching our children learn responsibility and appreciation for where our food comes from and how much work it takes to bring it to the table.
Our project is just one example of the wider urban farming movement. Hundreds of cities across the country, from big metropolises like Portland and New York to smaller ones like Owego and Saratoga Springs, have rewritten city ordinances to allow for the raising of backyard hens. These cities are facing the realities of post-industrial America by reinventing themselves. Backyard hens are a little part of that equation, helping to rejuvenate tired soil and build community. We want to be part of it.
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