• Livestock Systems Management
  Instructor: Mitch Hunt
  AS205 - Classroom and Field/Lab - 2 Credits - 10 Weeks

  This course focuses on grazing management and health maintenance of many livestock species. Most laboratory and work experiences occur on the Sterling College farm, but we also visit other area farms to observe varied examples of sustainable livestock management. Topics include pasture management and renovation, forage identification, pasture fencing and water systems, and livestock health, nutrition, and housing needs. (10 week course)

• Organic Crop Production
  Instructors: Jeff Bickart & Heidi Wilson
  AS206 - Classroom and Field/Lab - 2 Credits - 10 Weeks

  In this course students study organic pest, disease, and weed management; the characteristics of soils and the practices necessary to maintain soil health; the selection and use of tools; and the application of that knowledge to the production of vegetables, grains, dry legumes, herbs, fruits, and fiber. Students come away with the practical skills necessary to plan and manage a small scale homestead or market garden. The course combines lecture, reading, and discussion with guided practice in Sterling College’s two acres of organic gardens and greenhouses, as well as many field trips to farms of varied production scales.

• Agricultural Power Systems
  Instructor: Rick Thomas
  SS216 - Classroom and Field - 2 Credits - 10 Weeks

  The Strategic Co-use of Animal and Mechanical Power on the Farm and in the Forest. Farm and forest workers must employ a power system of some type to work the land. The scale ranges from hand labor with primitive tools to large-scale mechanical devices such as tractors and tree harvesters. Each power system has four defined Cost Variables: social, biological, environmental and economic. In this course, students will explore a variety of power systems as we work the land on the Sterling College campus. Through the use of appropriate hand tools, power tools, draft horses, oxen, tractors, and associated farm and forest implements, students will define the cost-benefit (i.e. the profit-loss) relationship while considering the Cost Variables mentioned above as we collectively make decisions about the appropriate use of power for the summer growing season. Students will spend laboratory time with each power system learning the use and care of hand and power tools, how to care for, harness, hitch, drive, and work draft horses and oxen, tractor safety and driving education, attaching power-take-off implements to the tractor and proper use and care of such implements. Students will develop a Power Portfolio to clearly compare and contrast the four Cost Variables for any power system they may choose to utilize on their farm or woodlot.

Student choose from the following elective courses:

• Literature of the Rural Experience
  Instructor: Julia Shipley
  Classroom - 2 Credits - 5 Weeks

  In this class students will read poems, essays and works of short fiction pertaining to rural life with an emphasis on agriculture. Authors will include Virgil, John Clare, Noel Perrin, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Sue Hubble, E.B. White, and Wendell Berry among others. Classes will center on discussion of the selected readings. In addition to examining a glimpse of the genre of agricultural literature, historically and culturally, we will also explore themes, strategies, and styles of the writing. Using these critically examined works as inspiration, students will develop a small portfolio of original writing. The class will culminate in a small celebration-reading of their work.

• One Cow Revolution
  Instructor: Julia Shipley
  Classroom and Field - 1 Credit - 5 Weeks

  The bovine equivalent to Sterling’s course, “Horse Care,” One Cow Revolution will address the information and issues related to keeping a single cow and drinking her milk. This class will include lectures and readings based on my book in progress called, Living with a Family Cow, as well as articles from Small Farmer’s Journal, Mother Earth News, the Cream Line and: Keeping a Family Cow and The Family Cow. Additionally, instruction methods will include field trips to one cow farms, cow feeding and care, hand milking, processing milk into butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream.

• Sustainable Resource Management: Introduction to Sustainability
  Instructor: Rick Thomas
  Classroom and Field - 1 Credit - 5 Weeks

  In The Myth of Progress, Tom Wessels asks: Is our current path toward progress, based on continued economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, counter to the three foundational scientific laws that govern all natural systems? In this course, students will dissect those three Laws of Sustainability: (1) the law of limits of growth; (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption; and (3) the law of self-organization. The Sterling College farm, forest, food, and fiber system will serve as a living model to demonstrate how we are attempting to comply with the three Laws of Sustainability as we compare and contrast other systems of sustainability integration at the state, national, and international scale. To gain fluency in the complex theory of Sustainability, students will engage in guided readings, classroom discussion, debate, and written reflections as they develop a Personal Sustainability Philosophy Statement applied to some aspect of their current agricultural or living goals.

• Sustainable Resource Management: Mapping Complexity
  Instructor: Perry Thomas
  Classroom and Field - 1 Credit - 5 Weeks

  This elective course builds upon concepts introduced in Sustainable Resource Management I. We investigate how the same complex feedback loops that exacerbate environmental problems today can be used to our advantage in solving those environmental problems. Case studies considered in the course include local farmers’ efforts to protect Vermont’s water quality and Cuba’s unique approach to community development. Readings range from Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy to Fritjof Capra’s Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living. In 2008, this course will culminate with travel to Amherst MA for the 34th Annual Summer Conference of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, where a panel of experts will discuss applications of mapping complexity.

Faculty Profiles

Mitchell Hunt: Mitch, a native Vermonter, was born and raised on a dairy farm and earned his bachelor's degree in education from Castleton State College. As the College's farm manager, he is passionate about farming and positive land and community stewardship. Mitch offers practical and thoughtful insight into sustainable farming practices that come from his experience and commitment. He wants you to "come and be a part of something special," at Sterling.
- B.A. History/Secondary Education (Castleton State)



Julia Shipley: As Director of Writing Studies and faculty in Humanities and Sustainable Agriculture, Julia braids together her twin interests in writing and farming. For a decade she has worked on dairy and vegetable farms throughout the Northeast and is currently operating her own small homestead in Craftsbury. In addition to her farming experiences, Julia has written extensively about farming for local, regional, and national magazines. She is enthusiastic about teaching two of this summer's elective course offerings as they represent the very heart of her agricultural and literary interests.
- B.S. Environmental Education (Lesley University) & M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Literature (Bennington College)



Rick Thomas: Rick is an experienced farrier and the College’s draft horse manager, incorporating the horses into both woods and farm operations. During the school year, he teaches three draft horse management classes as well as classes in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Rick has depth of sensitivity and understanding for draft horses and their place in the curriculum, seeing them as invaluable teachers of patience, team work, and a sensible way of working in the woods and on the land. This summer he will focus on maintaining the College’s forest management plan, teach courses in animal power and sustainability, and work side-by-side with students while implementing the co-use of animals and machines to work the land. Rick’s research interests are in the logging culture of the north woods, especially logging practices between 1800 and 1915.
- B.S. Physiology/Chemistry (Northern Arizona University, 1992) & Certified Farrier (Maryland Horseshoeing School)



Heidi Wilson: Heidi’s studies are focused on the relationship between sustainable agriculture and conservation of natural ecosystems. She has worked as a naturalist, organic gardener, Community Supported Agriculture manager, and wilderness trip leader for a variety of organizations throughout the country. As the Garden manager Heidi is thrilled to increase our production and diversity of storage crops as well as explore new grain and oil seed varieties. Her personal interests include dance, ceramics, world music, traditional crafts, and wilderness canoeing.
- B.A. Agroecology & Environmental Education (Prescott College, 2004)



Jeff Bickart: Jeff lives with his family on their 87-acre homestead in Craftsbury. They grow 3/4 of an acre of organic gardens, with a wide diversity of vegetables, but especially focuses on "life-sustaining crops" such as grains, dry legumes, potatoes, onions, other roots, and garlic. Their orchard includes 45 apple trees, a dozen pear trees, 75 blueberry bushes, a dozen currant bushes, 100 grape vines, 170 gooseberry bushes, and a large area in red raspberries for commercial sale (u- pick and local stores). Besides farming, Jeff's passions are natural history, traditional wilderness travel in the North, primitive skills, and textile arts (spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, braiding, and so on).
- B.A. Earth & Planetary Sciences / M.S. Geology.



Perry Thomas: Perry grew up on an apple farm in Pennsylvania and developed an early interest in agroecology. Her areas of expertise include science education and systems thinking. She joined the Sterling College faculty in 1998 and has taught courses ranging from Ecology to Conservation Biology. She, husband Rick Thomas, and daughter Thalia enjoy working together on their small acreage in East Craftsbury, tending apple trees, blueberry bushes, vegetable gardens, and draft horses.
- B.A. Biology (Dartmouth College 1983), M.A.T. Biology (Northern Arizona University 1990), Ph.D. Ecology (Northern Arizona University, 1995)

Enrichment
In August students will attend the 33rd Annual Northeast Organic Farmers Association Conference in Amherst, Massachusetts. NOFA’s yearly summer conference draws hundreds of participants from around the country for hands-on workshops, key-note lectures, music, dancing, networking, alternative energy and farming equipment sales, animal demonstrations, farm tours, and much more. This conference is an outstanding opportunity to learn more about current sustainable agriculture techniques and hear directly from experts in the field. Visit www.nofa.org and www.nofamass.org for more information.

Farm Responsibilities
Students are expected to work 20 hours a week including a share of the farm chores. This includes daily care of animals, greenhouses, and gardens; food harvest and preservation; fencing and facilities construction, maintenance and repair; animal health, handling, and feeding; haying; and a variety of other projects that arise over the course of a summer. Rick Thomas will instruct the Tools and Technology component of the work program; where students are trained in proper tool use, care, and repair.

Living & Learning
Students have access to both rustic and more refined spaces on campus that serve a variety of needs like eating, sleeping, studying, and socializing. Our rustic tent village is located in a wooded area on the lower-campus. Each student has his/her own single compartment in two-person, two-room tents set on platforms. A sheltered common area provides space for evening gatherings around the fire. Living close to the land enhances learning.

• The tent village is staffed by two Sterling College Interns, majoring in Sustainable Agriculture. They reside in the tent village and participate in the daily living, learning, and work of the students.
• While the tent village itself is low-tech, the College’s library provides internet access and contains a wide collection on agricultural, environmental, and outdoor topics. Classes meet in Mager Hall and utilize two barns, pasture, a woodlot, and gardens as teaching spaces.
• The student lounge in Dunbar Hall offers a dry place to relax—play the piano, watch a movie, or curl up with a book.
• The Jefferson Residence Apartment offers bathroom facilities, a large living room space, an equipped kitchen, and cozy dining area. Fields and mountains dominate the view from the apartment’s windows and porches. This common space is ideal for study groups, social gatherings, and evening events.
• Students learn how to prepare nutritious and healthful foods by creating menus, purchasing locally grown foods, and using organic produce from the Sterling gardens. Menus are developed based on student input. A kitchen manager provides guidance, participates in menu planning, and prepares some of the meals. Most days students enjoy their meals outdoors on the picnic table. Students are also responsible for clean-up.
• Potential weekend workshops in tractor operation, logging, blacksmithing, fiber arts, traditional music and dance, basketry, building a bread oven, etc. as driven by student interest and opportunity.

Student Life
The satisfaction of Sterling’s summer semester comes from the richness of the surrounding communities. Most weekends students are free to do as they please; still farm chores need to be completed and all participants take turns throughout the summer.

Recreational opportunities abound!

• The Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the lakes and streams of both are just outside the back door. Biking, hiking, camping, paddling, and swimming are popular activities. (College recreation equipment is available for student use and encouraged!)
• Northern Vermont is also the home of many creative artists, among them writers, musicians, and visual and film artists. Most notable among regional events are annual productions presented by the acclaimed Bread and Puppet Theater, concerts by the Craftsbury Chamber Players, a group of professional musicians who summer in our community, and intimate Saturday night folk or bluegrass concerts at The Music Box in Craftsbury. Don't forget Lamoille County Field Days!
• Students can talk with local folks at the Saturday Farmers’ Market, offering baked goods, fresh produce, artisan cheeses, crafts, and music. Throughout the summer county and state fairs highlight agricultural events.
• Burlington, a lively college town, is 65 miles to the west, while the rich French culture of Canada is only 30 miles to the north. Students can enjoy the rural lakes of Quebec’s "Eastern Townships" and urban centers such as Montreal and Quebec City. Montpelier, Vermont’s capital city is 38 miles to the south with access to an independent movie theater, restaurants, live music, and contra dancing.
• Opportunities to pursue additional interests such as processing wool, driving draft horses, producing herbal medicines, and making cheese are plentiful. Both the College and the surrounding community contain a wealth of resources and knowledge of farming and related skills.

Who Should Apply
College students, academically advanced high school students and graduates, and adult learners are eligible to apply. Enrollment is limited to ten.

• Successful college students interested in exploring small-scale, sustainable agriculture for academic credit are welcomed to apply. Most college students will discover that Sterling’s experiential approach to learning will enhance their overall college experience. Students are encouraged to pursue the transfer of credit earned over the summer to their home institutions. Sterling College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
• High school graduates and academically advanced high school students who are at least 16 years old are encouraged to apply. Sterling’s Sustainable Agriculture Semester is an excellent opportunity to earn college credit while in high school, experience college-level study, and explore small-scale, sustainable agriculture.
• Adult learners with appropriate life or work experience who are interested in gaining theoretical and practical knowledge of small-scale farming should apply.