Program assistant:Winter Program StructureAcademic StandardsEcological Agriculture 2005-2006Ecological Agriculture: A Systems Perspective Winter 2006Course website: www.evergreen.edu/curricular/ecoag2005Faculty:Faculty: Martha Rosemeyer Steve Scheuerell Office: Lab I 1012 Lab 1 2012x6646 x7645Mailbox: Lab I Lab IE-mail: [email protected] . [email protected] Hours by appt. and Wed.11-noon Wed.11-noon Program assistant:Student: Claude Mahmood [email protected] Course Description:The Ecological Agriculture program provides a holistic, interdisciplinary study of agriculture, from a critical perspective of social and ecological sustainability. We will emphasize developing “systems” thinking, expository and scientific report writing, library research and quantitative reasoning skills. Lectures will focus on ecological principles applied to agroecosystems, soil science and fertility management, crop and livestock management, as well as agricultural history, socio-economic aspects of agriculture and the regional to global food system. Labs will provide a hands-on introduction to soil ecology and fertility, experimentation, energy flow and nutrient cycling through farms, and covercrop production at the farm. Field trips (4-day) will allow students to visit farms working toward sustainability, interact with farmers and attend meetings/workshops, such as the Washington Tilth conference and Eco-Farm conference in California. Fall emphasis: The Agroecology portion of fall quarter will emphasize energy flow and biodiversity as applied to agricultural systems, using Gliessman’s Agroecology. The social science approach will focus on the role that ideas and institutions have played in shaping the US agriculture and food system as a basis for thinking about the social sustainability of agriculture. There will be an emphasison scientific report writing based on lab work. Seminar readings in order are: Becoming Native to this Place, Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden; Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England; The Conquest of Bread; and Fast Food Nation/Food Politics, Genetic Engineering in Agriculture. Suggested reading for background botany is Capon’s, Botany for Gardeners.Winter emphasis: The Agroecology portion will focus on soil science, soil ecology and nutrient cycling. We will use Brady and Weil, The Nature and Properties of Soils, 13th Edn. The intent of winter seminar work is to critically examine possible futures of agriculture in the 21st century. Seminar readings will include: The Essential Agrarian Reader, Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California, The Subsistence Perspective, scanned chapters from Amish Society, The Farm as Natural Habitat, Eat Here or Fateful Harvest and Gaviotas: Village to Reinvent theEcological Agriculture 2005-2006World. There will be an emphasis on engaged citizenship through writing letters to the editor and Congresspeople, as well as critical analysis and expository writing through an individual library research study and final seminar synthesis paper. We plan to attend the Eco-Farm conference January19-22 in CA. Students who remain in Olympia for this week will complete an annotated bibliography.Spring emphasis: Students will have a choice of Tropical Cropping Systems/ Sustainable Development or Advanced Compost Science. In addition Practice of Sustainable Agriculture and Internships will also be offered. Summer: If student interest warrants, in first half of summer session tropical agriculture will be experienced first hand through a visit to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.Winter Program Structure- Seminars, lectures, field trips, workshops and films - The format of class time will varyconsiderably. We will visit compost facilities in Puyallup and farms in California, for thosewho are able to attend the field trip.- Soil Science Labs – We will sample soil, explore soil chemical, physical and biologicalcharacteristics. - CAL exercises- We will continue learning excel and how to work with nutrient cyclingcalculations based on data collected last quarter and spreadsheet exercise on nitrogen releasefrom organic soil amendments. - Study Questions and Group Activities – Much of this quarter’s learning will becollaborative and the success of this work depends on clear communication, good planningand regular constructive feedback. We will form triads and your colleagues are depending onyour hard work on the study questions and nutrient cycling lab calculations, so take yourgroup activities seriously. - Writing - There will quite a bit of writing this quarter including five writing exercises, a finalseminar synthesis paper and library research paper on a topic of your choice. - Oral presentation – We will give each person the opportunity to present their libraryresearch paper to the group in a PowerPoint week 10.Winter Learning Goals:We have articulated several learning goals for Ecological Agriculture. In steps throughout the year, we will provide you with the opportunities to learn these skills. We also plan to work closely with you to help you articulate and work toward your personal learning goals. By the end of the program, we expect that you will have developed skills for...- Working collaboratively. - Communicating clearly and articulately through writing and speaking. - Critical and integrative thinking as demonstrated through written work and discussions.- Basic understanding of experimental design. - Observation or place and weed seedlings.- Basic quantitative reasoning and Excel spreadsheet skills.…as well as a good understanding of:- Systems thinking and its application to agricultureEcological Agriculture 2005-2006- Potential future of agriculture and the food system- Soil ecology and management- Practical nutrient management- How nutrients cycle through a farmAcademic Standards- Late Work PolicyThis program requires self-discipline, individual work and teamwork. Please follow the schedule closely and punctually attend all seminars, workshops, lectures and team meetings. It will be hard to achieve the program goals of working collaboratively and communi-cating clearly without actively attending and contributing to class. We expect all work to be submitted on time. Late submittals communicate to us that you are not keeping up with your work.