Sustainable agriculture education in the liberal arts? The case for instituting an experiential agroecological curriculum at Willamette University's Zena Farm

Background/Question/Methods

At its best, the liberal arts education frees one from habits, traditions, or expectations that limit the imagination and opens one to new avenues of thought, possibilities, actions, and behaviors.  At Willamette University, one way we are opening a new avenue for our students is by fostering the development of a student-run farm.  Empowering students from all majors with the knowledge and skill-sets needed to be real decision makers on the farm has necessitated the implementation of an experiential agroecological curriculum through our Summer Institute in Sustainable Agriculture.  This curriculum meets the rigor of our liberal arts program while immersing students in practical applications of sustainable agriculture.  While living in the 1910 farmhouse at Zena, students take academic courses that compel them to interrogate the meaning of “sustainability.”  Through their farm work, students experience the entire process of growing fruits and vegetables.  Students also visit other farms, suppliers, food processing facilities, and markets to understand what is needed to create a sustainable community food system.  Each facet of our program is well integrated with the others, so we can critically examine the concept of sustainable agriculture in the field, in the classroom, and while visiting other sites. 

 

Results/Conclusions

With this multi-faceted approach to exploring sustainable agriculture, we are able to engage all types of learners, expose students to new avenues of thought, challenge students to change their habits, and open students’ minds to new possibilities.  After two summers, we have learned that the hands-on experiential nature of the Summer Institute is appealing to students from across the campus.  To date we have had students majoring in Anthropology, Economics, English, Environment and Earth Sciences, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, and Theater.  Through a qualitative assessment of our end-of-session surveys, we strongly believe that the knowledge students have gained through the program has had an effect in changing their behaviors with regards to their choices around food.  Additionally, several have conducted or are conducting senior theses on topics about sustainability and two have indicated a desire to pursue farming as a career.  Though these numbers are small, at a liberal arts school with 1800 undergraduates, they are, nevertheless, meaningful.  By attracting students from a variety of majors with an experiential agroecological curriculum, we are empowering a cadre of well-informed citizens with the tools needed to begin to create sustainable food systems in their communities.