The Common Ground, an  organic student run educational farm, was born out of the Common Ground Agricultural Club during the end of the spring semester of 1994. It was  decided during a UVM Plant and Soil Science Agroecology class fieldtrip that students should form a club that focused on agricultural issues.

The discussions, which focused on curriculum  issues, took place over dinner at the “Common Ground” restaurant in  Brattleboro and from this namesake the Common Ground Agricultural Club  was born. The students asked Dr. Wendy Sue Harper, a Soil Scientist in  the Plant and Soil Science (PSS) department, to be their faculty  advisor, and she agreed.

In September 1994 student decided to focus on four areas: 1) Writing a  “Green Column” in the UVM Cynic Newspaper with issues concerning  sustainable agriculture, 2) Working to get locally grown food on  campus, 3) Setting-up field trips to visit specific farms in Vermont,  and 4) Developing a student run farm. Students worked on these areas  for the school year. Mike Ghia (Grad-PSS), Amanda Ellis (PSS), Ross  Thurber (Self-Designed), Jennifer Cirillo (PSS), Ryan Rich (PSS), Nat  Bacon (PSS), Thea Preuss (PSS) and Stacey Spencer (UFLH) are original  founders of this club and key players in its success.