This is the second quarter of the spring-summer-fall organic farm cycle.
Are you interested in where food comes from, and how to make positive changes in the food system at the local scale to promote access to healthy, organic food? In this full-time, hands-on program, students will learn how successful organic farms can be highly productive, ecologically resilient, financially stable, and serve community needs while honoring traditional stewardship ethics.
This 10-week summer quarter program, located on The Evergreen State College Organic Farm, centers on student experiential learning in summer vegetable production and marketing. It will involve a diverse range of learning experiences, including physical work in the field, academic inquiry in the classroom, group and individual research, and interactions with local farmers and key stakeholders within the greater food system. Both 8- and 16-credit options are offered.
All students will be participating in organic vegetable production including the tasks associated with small-scale organic farming (4 credits) and undertaking a project involving experimentation and innovation on the farm (4 credits). Students who enroll for 16 credits will also attend weekly sessions on elements of agroecology and farming systems, while applying a participatory approach to understanding farming systems within the region through active engagement with local farms. Additionally, all students in the program will have the opportunity to build relationships within the greater food system through our membership with the Southwest Washington Food Hub - a multi-farm regional cooperative CSA focused on helping to build resilience and access to healthy local food in Thurston County.
This program is suited for students who can dedicate at least 24 hours per week to on-campus program work that is team oriented, physically rigorous, and academically demanding.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
All students may be awarded:
4 - Practices of Sustainable Agriculture
4 - Organic Agriculture Experimentation and Innovation
Students enrolled for 16 credits may, in addition, be awarded:
4 - Agroecology Systems Thinking
4 - Food and Farming Systems Practicum
Registration
Academic Details
Agriculture, Horticulture, Farm and Garden Management, Entrepreneurship, Agricultural Education, Community Food Systems
New students: $166 fee covers required lab fee ($100) and hand tools ($66).
Continuing students from spring: $100 fee covers required lab fee.
New students should contact faculty Ben Hunsdorfer, ben.hunsdorfer@evergreen.edu, and tell Ben if you already own a bypass hand pruner and hori hori, or if you need to opt into this tool purchase option
Approximately $100 for required textbooks