Alumni Spotlight - Eric Wooldridge

"Abintra's learning environment helped nurture my independence and leadership skills, which have helped me run my own business and better serve my community."

-- Eric, Farm Manager

Eric Wooldridge, Abintra class of 1999, has been a farm manager at Bells Bend Farms in Nashville since the farm's creation in 2009. During his interview Eric spoke fondly about Abintra and passionately about his work on the farm. Read his answers below, and to learn more about Bells Bend Farms and opportunities to get involved, click here.

Abintra: What is your favorite part about working at Bells Bend Farms?

Eric: Many aspects of my work are good, from creating local jobs to helping keep this rural community agricultural. At the core of this, however, is simply enjoying good food. I'm honored to be able to feed myself, my family, my neighbors, and even those I don't know nutritious, local, sustainably-grown food. All the stress and hard work is put in perspective when I can appreciate the most basic reason for what I am doing--and it tastes great.

Eric as an elementary student at Abintra

Abintra: How did your time at Abintra influence your future experiences? 

Eric: I am often grateful to have spent many formative years at Abintra. Although I feel I already had a strong sense of independence, Abintra's learning environment helped nurture this attribute. I believe I also gained important leadership skills in these early years. Both have certainly helped me run my own business and better serve my community. 

Abintra: What is your favorite Abintra memory?

Eric: The woods at Abintra bring back lots of good memories. I've always loved the outdoors and remember the woods at Abintra being a calming place of retreat, much as the woods surrounding me are now. 

Abintra: Do you have any other community projects you're working on?

Eric: I am on the board of the Beaman Park to Bells Bend Conservation Corridor, a non-profit that aims to protect our small, rural community from unwanted, short-sighted development. We host a great farm-to-table fundraiser each fall and are always creating new ways to raise awareness about Nashville's last prime farmland and the need to protect it. I also receive much help from my neighbors in the form of equipment, labor, and good advice. I give them all the food they can eat in exchange, the way I imagine folks have worked together for a long, long time.  When a farm operates in this way, it seems hard for it to not be a "community project."