AROUND CAMPUS
Educational Farm gets another boost from Compeer Financial
C
ompeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America has awarded a $25,000 grant to the Monmouth College Educational Studies PLACE Site.
An acronym for Partnerships Linking Agriculture,
Community and Education, the PLACE Site program seeks to be a catalyst for agriculture-based educational partnerships and curriculum. It scales up work that began at the College’s Educational Farm and Garden in 2019 with another grant. “We received a $10,000 grant from Compeer last year, so this grant shows their confidence and trust in what we’re
It will be a nice, full curriculum that is housed
trying to achieve,” said Monmouth educational studies professor Craig Vivian. “With this grant, we want
to build up the infrastructure at our
out at the farm, with
farm and garden for education and
…microscopes and tools
that is to furnish the new geodesic
to observe, measure and
different tools and technologies.”
analyze the natural world we find at the farm.”
curriculum. One way we plan to do dome (see page 10) with some Doing so would take the farm, which is located a half-mile east of campus, from a field trip destination to a site where all-day learning could
—Professor Craig Vivian take place. “The idea is that students can spend the majority of their school day out there,” said Vivian. “It won’t just be a 30-minute field trip and then head back to school. We’ll be able to cover a lot of areas with them, such as biology, math and literature. The math could come from things like measurements and statistics and tracking things like rate of growth. The literature could be reading about agricultural
features: an agricultural curriculum for the community and students from kindergarten through high school; spaces for the public to interact with agriculture; an interdisciplinary network of experts; and a platform to highlight the community’s agricultural experiences. Vivian’s hope is that the program will serve as a model of agricultural education and engagement for other rural communities in the region. “I’m really big on agrarian philosophy, and this type of learning, specifically, helps students think about the world and their place in it through the culture of agriculture,” said Vivian. “It also provides a way to connect public schooling to Monmouth College and to connect the city and College.” Vivian’s department colleague Jenni Dickens agreed with Vivian about the importance of connections. “This grant will give our community’s students an
issues that we’re facing locally. It will be a nice, full curriculum
unprecedented opportunity to learn how agriculture connects
that is housed out at the farm, with plenty of tools they can use,
us all,” said Dickens, who serves as the educational studies
such as microscopes and tools to observe, measure and analyze
department’s director of partnerships and initiatives. “Even
the natural world we find at the farm.”
better, it will give them the space and resources to change
Through presentations, digital and on-site workshops, and social media outreach, the PLACE Site aims to develop four
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Located within easy walking distance of campus, Monmouth's Educational Farm continues to develop, expanding both its agricultural production and its educational offerings.
MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE
their community for the better, starting now, through the vital, common thread of agriculture.”
