On March 22, Goleta’s Fairview Gardens named Mark Tollefson — former head of the Wilderness Youth Project and a fifth generation farmer with experience in both education and permaculture — as its new executive director. Tollefson takes the reins as the nonprofit urban farm pursues a $2.5 million project to build housing for its employees, improves its education opportunities, expands its produce subscription program, and prepares for the August 21 harvest festival. “We’re gonna take our time,” said Tollefson of the garden, where some standard farming practices have irked neighbors in the past. “I’m a firm believer in ‘slow and steady wins the race.’”
