Students in Merry Lea’s 2016 Sustainability Leadership Semester completed final presentations in their Faith, Ethics and Eco-Justice course October 13. The assignment challenged them to articulate their key values as they relate to soil, soul and society–a framework students encountered in the book, Rekindling Community by Alastair McIntosh. A visual model was part of each presentation.
Merry Lea Sustainable Farm hosted its annual molasses-making party the week of October 3. Four volunteers helped staff members extract juice from sorghum stalks and set the liquid to boiling.
Ten pastors attended a Pastor’s Academy at Merry Lea’s Farmstead Site, September 21, 2016. The gathering invited them to interact with ideas that leaders of Goshen College’s three research institutes grapple with and relate them to their own ministries.
At the Merry Lea Sustainable Farm (MLSF), that could be any combination of over forty foods. Tomatoes, mushrooms, greens, chickens, eggs, pork, squash, cucumbers, carrots, raspberries and green beans are just a few of the groceries Kate’s CSA customers have received.
Summer is an off-season for most Merry Lea volunteers, but not for Doug Vendrely, a retired teacher from New Paris, Ind. The past two years, Doug has contributed a morning each week to the Merry Lea Sustainable Farm.
Read about the strategies used for growing food at the Merry Lea Sustainable Farm and the ways it ties into Merry Lea's programs. The farm is running a CSA this summer and fall; the Pre-K to 12 team is gearing up for a new program there and summer researchers are investigating birdlife and grazing. This issue also includes a feature on Volunteer Doug Vendrely.
Merry Lea’s Agroecology Summer Intensive (ASI) wrapped up July 29 with a luncheon and remarks from each student.
Merry Lea and Indiana Humanities, an Indianapolis nonprofit, teamed up to host a hike featuring Hoosier poets at Merry Lea’s Farmstead Site on Saturday, July 23. Micah Towery, an English professor from Goshen College provided the input.
Two new staff members joined Merry Lea in July 2016. Katie Stoltzfus began working as an environmental educator and the new public program coordinator on July 1. Marcos Stoltzfus arrived July 18 and is the director of environmental outreach.
Beloved staff member Lisa Zinn, who served Merry Lea in many roles from 2003 to July 2016, arrived safely in Vermont July 23.
