Student Sustainability Projects
Students Help Build Greenhouse
Sustainable Living students enrolled on the University's new track in sustainable agriculture — a six-month program in community supported agriculture (CSA) — participated in the construction of a 35-by-96-foot greenhouse, a "barn-raising" event organized by the nonprofit organization Practical Farmers of Iowa.
The two-day workshop took place on Abbe Hill Farm near Mount Vernon, Iowa, and was funded by a grant that made the workshop free of charge, including food and refreshments.
The large hoophouse construction was headed by Michigan State University expert Adam Montri. Those attending were mainly small-scale farmers, CSA farmers, and people with an interest in farming.
"I received the information about this workshop just a few days before the course started, but it was only logical to incorporate it into our curriculum," said CSA track instructor Alex Kachan. "It was a rare opportunity to give our students much needed real-world experience in the area of CSA farming and community building."
And student Nic Hardcastle said, "I really liked working with strangers on a common goal. By the end of the workshop they weren't strangers any more."
And Elisabet Humble said, "I enjoyed seeing the process of how a greenhouse is constructed from the frame up. And the networking was also fabulous."
The six-month CSA Track was created to give students deep practical knowledge and skills in low-energy, sustainable food production using the CSA model, and a comprehensive understanding of how to grow soil and crops in a truly ecological way. The students are running the Abundance CSA Farm and membership program, with 16 local families currently enrolled as CSA members.
The Sustainable Living Department will host a community presentation about biointensive farming and passive solar greenhouse design given by visiting expert Steve More of the Center of Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina State University, who will be teaching the Sustainable Living students for a week.
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