Resource Guide: Vermont New Farmer Network Member Organization

Sterling College

Mission Statement--The Sterling College community combines structured academic study with experiential challenges and plain hard work to build responsible problem solvers who become stewards of the environment as they pursue productive lives.

The Sustainable Agriculture program parallels the College’s mission by combining academic study, experiential challenges, and work. The College Farm, consisting of solar-powered barns, pasturelands, gardens, fruit trees, greenhouses, and a diversity of livestock, is a living laboratory for the exploration of sustainable agricultural systems. Working alongside faculty, students become involved in the farm through coursework, a college-wide Work Program, structured skill-building activities, and careful academic inquiry into farming systems.

Sterling College offers:

• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sustainable Agriculture
• Self-designed BA degree, allowing students to choose a path through the curriculum tailored to their specific interests and learning goals.
• Summer Sustainable Agriculture Program (can be taken independently of a degree program); the courses in this program fold into the BA degree requirements

Link to the Academic Catalog to review Degree Requirements

Students study the principles of science and economics that underlie agricultural systems and learn a variety of agricultural techniques and practices applicable to the small, diversified farm and homestead. Further classes provide additional technical knowledge, explore and assess a range of agricultural models from biodynamic to corporate farms, and examine the human relationship to nature and agro-ecosystems.

The college farm supplies the dining hall with thousands of pounds of produce, dozens upon dozens of eggs, and a variety of meats.  Not only do students currently farm approximately two acres of college land, but Sterling is also nearly finished building a large passive solar greenhouse for growing greens well into the winter.

Real-life applications through internships, farm projects, and the culminating Senior Capstone Project prepare students for continuing study or agricultural careers such as research and outreach to farmers through government agencies or nonprofit organizations, public education, or actual farming.

Address:
Sterling College
PO Box 72
Craftsbury Common, VT  05827

Phone: 1-800-648-3591

Website: http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/

Email: admissions@sterlingcollege.edu

 

Last modified August 12 2010 08:09 PM