What is the Knox Farm?

The Knox Farm is an on-campus student-powered urban farm that provides hands-on learning experiences. The one-acre space includes two high tunnels, outdoor gardens, and a biodiverse landscape of edible and medicinal plants. Produce from the farm is shared with the Knox Cafeteria, volunteers, and the community.

Mission and Values

The Knox Farm's mission is to contribute to more participatory, regenerative, and efficient food systems that benefit our community and our environment and contribute to greater resiliency. We work towards our mission through these existing structures:

Working with students to develop skills and meaningful relationships:

Students manage and participate in food production at the Knox Farm as farm crew members, volunteers, and in classes in ways that foster growth, learning new skills and cultivating meaningful relationships with others (human and nonhuman) within the landscape.

Sustainable Production and Sharing:

Our commitment to sustainability and resilience goes beyond obtaining a yield to deliver fresh and organic produce to Dining Services. We also actively strive to be more regenerative in our growing methods and to share the harvest with dedicated crews, farm volunteers, and the Knox community.

Waste to Resource Paradigm:

We compost garden trimmings and community members' food scraps on-site to create nutrient-rich compost, which we use as a soil amendment.

Biodiversity in Action:

We support biodiversity by working with a wide variety of plants, including native species, specialty crops, and staple garden fruits and vegetables. We are inspired by regenerative growing techniques that support soil health, local wildlife, and human wellness. We do this by:

-companion planting

-saving seeds

-not using any insecticides or herbicides

-rotating crops

-working with cover crops

-mulching

-applying compost as a soil amendment

-working with hand tools as part of a minimal till/no till cultivation method.

How to Get Involved:

You can come help at our volunteer hours (Monday and Friday from 4-5:00 pm during the fall and spring term). People of all experience levels are welcome! We will teach you what you need to know to help out. If these times don't work for you, keep an eye out for special events during other times.

And, you can learn more about farming and gardening by taking an Urban Agriculture class, taught by Farm and Sustainability Director Tina Hope!

Additionally, many students engage with the Knox Farm as a site for research or creative projects! If you're interested in doing a project at the farm, reach out to Tina Hope (kahope@knox.edu) to discuss possibilities.

For examples of previous student research projects, check out the Classes, Research, & Projects section!