The Student Farm: University of California, Davis

This session will explore the founding and development of one of the oldest sustainable land-based college learning centers and farming operations in California, the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. In addition, the Cal Poly Organic Enterprise will present on how they have sustained themselves as a self supporting enterprise and how virtually every discipline at Cal Poly utilizes the farm. The development and programming features of the UC Davis Student Experimental Farm, as well as the Michigan State University, and Cornell University student farms will also be presented. We will learn how the students have played central roles in the creation of student farms, what the opportunities and challenges are to integrating student farms into “official,” sustainable agriculture/food systems curricula, and how these farms can inspire interdisciplinary education