UM CAMPUS FARM
FALL 2019 NEWSLETTER
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The purpose of this newsletter is to serve as a way for past alumni and students to remain connected to the farm, as well as inform community members, current students and volunteers about the ongoing activities at the Campus Farm. We plan to send out a newsletter three times a year (fall, winter, and spring). Throughout the newsletter, we showcase the incredible growth the farm has experienced over the past years. This growth would not have been possible without the continued support and engagement from our students and donors. So, we hope you take some time to read the newsletter, and enjoy the "fruits of your labor"!
-The Campus Farm Team
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Join the Campus Farm by participating in Giving Blueday on December 3rd! With your support we can increase student engagement and professional development, advance research on sustainable food production, promote food justice, as well as increase our capacity to grow sustainable food by students for students. Thank you for your continued support of the Campus Farm!
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WHAT HAPPENED
THIS SUMMER?
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Our newly installed passive solar hoophouse is essential to year-round student engagement with sustainable food systems. The hoophouse uses only passive solar energy. This makes possible to grow crops in the cold winter months. Additionally, we are able to supply MDining with fresh produce year-round! This addition to our farm was made possible by generous gifts from long-time members Don Tinson and Annette Shaffer, and The Porter Family Foundation.
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The Strawbale @ Campus Farm was built by University of Michigan students in a Green Building class (ARTDES 300.2) under the instruction of Joe Trumpey, an associate professor in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design and the Program in the Environment. It's made from mostly locally sourced, sustainable materials. During the month of July, the Campus Farm and graduate students from the Dow Sustainability Fellows Program hosted a series of three lectures focused on ethnobotany at The Strawbale @ Campus Farm. This event series was a great opportunity to share new ideas for incorporating native plants and other edible perennials into home gardens and other curated landscapes.
Look out for future events at The Strawbale!
Check out this video about The Strawbale!
More info about the Ethnobotany series.
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NEW FARM MANAGEMENT
FELLOW POSITION
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This summer, we added a new position to our team, the Farm Management Fellow! We created this full-time position to offer a recent graduate the opportunity to increase skill building and management within sustainable food production. Our on the ground operational support is increased thanks to the hard work and consistent schedule of the Farm Fellow. Pictured above is our current and first Farm Management Fellow, Haley Kerner!
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Our farm has great internship opportunities over the summer for students who are interested in farm work, food systems, and sustainable agricultural practices. At the Campus Farm, they can explore their research interests and get significant field experience. Here are some of the outstanding projects conducted by our interns this summer:
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Natalie Coltman:
This summer my project was to create a logistical handbook for running the Campus Gardens (Maize and Blue donation garden at Ginsberg, East Quad garden, and Roof top garden at Ross) with the purpose of helping out future summer interns that will run the gardens. We are trying to use these gardens to get the community involved and as a result create a small sustainable food system, so in order to keep this project going I took notes and analyzed my experience throughout the summer. At the end, I put together a binder consisting of garden maps and advice for successfully keeping the gardens functioning smoothly.
I really enjoyed my experience over the summer and my favorite part had to be being outside and hands on in growing plants. It was super cool to pick a vegetable off a plant that I put in the ground and eat it; the flavors were always so much better than what you can buy in the store. (Natalie is pictured below on the rooftop garden of Ross)
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Natasha Gibbs:
As a summer intern on the farm, my project was to create better signage in the dining halls for Campus Farm produce. I worked with the MDining Marketing team to design point-of-service signage for our products, like the cherry tomatoes and lettuce mix at the salad bar. The signage went up in Mosher Jordan dining hall in October, and I'm currently surveying diners to see if it has increased awareness of the Campus Farm or encouraged them to eat more of our produce. My favorite part of being a summer intern was getting to witness the entire life cycle of many of our crops. It was super rewarding to plant tomatoes from seed and harvest them only a few months later!
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Natasha Gibbs is pictured above in a field of rainbow chard at CF this summer.
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Michael Weiss
For my project, I created biochar and tested its applications to the Campus Farm. It’s an area that I am very passionate about and that inspired me to do a thesis, rather than a master’s project at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS).
It’s a product that can be made simply with such a wide range of applications. Some view it as a “silver bullet” while others see it as “snake oil,” which is why I believe it needs to be studied and discussed more. Biochar application on rural farms is standard, but I’ve also wondered about its potential positive effect on the emerging practice of urban agriculture.
(Michael is pictured above with fellow intern, Erica Blair)
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Campus Farm Fun Facts:
Our record sale to MDining was $11,900 of produce in one week!
We harvested 5,133 pints of cherry tomatoes in 2019!
We harvested 4,000 lbs of Napa Cabbage in one week this fall!
(the Napa Cabbage harvest is pictured below)
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MFARMERS MARKET AND EARTHFEST SALES
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CF Student Farm Managers, Josie Gilmore and Becca Harley, pictured above at MFarmer's Market and Earthfest.
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SELLING AT RETAIL LOCATIONS:
MUNGER AND MAIZIE'S
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Campus Farm has started selling our produce at two MDining retail locations: Maizie's in the League and the Munger Graduate Residences. We are hoping to increase awareness on campus about the farm as well as make our produce more available to students without meal plans. Currently we are offering kale, spinach, and salad mix in compostable containers for $3.00 each. In the past month, we held pop-up events at both locations where customers could sample kale chips and learn about the farm. Sales have been good so far, and will hopefully continue to improve.
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CF Crew member, Jenna Rausch, at Campus Farm Pop-Up event at Munger Graduate Residences.
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CF Student Retail Sales Manager, Natasha Gibbs, with Campus Farm produce that is being sold at Maizie's in the League.
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DONATIONS TO MAIZE & BLUE CUPBOARD
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Maize & Blue Cupboard mission statement: “To ensure members of the University of Michigan community, whether on a tight budget or physically restrained from getting to a grocery store, receive equitable access to healthy, nutritious, and nourishing food and the ability to prepare it for themselves or others.”
Je Toi, CF Donations Manager:
“We started donating to them this semester to have our produce reach more students on campus but more specifically off campus students (because the students in the dorm receive it through the dining hall) and to help tackle the issue of food insecurity. I coordinate and conduct the pick-up and drop off of the produce every Wednesday.”
How much have we donated?
So far, we have donated 1741 lbs of produce!
Find out more about Maize & Blue Cupboard!
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SNAPSHOT OF DE&I AT THE CAMPUS FARM
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About our DE&I work:
"Here at the UM Campus Farm, our dedication to our core values that tie together community, sustainable food, and academic excellence for the public good is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is a lens to innovation as we continue to be a 21st-century living-learning laboratory for all students, faculty, and staff that is inclusive. For this upcoming year, we will develop a design research study around innovation, equity and access which will begin with our yearly DE&I survey 2019. As the semester unveils we will share our findings and next steps with the campus community through workshops, improved processes, and impactful initiatives. Looking forward to your participation!"
-Keesa Johnson, CF DE&I Manager
How you can get involved:
If you’re interested in learning more about DE&I contact us at cfmanagers@umich.edu or reach out directly to our DE&I Campus Farm Manager, Keesa V. Johnson, keesav@umich.edu, for more information.
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The Freight Farm, a hydroponic container farm located at the Campus Farm, is managed by SEAS graduate students, Jocelyn Marchyok (pictured below) and Desmond Kerwan. The water use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of lettuce grown in the Freight Farm will be compared to lettuce grown in CF hoophouses.
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One of the ways that we are able to realize our vision of being a living learning laboratory for sustainable food production is through supporting UM research projects. Below is a sampling of some of the research projects that have been conducted at the farm over the past season!
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Jena Brooker (pictured above), a former CF Manager, completed an independent research project comparing Vitamin A levels of hydroponic lettuce with soil grown lettuce.
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Dr. Jennifer Blesh's agro-ecology lab planted cover crops (pictured above) at the Campus Farm during fall 2018, and sampled the crops during May 2019.
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During early September, a one acre Kernza perennial wheat experiment was started in collaboration with Blesh agro-ecology lab at the farm! Pictured above is lab manager, Beth Vandusen.
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From Gucci Fan, UM Bees President:
“UMBees is currently in the process of winterizing our hives. We started last week with adding insulation chambers and putting honey back into the hive via feeding jars and also pouring honey directly back into the comb (pictured above). This weekend we are going to be adding insulation pads around the outside of the hives to make sure they stay warm.”
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We have workdays at our farm every week on Fridays and Sundays with the help of the student organization, Friends of the Campus Farm. It is an opportunity for students to get involved with sustainable food production on campus, meet people who are passionate about local farming and food systems, and experience the sense of community we have at the Campus Farm!
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Friends of the Campus Farm hosted the third annual Farmal on Saturday night at the Conservatory in Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Students enjoyed an evening full of music, dancing, bonding, and eating the delicious food FCF volunteers made from CF produce! Pictured above are CF managers and staff at Farmal.
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Mission Statement: The mission of the Campus Farm is to serve the greater University of Michigan community through the creation of authentic and high impact teaching and learning opportunities in sustainable food systems by increasing academic engagement, creating a learning community that fosters leadership development, and growing food for students by students.
Vision Statement: Campus Farm (CF) is helping transform the University of Michigan (U-M) into a world-class institution for twenty-first century scholarly research, teaching, and engagement related to the production of sustainable food. CF aims to provide a living learning laboratory for sustainable food systems work on campus, advance food justice within the greater U-M community, and empower students through leadership development to be agents of change.
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