Academic Programs
The Evergreen State College offers full time, 3 quarter, agricultural programs aimed at providing students with the skills to manage a production agriculture facility and to become more knowledgeable about global and local agricultural practices, understanding agricultural systems, organic horticulture and small livestock production.
Below you will find links to the web-pages of many Evergreen agriculture programs, as well as links to past and future agriculture program descriptions from the academic calendars.
Academic program offerings:
Ecological Agriculture
The Ecological Agriculture program provides a broad, interdisciplinary study of agriculture from a critical perspective of social and ecological sustainability. In fall quarter, we will examine the history and present predicament of North American agriculture. During winter quarter, we will consider alternatives and possible futures of agriculture. In spring quarter, seminars will focus on third-world agriculture, and we will offer several modules of study-for example, compost studies and/or tropical cropping systems and seminar and development.
We will emphasize "systems" thinking, expository and scientific report writing, library research and quantitative reasoning skills. Lectures will focus on ecological principles applied to agro-ecosystems, soil science and fertility management; crop and livestock management; and agricultural history, socioeconomic aspects of agriculture and the regional to global food system. Labs will provide a hands-on introduction to soil science, experimentation, energy flow and nutrient cycling through farms. Field trips will allow students to visit farms that are working toward sustainability, and to interact with farmers.
Students will also have the opportunity to gain practical experience in food production at the college's Organic Farm under the direction of the farm manager. This will be part of Practice of Sustainable Agriculture in spring quarter. Other student projects and internships will also be spring-quarter options.
The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture
The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture program consists of two parts: an academic program and farm practicum. The academic portion of this program will focus on practical organic farming, including farm management, crop selection and management, orchard and berry management, flower raising, summer and winter gardening, irrigation, composting, cover crops, pastured poultry and pig management. Additional instruction can be expected in soils, greenhouse management, grafting and pruning, equipment operation, small farm economics, pest and weed control strategies and marketing. The practicum portion will give students a chance to apply their knowledge on the college's Organic Farm. There will be field trips to visit a range of different types of organic farms, including at least one three-day field trip spring quarter and a possible extended field trip summer quarter.
This program offers students a flavorful buffet laden with local and global food systems topics. Students will explore the U.S. food system, grow food at Evergreen's organic farm, investigate issues in agricultural and food system policy, compare Olympia food systems with urban food systems in Central America, and learn cooking skills at weekly program meals.
Students will participate in lectures, workshops, field trips, films, program meals and seminar. Students are expected to maintain a weekly activities journal, write several brief themes and complete a library research project resulting in an annotated bibliography and a seven- to ten-page paper.
Specific activities will include: local farm tours, visits to a farmers' market and community supported agriculture farm/s, composting and organic gardening workshops, a food preservation workshop, a U.S. farm policy workshop and weekly meals involving students' cooking, among others.
Over the past five years our group has set out to establish an organic garden capable of supplying a variety of plant stuff suited for natural product chemistry. The goal is to have at our disposal a sustainable source of starting material for course related lab work or advanced independent student research projects. Three crops have been cultivated successfully, hops, mints and alliums (mostly garlic). This biochemical garden covers an area of 2500 square feet and is proud to be part of the Organic Farm.