Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katie Donohoe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

In 2015, Katie Donohoe founded a non-profit called Growing Minds Project that would help to bring the power of plants to more individuals. She conducted after school programs in North Charleston, McClellanville and Mount Pleasant. Then in 2017, Growing Minds truly began to grow. In 2018, Growing Minds helped to preserve the rich agricultural history of a nearly 5 acre farm in the historic Phillips Community near Charleston, South Carolina. It was transformed from bare land into a non-profit demonstration farm showcasing permaculture in action. Therefore, this farm has not only taught the principles of permaculture but it has preserved a piece of history as well and through an upcoming conservation easement we will continue to do so for posterity.
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Previous to the farm, in 2009, Katie began the horticulture program at Wando High School, which was the largest school in the state at the time. She began with a trailer classroom, patch of dirt and a few donated seeds. Under the leadership of her award winning visionary principal, Lucy Beckham, she had no idea just what this pilot program had in store. The program was wildly popular and it grew by leaps and bounds over the years to come. Many students pursued horticultural degrees or went directly into the workforce upon graduation. Many others have continued to grow their own food regardless of their occupation. One student, Paul Millar, went on to pursue Horticulture at Clemson University and returned to his alma mater in 2022 to take over the horticulture program and teach in the same classroom where Katie taught him.

Originally focused on education-based programming, she is expanding farm offerings to include a broader range of healing modalities, fostering connections with nature, and creating spaces where people can come together to heal, grow, and celebrate. The mission is to cultivate a sense of belonging and transformation through retreats, workshops, and intimate gatherings. By blending the power of nature, community, and holistic wellness, we aim to provide a sanctuary where individuals can find balance, inspiration, and connection.

She is currently working to put a conservation easement on the land so that we can not only preserve the habitat of the beloved farm fireflies but this will also permanently limit development on the most ecologically diverse acre of this magical little farm. It is our hope that generations from now, this land will still be preserved for recreation, cultivation and a space to connect with nature in the middle of suburban Mount Pleasant.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The first year of the farm was spent building the infrastructure to house our chickens and goats as well as create covered spaces to serve as outdoor learning areas. Our first “school year” at the farm included field trips for K-12 students and a College of Charleston class called Sustainable Food Systems. This was the 2019-2020 school year which was abruptly shut down by the global pandemic in March of 2020. The farm had to make a complete shift for the following school year as the college class was cancelled and all field trips were put on hold indefinitely. After months without farm visitors, we pivoted to provide programming for homeschool families which became our primary focus for two school years until things returned to normal. During the 2024/2025 school year, we made the decision to transition from an educational farm to a healing farm with the addition of the Andy Quattlebaum Reflective Writing Trail which was the brain child of award winning artist, Danielle Howle. The trail i currently being utilized for songwriting workshops and grief counseling and we hope to incorporate it into more future activities and programming at the farm.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the lessons that I learned teaching in the brick and mortar classroom. Teaching outdoors is both liberating and challenging working with mother nature. Over the last seven years we have discovered the best programming that pairs with each unique season at the farm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.growingmindsfarm.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growmindsgrowfood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growmindsgrowfood/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdplants/