From Angie, an ASI student this summer . . .

A wise friend once observed that without plants, we all die. Every single meal I eat, without exception, would not have been possible without plants. So, I decided that it might be a good idea to foster some kind of a relationship with the rooted members of the Earth community. 


About 10 years ago, I participated in the Master Gardener program … then in 2006, I earned a Masters Degree in Earth Literacy from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, Ind., writing my thesis on how community gardens can contribute to food security in Indianapolis. 


But I wanted to delve deeper into the plant world. As it is, our global food supply relies primarily on a handful of grains. But to attain true community food security, shouldn’t we relearn not only the diversity of available plant foods that that our ancestors took for granted, but also how to grow them in ways that nourish the soil? 

To that end, I’m participating in Goshen College’s Agroecology Summer Intensive so that I might understand more of what my Hoosier ancestors understood, and so that I might share my learnings with others in the community.

And what better way to spend a summer learning than with six motivated and engaged college students and a great Merry Lea faculty and staff!


Photos submitted by Angie.


To learn more about the Agroecology Summer Intensive, visit the Merry Lea web site.

Agroecology Summer Intensive gets underway

The 2010 Agroceology Summer Intensive (ASI) at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center began this week.  Students will spend 9 weeks taking four credits and applying their knowledge by working in the Kitchen and Permaculture Gardens.  In addition, nine field trips to area farms and related businesses are scheduled giving students opportunities to see agroecology principles in action.

The cohort of seven students is the largest in the 3 year history of the program.  And it’s an especially diverse group.  Geographically, students have come all the way from New York and New Mexico – and places in between – to study at Merry Lea for the summer.  One Hoosier rounds out the group.

Already two classes have started:  Vegetable Crops and Soils.  The first field trip to Metzger’s Farm near Wolf Lake took place on Tuesday.  Planting in the Kitchen Garden is almost complete. 

On Thursday morning, the ASI crew joined other staff and volunteers to plant the program gardens.  These plots will be used as a learning tool in Merry Lea’s fall Farmcraft programs.  In a blitz of activity, 1,750 square feet of space was planted, watered and mulched.  Also, the herb garden plot got a thorough and much needed weeding.

One more thing the students did:  they harvested and ate fresh lettuce, spinach and radishes from the hoophouse garden which had been planted in anticipation of their arrival.  It’s the first of many opportunities over the summer to savor the fruit of the land and of their own labor.


To learn more about the Agroecology Summer Intensive, visit the Merry Lea web site.

RM