THIS MONTH: ZAAC CHAVEZ

He cleans up real nice before waiting tables at ThanksLiving 2007.

Unstoppable and Hardcore. That’s how we would describe our pal and long-time volunteer Zaac Chaves, who comes regularly all the way from Southern Connecticut to help out whenever he can at the farm. This uber-environmentalist is known for his freegan antics, wild mushroom knowledge, long-distance biking, couch surfing, home-made tire shoes (and strikingly beautiful blue eyes, *sigh*).

Put a pitchfork in this guy’s hands and watch him go! Zaac proved his dedication to WFAS starting in 2005 while we were still building the sanctuary. As part of his environmentalism and general disdain for things corporate, he chooses not to own a car and so when he can’t find a ride from our other awesome Southern, CT contingency of volunteers he hops on his bike and heads up. We’re not joking. And once here he might stop for a breather but minutes later is looking for a task.

He forages in our forest for wild mushrooms and cooks ‘em up for all to eat, washes dishes, cooks some more, heads back out to the farm to muck some more and on and on. He cracks us up and is truly a welcome fixture at the farm. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the freeganism, he’s an employed college graduate! And one who obviously loves the earth and all her various inhabitants.