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Haverfarm

2015 Annual Report

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Haverfarm Annual Report 2015

Presented by Aubrey DeLone, Haverfarm Manager

With input from Claudia Kent (Assistant Director of Facilities Management

Sustainability & Grounds) and Helen K. White (Assistant Professor of Chemistry &

Director of Environmental Studies)

Contents

Haverfarm Mission……………………………………….3

Haverfarm Workers………………………………………4

Collaborations with Student Groups…….………...6

Community Outreach…………………..……………….8

Sharing the Harvest…………………………………......9

Connections to the Curriculum……………………..10

Buzz on Bees…………………...…………………………..11

Haverfarm by the Numbers...………………………..12

Haverfarm Financial Review…...…………………...13

Reflections…………………………………………………..14

Looking Forward………………………………………….16

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Haverfarm Mission

The Haverfarm is a year round farming and educational space designed to integrate sustainable food and agriculture into the academic and extracurricular lives of Haverford students, faculty, staff, and community members. With a focus on interdisciplinary and experiential learning, the Haverfarm invites students and other members of the community to engage with issues of food justice and local, progressive agriculture. Produce is distributed to students, community members, the dining center and local food banks.

Abby Fullem ‘16 and Allison Love ‘18

harvesting peppers on a Sunday.

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Haverfarm Workers

The Haverfarm is managed by Aubrey DeLone who coordinates all farming-related activities. During the semester, students work on the farm through a student-run internship program. In the summer, one student intern funded by the Center for Peace

and Global Citizenship (CPGC), works on the farm. All students gain experience in

planning, crop selection, planting, growing and harvesting. Through these practices students acquire leadership skills and develop relationships with the surrounding community.

Paige Carson ‘18 and Jessie Smart ‘18 covering crops on

the Haverfarm before the first frost

Farm Manager, Aubrey DeLone

Farm Advisor, Adrian Galbraith-Paul

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Claudia Kent (Assistant Director of Facilities Management) serves as liaison to the Haverfarm to ensure immediate needs are met. Aubrey, Claudia and Helen White (Professor of Chemistry and Director of Environmental Studies) meet every week to review the current progress and future opportunities for the Haverfarm. Adrian Galbraith-Paul (Heritage Farm, Philadelphia) advises Aubrey and students on Haverfarm operations.

Helen White

Claudia Kent Shoshana Rybeck, high school student volunteer

Jasper Ajoupa ‘18, Abby Fullem ‘16 and Alison Love ‘18

Meghan Wingate ‘17

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Every Sunday there are workdays where 10-15

students help with planting, weeding, harvesting,

cover-cropping and laying row cover to protect the

crops from frost. Farm consultant, Adrian Galbraith-

Paul, often attends these workdays to provide expert

advice. Adrian has taught Aubrey and students how to

use a 4 row precision seeder, bed rake and how to

manage production of baby greens. He also led a

workshop discussing outdoor mushroom cultivation,

which led to the establishment of a mushroom growing operation at the Haverfarm.

The Haverfarm hosted two 8th Dimension service days with 40 first year students

attending to help clean up the farm and HCA garden. Aubrey also recruited the

Womens’ Cross Country team to help with bed preparation and planting.

Collaborations With Student Groups

Planting garlic to overwinter.

Building hoop houses for winter greens

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Students from several groups including the Haverfarm, E-Haus, ETHOS and the

Haverfarm PE class gathered for a dinner at E-Haus led by Abby Fullem ’16 (head chef). Over 130 Haverford students enjoyed the meal. The goal of the meal was to spread awareness about the different environmental groups on campus.

E-Haus farm dinner

ETHOS hosts food day on Founders Green

Students plant Broccoli

on a Friday night

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Community Outreach

During the summer, a weekly farm stand

provides produce for students at the

Haverford College Apartments (HCA),

and at Founders Great Hall for faculty,

staff, and community members. In

August, the Haverfarm hosted an end of

season potluck to share and celebrate the

harvest with members and friends of the

Haverford Community Gardens.

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Sharing the Harvest

Haverfarm donates to Saint Mary’s food bank whenever the harvest allows. Over the summer, Aubrey and Meghan worked with Shoshana Rybeck, a high school volunteer to maintain the farm and clear an area for a farm meeting space. They also worked with summer campers in the garden. In the fall, Esteban Kelly, an important

leader and creative force in food justice and co-op movements in Philadelphia,

visited the Haverfarm to discuss community outreach possibilities.

Meghan Wingate ‘17 and Farm Manager Aubrey Delone

harvesting baby greens for the St. Mary’s Food Bank

Esteban Kelly, Guest speaker from Anti-Oppression

Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA)

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Connections to the Curriculum

Since Fall 2015 Haverfarm has collaborated with these courses:

ENVS101 Case Studies in Environmental Issues

ENVS397 Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies

ANTH224 Microbes--Animals--Humans: Ethnographic Adventures in

Multispecies Worlds

Chris Roebuck and his Anthropology class at the Haverfarm

Spring 2016 Curriculum connections:

ANTH309: Anthropology and Urban Ecology

BIO 300: Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology

Praxis III: Independent Study-Bryn Mawr College

HLTHH115: Introduction to Health Studies

PE Credit: Students meet with Aubrey DeLone twice a week to earn PE credit

and learn garden basics including:

- Bed preparation

- Seeding , transplanting and weeding

- Harvesting

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The Buzz on Bees

Eli St. Amour,

Beekeeper

In spring 2015, Haverford College received two beehives. Eli St. Amour, a local

apiarist, provided hives, materials and educational workshops to students

interested in beekeeping. This program is geared towards students who will work hands-on with Eli to care for the hives and to educate the campus community about the importance of this threatened pollinator. The farm is planning to add more hives and programming in the spring of 2016.

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Haverfarm by the numbers

0.25 acres maintained

10 Campus dining deliveries

12 Farm stand weeks

23 Drop-offs to St Mary’s food bank

240 Summer student intern hours

208 Semester student intern hours

257 Volunteer hours

3 Class visits

206 students on Haverfarm email list

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Haverfarm Financial Review

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Student Reflections

The farm is a testament to the love and collaboration of students, teachers, gardeners, beekeepers, cooks, plumbers, architects and carpenters, groundskeepers and administrators. What other project on campus has brought together so many different kinds of people? My involvement with the farm was the most educational and meaningful part of my experience at Haverford and I feel overwhelmed by gratitude and excitement as I watch my old friends and their new friends continue to rock it. Alanna Matteson ‘15

The most meaningful parts of working with the Haverfarm came from the opportunities for experiential learning in both the CPGC garden internship program, and the ENVS Capstone Seminar. Through a number of hands-on projects in both programs, I learned to think about the intersection of agriculture, community organizing and institutional advancement. Stuart Hean ‘14

The most meaningful part of working at the Haverfarm was that I was engaging with academic issues that I studied in class--such as environmental degradation, climate change, and local economies--in a hands-on way that was truly making a difference on my campus and in the world. I believe that combining the theoretical with the practical is crucial to a well-rounded education, and the Haverfarm gave me that opportunity. David Robinson ‘14

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One of my favorite experiences from the farm has been harvesting produce and bringing it to the dining center. In the fall, we met one or two mornings a week to pick tomatoes, kale, peppers, mint, eggplants, and everything else that was ripe. The crisp morning air wakes us up as we bend over dew-covered plants with our harvesting knives or lean shoulder-deep into a cherry tomato plant. Carrying our box loaded with produce, we ran into students and dining center employees who were excited by the vegetables. Questions like “You grew that?” “are we going to eat those?” make me feel the connection between the dining center, the student body, the food we are eating, and the land we are living on. Alison Love ‘18

During my summer as a CPGC intern, I learned about sustainable agriculture, pursued my

individual interests in farming, and found a potential profession doing meaningful and important work. I have become more deeply connected with my food and found a more tangible way to think about my academic studies The farm reflects Haverford's values as it engages the community in issues of social

justice and teaches about sustainable practices. As the farm continues to grow, it will only be able to do this more thoroughly and m e a n i n g f u l l y . Meghan Wingate ‘17

I have enjoyed seeing farm projects through to their completion. This began my first year when the farm was just an idea and I got to help plan, plant and harvest the first crop. Since then, I have been able to see ideas from brainstorming sessions, like farm stands, screen printing t-shirts, hiring a farm manager and consultant, ordering tons of compost, hosting joint dinners with environmental groups and building a greenhouse, come into fruition. The ability to watch projects be developed and occur, as well as making connections with people and the earth, has been one of my favorite parts of the Haverfarm. Abby Fullem ‘16

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Looking Forward

Develop benchmarks for harvest

Spring and summer Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA)

Greenhouse and Environmental Studies work

space

Design and implement garden education curriculum with summer camps

Collaborate with and supporte nearby school gardens

Additional beehives

Signage for Haverfarm and HCA garden

High tunnel for extending growing season

New tool shed

Improve drip and overhead irrigation systems

Cobb pizza oven at HCA.

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Thank You!

ENVS 397 class of 2013 and numerous Haverford College students

and alumni, Initiative in Ethical Engagement and Leadership,

CPGC, CER, Haverford Beekeeping Club, Bricolage, EHAUS, Dan

Weiss, Kim Benston, Jesse Lytle, Mitch Wein, Ann Figueredo, Jon

Wilson, Joshua Moses, Chris Roebuck, LaFarm, Facilities

Management, Adrian Galbraith-Paul, Eli St. Amour.

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