What is a resilient community food system? How is community health impacted by food access and quality? How can we build food systems to adapt to changing climate, poverty, and health crises? What farming systems and practices best support community and ecological resilience? This class will explore these questions through the lens of resilience theory, which describes how individuals, communities, and ecosystems respond to system shocks and crisis. Students will engage in hands-on learning at Bennington College’s Purple Carrot Farm. Hands on learning includes “farm lab” and “farm assignments.” This will be combined with reading, discussion, presentation, and writing on the topic of food system resilience. This class is recommended for students who are interested in interning on the Purple Carrot Farm.
Learning Outcomes:
By participating in this class, students are invited to:
1. Practice the art of dialogue and reflection, fed by reading assignments, in an inclusive and academically rigorous classroom.
2. Apply the concepts of resilience to community food access through written reflections and discussions.
3. Become familiar with gardening/agriculture as a facet of community food resilience.
4. Learn the process of early season, organic, small scale vegetable farming through hands-on learning at the Purple Carrot Farm.
5. Research and present on specific topics related to organic gardening for the benefit of the local community.
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
M/Th 1:40PM - 3:30PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 20
Course Frequency: Once a year
Categories: Advancement of Public Action , All courses , Environment , Fully In-Person , SCT
Tags: CAPA , Environmental Studies , Purple Carrot Farm , SCT