China, Ecuador, Florida, and Goshen: Where Students Call Home
Long days, warm nights, humidity, plentiful rainfall, and the frequent engagement of students, interns, and summer researchers at Rieth Village. This is June, the pinnacle calendar month for our beloved Agroecology Summer Intensive and an important month for Merry Lea Sustainable Farm.
June began with the move-in of a dozen college students, blessing the grounds at Rieth Village with lawn games, activities in the vegetable beds, Sunday evening vespers, field research, and occasional kayaking on Kesling wetland. This year, the residential community contained a balance of interns,Maple Scholars from Goshen College, Merry Lea researchers, and ASI students. Compared to the previous summer, the social atmosphere felt busier although the weather was cloudier.
June at Rieth Village has a predictable rhythm: morning lectures, afternoon field work, and a weekly field trip day (Integrated Sessions, we call them) to nearby farms and food enterprises in our region. Starting the second day, students in the Agroecology Summer Intensive dive into two courses, a Vegetable Production course and a Soil Properties & Management course. Interwoven are opportunities to learn skills ranging from building up and emptying out compost piles, using and maintaining garden tools, identifying weeds and insects, as well as planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting vegetables at the farm. Laboratory exercises, both indoor and outdoor, give students chances to explore soil properties and the abundance of soil types found on Merry Lea property. (And students soon learn about the names behind the buildings they occupy—Oshtemo, Washtenaw, and Pewamo…). The days are dense with study, work, play, and worship. And yes, there are quizzes, homework, and the occasional exam!
Who doesn’t love an all-day field trip? Students and faculty both enjoy the chance to meet local farmers, pet farm animals, explore the region’s terrain, and become more rooted in the area where they find themselves. June 2014 field trips included visits to Gunthorp Farms in LaGrange, Metzger Dairy near Kimmel IN, Fox Trail Farm in Albion IN, Plough & Stars Farm in Columbia City, Old Loon Farmjust north of Columbia City, and the lab of Dr. Doug Landis at Michigan State University. Such outings typically include a pre-trip discussion the day before, a multi-stop van ride to and from destinations complete with a brown bag lunch on the day-of, and a post-field trip debrief session with Merry Lea staff member Tom Hartzell.
Of the students taking the Agroecology Summer Intensive, two of our students this year were from institutions other than Goshen College. Diana came to us from Calvin College and Christina hailed from Lipscomb University in Nashville TN. What a blessing to our summer community! Both of them brought enthusiasm and curiosity about the inner workings of our farm and our diverse agroecosystem. We anticipate that 2015 will attract students from diverse institutions as well!
One of the joys of summer at Merry Lea’s Rieth Village is getting to experience the rich community life where students cook, explore, reflect, and get creative together. Many have never met before the summer begins. As the weeks progress, students begin to reveal a bounty of creative talents (guitar playing, opera singing) and become more fully known for their individual personalities. June comes to an end with greater social connection, passionate discussions, and awareness that we are in the thick of our time at Merry Lea, an oasis of lush, abundant fields, forests, and wetlands overflowing with the freshness of a new summer.
We look forward to what July will bring!
– Jon Zirkle