Meet Our School Farm Specialist
Greetings, y’all!
My name is Nichole Lupo (she/her) and I have the privilege of serving students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 as our School Farm Specialist. I graduated Cum Laude from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education; I started my career teaching music to students in Grades K-5, and I’ve been teaching in schools and for local non-profits for the last 25 years. Together with my husband Robert and daughter Cora, I joined the ANCS school family in 2016 as a proud Kindergarten parent, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the last nine years in this incredible community.
My very first job was helping my dad in our family’s quarter-acre home garden; believe it or not, I didn’t love it (only child problems, rather be playing in the woods, etc.). My first paying job was in a restaurant, and I continued that work at various establishments throughout high school, college, and even on the weekends when I began my teaching career. I spent several summers working on local farms, which got me curious about how I could combine my love of good food, working with children, and being outside as much as possible. When my husband and I moved to Atlanta in 2005, I began working for Chef Anne Quatrano at Floataway Cafe (RIP), Star Provisions, and at her homestead in Cartersville called Summerland Farm; those opportunities guided me to the amazing local food community here in the metro area.
In 2007, I began a three-year pilot in three schools with the Seeds of Nutrition Program, followed by several years creating and delivering Farm to School workshops for teachers with Georgia Organics. In 2012, I joined the staff at Wylde Center as the Farm to School Manager, where I taught students in City Schools of Decatur in their garden classrooms, implemented two district-wide taste tests each year, and managed high school summer interns at farms, restaurants, and farmers markets around Decatur and Atlanta. I also had the joy of supporting FoodCorps service members in their work in four APS elementary schools. In the Fall of 2021, after years of volunteering in the myriad ANCS gardens at elementary campus and middle campus, I joined the staff to launch our efforts at growing food and nurturing students on our school farm. While we get in-depth in learning about soil, plants, life cycles, and ecosystems, our greatest work is rooted in the stories of land, food, living things, and each other. We work daily to cultivate peace, listen deeply, and notice the little things.
When I’m not nerding out on plants/trees/food, you can likely find me hiking, camping, baking, watching, reading, listening, thinking, stretching, sipping coffee, and snuggling dogs–mine, yours, all the dogs. Please say hello when you see me on the farm or in the wild!
Nichole Lupo
Nichole joined the ANCS faculty in the Fall of 2021 as the School Farm Specialist. Prior to coming to ANCS she worked at the Wylde Center as the Farm to School Manager, where she taught students in City Schools of Decatur in their garden classrooms, implemented two district-wide taste tests each year, and managed high school summer interns at farms, restaurants, and farmers markets around Decatur and Atlanta.
