Course held at: Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College
Professor: Dr. John Mischler (Faculty Profile); Ruth Mischler (303)-818-7518
Office: Oshtemo
Phone: (309) 264-6946
Office hours: immediately before or after class or by appointment
Catalog Description:
Practical experience in growing, harvesting, and marketing food which may include caring for soils, pastures, livestock and annual & perennial crops. Internship positions are available during all semesters at the Goshen College campus farm at Merry Lea. Placements with other farms are organized at the student and adviser's discretion to reflect the student's interest in practice, scale, products, and philosophical approach.
Credit Hours: 1
This course is intentionally taught from an experiential and field-based perspective to welcome learners from multiple disciplines from multiple institutions. While no specific content knowledge is expected prior to this course, any previous experience with tractors, working with machines, gardening/farming, or the personal care of animals is useful.
| A = 94 to 100 | A- = 90 to 93 | B+ = 87 to 89 | B = 84 to 86 | B- = 80 to 83 | C+ = 77 to 79 | C = 74 to 76 | C- = 69 to 73 | D = 60 to 68 | F < 60 |
Course Activities: Schedule of all course activities is found on the Merry Lea Farm Internship Google Calendar
Grade Disputes: While I strive to be fair to all students, grade disputes may occur. If you feel that you have been graded unjustly, please speak to me first. I am happy to work with all students to make sure their competency is reflected in their grade.
Late or Missing Work: No unexcused late work is accepted. You either turn it in when it is due or you don’t turn it in at all. That being said, accommodations will be made for those with excused absences or special circumstances.
Access to Grades: Please check Moodle as your grades will be periodically uploaded throughout the semester.
Absences: No unexcused absences. If you know ahead of time that you will be missing class for an excused absence (doctors appointment, etc.) please make plans with me ahead of time to make up any missed work. If you must take a sudden excused absence (sickness, death in the family, etc.) please contact me as soon as you are able to make plans for making up any missed work/material. It is your responsibility to make sure all work is handed in.
Statement on Disability Services for Students: Please let me know if you are concerned about any issues that may inhibit your ability to learn and perform in this course. I am happy to work with all students to see that everyone has a fair chance to succeed. Goshen College is committed to providing all students equal access to programs and facilities. Students who need accommodations based on disability should contact the Director of the Academic Success Center (ASC). Students must register with ASC before faculty are required to provide reasonable accommodations. For more information or to register, please contact the Director of the ASC, Judy Weaver, Good Library 112, jweaver@goshen.edu or 574-535-7560. To ensure that learning needs are met, contact the director of the ASC the first week of classes.
More information at: www.goshen.edu/campuslife/asc/disabilities-services/
Any student who has difficulty accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the Dean of Students, Gilberto Pérez Jr. (gperez@goshen.edu) for support. Furthermore, please notify the instructor if you are comfortable in doing so. He may be able to provide additional assistance or flexibility in meeting the requirements of the course.
Academic Dishonesty - We will follow Goshen College’s policy regarding discipline and academic dishonesty. At all costs please avoid plagiarism. I expect all students to adhere to Goshen’s Commitment to Community Standards. Assignments you submit in this course will be checked for plagiarized material copied from the web, other papers, online databases, and other sources. Cases of academic dishonesty are reported to the Associate Dean. Penalties for plagiarism are listed in the college catalog and range from redoing the assignment to dismissal from the college. Plagiarism entails the use of the ideas and/or words of a source without citation. Any borrowing of language (sentences, clauses, or distinct phrases) without the use of quotation marks is also plagiarism.
Tutoring - The Academic Success Center provides course tutors and writing tutors at no extra cost (even in the summer!)...please use this resource!
We all need a mental health check up from time to time. Please know that Goshen College has counselors and other mental health services available free of charge to students through Campus Life
If you are aware of any sexual misconduct, please report it to the Title IX office on campus
Upon completion of this course you as the student will be able to:
Make use of the full range of tools available at Merry Lea's farm to complete basic farm tasks
Grasp the basic components of the Merry Lea farm including vegetable production, orchard production, indoor growing (hoop house and greenhouse) agroforestry/silvopasture, and integrated animal systems.
Grasp the basic components of industrialized agricultural systems from personal experience - including row cropping, dairy, and meat production.
Develop a working foundation for their Agroecology Learning Community
This week we are getting oriented to life here at Rieth Village and how things run at Merry Lea Sustainable Farm.
The expectation is that you will be present and engaged in all planed activities. We will be exploring the living, learning community spaces: such as the cottages, communal kitchen, Greenhouse, Hoop house, Gardens, Packing room, Orchard, Barn, Barn Garage, etc. and we will be getting to know each other by working, learning, and living alongside one another.
We will also become familiar and trained on the protocols, tools, chores, and the way things operate.
On Friday we will have a field trip to visit local producers and learn how our neighbors mange their land and farming operations.
On Saturday, equipped and trained, the group will be "handed the keys to the farm" and will work together to care for the plants and animals. The group will also collectively work on a project to transform two beds in the Market garden growing space, preparing them for a special planting of indigenous crops of corn and beans as well as a crop of bird house gourds.
The Built Environment - A tour of Rieth Village
Building design for comfort and function; appropriate materials; passive solar heating
Natural building vs. Green building; energy sources and standards
Energy uses, efficiency, and retrofits
Examples of different natural building techniques
Learning Goals: Address design for function: Energy conservation, shape and placement, materials, utility elements and aesthetics
Waste and Bioremediation - A tour of Rieth Village
Conservation and recycling of materials in households and society
Reclamation and re-use of greywater, blackwater
Hygienic capture, treatment, and cycling of human waste
Closed-loop manufacturing strategies (cradle to cradle)
Learning Goals: Guidelines to closing soil nutrient loops and Assess personal practices regarding material use
Appropriate Technology - Tools training/ tour of Rieth Village
Holmgren’s Future Scenarios: Relation of energy and technology to social structure
Low, intermediate, and high technologies
Examples, sources, and importance of appropriate tools
Energy sources and energy-conserving technologies
Renewable energy generation: Solar, wind, hydro
Learning Goals: What makes technology appropriate, and how to use energy efficiently on a site
Design for Invisible Structures - A tour of Rieth Village
Issues of land use and building regulation, law vs. practice, attitude, and mores
Learning Goals: Evaluate health and conviviality of legal and social environments
Ecovillage and Neighborhood Design - A tour of Rieth Village
Working at the political / personal edge to achieve effective land stewardship
Infrastructure development and financing
Defined governance and ownership structure; collective management and adaptation
Develop and promote a local, ecological, and economic base
Shared responsibility and predictable challenges
Connections and responsibility; community glue
Learning Goals: Know how to design physical and invisible structures that encourage and support healthy community interaction
Reducing Food Waste
How to access food at the farm
How to keep food fresh
Learning Goal: Being good stewards of hyper-local food resources and being creative in the kitchen.
How to Field Trip
Learning Goal: Being prepared and understanding how to ask questions and engage on field trip visits
Daily Animal care
Low-stress animal handling techniques
Chores: milking, goat kids, layers, pigs, cattle, preparing for broilers
Learning Goal: Become familiar with the protocols for daily animal care/ what to be on the lookout for/ when to ask for help