Course code:
This year-long course combines COA’s Food and Farming Workshop Series with a self-directed study in applied farming and food systems skills. COA’s annual Food & Farming Workshop Series offers experiential, placed-based skills training for students and the broader MDI community. Held at COA’s farms, community garden, and dining hall, workshop topics range from sheep shearing to chainsaw maintenance. Students enrolled in this course will help curate and coordinate the annual workshop series, participate in the workshops, and design and conduct an independent project on an applied food systems topic of their choice. Students will develop their independent project in collaboration with a faculty advisor and a farm and/or kitchen manager. Projects must be based at Beech Hill Farm, Peggy Rockefeller Farms, the COA Community Garden, or Take-a-Break. Possibilities might include but are not limited to: organic farm management, cover cropping, crop rotation, no-till agriculture, farm equipment mechanics, rare and endangered livestock breeds, value-added farm products, marketing and direct to consumer sales, seed saving, farm-to-school, seasonal menu planning, or institutional food acquisition. Students interested in fisheries and aquaculture are encouraged to discuss project possibilities with potential faculty and/or staff advisors. Students will be evaluated based on participation in and coordination of workshops, weekly meetings with advisors, an annotated bibliography, a series of reflection papers, and a cumulative independent project. This is a year-long course carrying a single credit. Students must be on campus for all three terms of the academic year and must participate in a minimum of eight workshops.
Prerequisites:
Application and permission of instructor.
Always visit the Registrar's Office for the official course catalog and schedules.
