NUSC 1167 Spring Valley Farm

how many student farmers work there?

11

what do the student farmers learn/experience?

grow produce for dining services, explore regenerative agriculture, sustainable technologies, and community dynamics

How many hours do students there work?

10 a week

what types of farm work do they use?

weekly farm meetings, outreach, volunteering, planting, weeding, mulching, harvesting, etc.

who are their partners?

dining services, EcoHouse learning community, campus housing

what growing methods do they use?

integrated pest management, no-till farming, companion planting, crop rotation

Why are corn, squash, and beans grown together?

intercropping, squash acts as a ground cover, corn is a trellis for the beans which provide nitrogen to the soil

Haudenosaunee tribe

people of the long house, made it out of saplings/elm bark, housed many families of a single lineage

legend of the three sisters

three sisters considered special gifts from creator, “sustainers of life”, sisters should never be apart, should be planted, eaten, and celebrated together

benefits of harvesting seeds

self-sufficiency, biodiversity, help pollinators, quality control

What is the seed rematriation movement?

growing, indigenous-led effort to return ancestral heirloom and traditional plant seeds back to their communities of origin