Outback Student Farm - Our first visit was to The Outback student farm at Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington. Here we met with Matia, Western Student and Outback coordinator.
Some of the highlights of this farm that we would like to see incorporated in our own include; the ability to hire work study students, making donations to food banks, having a prime location on campus, and regular seed swaps. They have community members come into the farm to teach workshops. Recently they had a workshop on mushroom cultivation for their students.
The location of the farm in between two dormitories leads to a great deal of foot traffic, which is good for farm recognition but also results in the loss of some tools and produce. Due to lack of summer students the farm has seen some gaps in care. Some faculty integrate the farm into their courses and some offer extra credit to their students to volunteer. We met several students who were exposed to farming for the first time through these extra credit opportunities. Some were clearly unenthusiastic about their having to be there, but others were surprised at how much they enjoyed learning about the farm and thought they would continue to grow vegetables, beans, and possibly fruit in the future. There however is no actual class based around the farm, but some years students join together to do a group independent study that incorporates the farm. A formal class would help to resolve some of the lack of continuity in student involvement in the farm.
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