Apples, Apples, Everywhere!

A Pomological & Varietal Inventory of the Apples of Sterling College

Students sit in a local orchard at the end of the summer, learning from orchardist Josh Karp, of Cate Hill Orchard

Students gather around an apple tree with Dr. Tony VanWinkle and local orchardist Josh Karp at Josh’s farm, Cate Hill Orchard

Fall semester 2019

Sterling College students enrolled in the Fall 2019 segment of SS382-Landscape Food and Culture worked together this semester to create an educational story map containing geo-spatial information, varietal identification information, and photographic documentation of apples.

From faculty member Dr. Tony VanWinkle: “The intention of this project was to encourage hands-on experience with local heritage apples and as a result, engage in thought provoking critical conversations around apples and their related activities as expressions of socio-ecological systems across space and time. Through the discovery of apple variety histories and how these relate to local cultures, we begin to explore and develop biologically and culturally informed relationships within food systems for a more viable sustainable future. This is done through the goals of agrobiodiversity conservation that balance imperatives of cultural and environmental sustainability and justice.”

Step into the Sustainable Food Systems classroom and check out their full Story Map here.