The CSA model intrigued David Stenhouse ’10. “What the community farm is doing seems very unusual and interesting,” says the Economics– Finance and Liberal Studies major, who has a concentration in Global Perspectives. “I could see the benefits economically and environmentally, so I wanted to be part of the project.”

Recycle this Tour
As Stenhouse and his Bentley classmates consid-
ered their assignment, they were determined
not to produce a standard tour brochure likely
to end up as litter. Instead, they planned a set
of laminated cards clipped to rings. Some cards
explain essentials such as the CSA business
model and community value. Others feature
a map of the farm and describe activities at 12
to 15 stations that students identified, including
crops, greenhouses and compost areas.

“We chose half a dozen crops for write-ups,” Oches explains, noting that descriptions include the crop’s nutritional value, organic farming techniques used to grow it, and a relevant recipe. Students have assigned a station number to each plant. “As the plantings rotate, numbered stakes can be easily pulled out of the ground and hammered into the appropriate patch of land.”

Visitors find a basket of laminated card-sets to use in making their rounds of the farm stations. Other baskets, strategically placed at the tour’s last stations, collect the borrowed guides.

“The project piqued my interest because each of us could choose a role based on our interests,” says Jordan Coleman ’11, who majors in Information Design and Corporate Communication. She worked on card copy layout and tone “to get the messages across as clearly as possible .”

Connect U
Participants in the Science of Sustainability course
talk about their adventures in agriculture.

Other students on the service–learning team developed a map of the farm, or conducted research for summaries of sustainable agricultural practices such as mulching and water and energy management.

Oches and Kozower hope to see future teams fully implement and expand on the self-guided tour. For example, in-person exploration of the farm could be supplemented by Internet-based visits, featuring interviews with the farmers and photo galleries of weeding, harvesting and other central activities.

“This first project can kick-start a long-term partnership,” says Kozower. “The tour that they developed to educate the general public also taught the students, through the design process. Any time you have a closed loop, you gain sustainability.” Eileen McCluskey

Dan Courter

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OBSERVER