Student Info
Name: Sarah Dyer
Term: Spring 2022
Title: Food and Agriculture Experiential Education Intern: Community Garden Coordinator
Internship hours per week: 10
Supervisor Info
Field supervisor: Dr. Sarah Williams
Title: Faculty
Organization: The Food and Agriculture Pathway of Study at The Evergreen State College
Position Description
The Community Garden at the Evergreen farm has been in its present space for over 20 years. This position is to develop, coordinate, and manage opportunities for experiential learning through community gardening, specifically by regenerating the Community Garden. This position involves organization and allotment of space for students and community members, as well as organizing workshops and procuring materials of use to community gardeners. Coordination with the TESC Farm Manger, Student Activities, and the Food and Ag Path of Study is necessary. Documentation of coordination efforts is essential through either WordPress or another manner for future Community Garden Coordinators.
More broadly, the purpose of this position is to regenerate co-curricular opportunities that are coordinated by students for students, geared toward creating a just and sustainable food system in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Path of Study after multiple challenges in the last two years. TESC requires the student to be enrolled in 4-6 credits of any program or ILC in order to be able to take a student position.
Application Questions
Have you taken a Food and Ag Path of Study program? Name and describe your participation, please.
Every class I have taken since transferring my credits to Evergreen has been in the Food and Agriculture Pathway.
Terroir/Merroir: Agroecological Agribusiness (Fall 2020 – Spring 2021) provided my introduction to agroecology, agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, sustainable business, and food justice. I completed several rapid sensory evaluations and worked my way through Barb Stuckey’s taste experiments, exploring the connections between food, taste, memory, and humanity. The class retained a community garden plot, and I helped maintain that plot Spring, Summer, and Fall; in addition, I completed an ILC (Individual Learning Contract) garden project, centered on the TEK surrounding the three sisters’ method. I also gained a good knowledge of WordPress, creating multiple websites to record my work. I worked with Dr. Sarah Williams, Dr. Steve Scheuerell, Dr. Prita Lal, and Dr. Tamsin Fourcrier.
I took Practice of Organic Farming Spring – Fall 2021 with Professor Karen Hill and Farm Manager Beth Leimbach. Areas of academic study included agroecology, regenerative agriculture, entomology, soil science, and genetics. I completed hundreds of working hours on the organic farm, which included experience with machinery (walk-behind tractor, weed whacker, seeders, and sprayers) and technique. I gained experience in composting, soil preparation, transplanting, pruning, grafting, and softwood cuttings, as well as the care of chickens. Additionally, I learned harvest and storage techniques for multiple types of fresh produce and learned to stage and lead the weekly farm stand as well. As a side project, I created a cookbook to be sold by the farm that will be entering its second printing this month.
Winter 2021, I have been working on a 16 credit ILC surrounding the culture, cuisine, and history of Ashkenazi Judaism with a focus on my own Jewish genealogy.
Have you had a plot in the Community Garden or volunteered at the campus Organic Farm or Herb Garden, Demeter’s Garden, RAD gardens, Flaming Eggplant Cafe, or campus food bank?
I helped create the Taste program’s community garden plot and have been a part of its maintenance since then. I held my own community garden plot in 2021, which I used to grow a three sisters demonstration garden. I have worked as both a POF (Practice of Organic Farming) student and volunteer on the Organic Farm, with additional volunteer projects in the Medieval Herb Garden and the farm’s nascent food forest.
Have you participated in or collaborated with area high school ag programs?
I engaged with GrUB through the Evergreen Organic Farm, when we were given the ability to tour and work in their space for an afternoon weeding flower beds and interact with a few of their interns and students.
Have you engaged with any S&A Student Clubs?
I am Student Co-coordinator and Co-founder of SCARFS (Students for Community Agriculture and Regenerative Farming Systems; my leadership position is to coordinate club activities in the main community garden space. This new club has a mission to provide the Cooper Point Community with an inclusive and regenerative space in which to both cultivate their knowledge and the land at Evergreen State College. We aim to provide continuity of care to community agricultural spaces on campus, and to inform students about resources in the Food and Agriculture Pathway.
Have you had work or volunteer experiences that have contributed to development of skills in leadership, technology skills related to food and agriculture, or communication and management skills?
I am Sarah Williams’ teacher aide, which has allowed me to take an academic leadership role with my peers; in this position, I have run biweekly skills workshops to assist students with class work and/or technology like WordPress. While studying for my Direct Transfer Degree at Spokane Falls Community College, I was involved in multiple student organizations: The Creative Writing Club (President, Student Gov. Rep.), The Wire Harp (Secretary), The Journalism Club (President, Student Gov. Rep.), and The Communicator (President, Editor-in-Chief, and Student Gov. Rep.). For these clubs, I practiced inter-club leadership and represented them in student government as a voting representative.
At The Communicator, Spokane Falls Community College’s Newspaper, I functioned first as News Editor, then Managing Editor, and then Editor-in-Chief. In this position, I managed a staff of 30+ writers and editors to create a biweekly campus newspaper. Under my leadership, the newspaper landed its largest ever advertising account, and we also won the campus accolade of Club of the Year.
I was a professional cook for 22 years, and have held numerous positions of leadership, management, and responsibility over that time. I am fully versed in food safety, as well as cooking tools and technique.
Goal Setting
| Goal | Activity | Deliverable |
| Create a Food and Agriculture Based Student Organization. | Coordination with other Food and Agriculture Interns. Contact Student Activities about club registration and advising. Create and defend a budget with S&A. | A student organization that will last beyond my internship and can provide continuity for the spaces coordinated currently by interns. |
| Work with gardeners to establish a leadership scheme and basic community guidelines. | Gain control of the extant Google group and social media sites for the community garden. Hold open community meetings where gardeners can meet, discuss, and vote. Cooperative Model. | Hold two community-wide meetings during Spring Quarter. Communicate with Henry Geria about the community garden’s social media and communication platforms. Acquire passwords and administrative permissions. |
| Create a community pumpkin patch and harvest garden. | Community Volunteer Work Party in tandem with labor from the Taste program. | Area beside shed cleaned, weeded, and rototilled or dug with a broad fork. Area planted with pumpkins, winter squash, corn, and grains (for use during the harvest festival). |
| Clean and organize the community greenhouse. | Community Volunteer Work Party | Greenhouse clean and organized, with supplies condensed to save space. Interior of the building weeded. Wasps removed. Wood chip the floor. Move seeds, pots, and hoses to space. Rodent Repellent! |
| Clean, organize, and repair the tool shed. | Community Volunteer Work Party in conjunction with a workshop focused on small carpentry projects utilizing hand tools taught by Dr. Clarissa Dirks. | Shed clean and organized, with tools condensed to save space. Rotted door jamb repaired. Storage shelving built. Wheelbarrow corral built outside shed. Battery-powered LED lights installed for visibility. |
| Remodel the composting toilet for use as a second shed. | Community Volunteer Work Party in conjunction with a workshop focused on small carpentry projects utilizing hand tools taught by Dr. Clarissa Dirks. | Toilet removed and patch placed in the floor. Door repaired. Storage shelving built. |
| Compost pile maintenance and repair. | Community Volunteer Work Party | Both the East and West composting stations properly turned and covered. Repairs to the 3-channel structures. Usable compost labeled and set aside for future use. |
| Wood chip all the garden paths. | Community Volunteer Work Party | All main paths inside the community garden fence will be chipped. |
Create a Food and Agriculture Based Student Organization
My fellow intern Zoe Dewitt and I started a new food and agriculture centered student group called SCARF (Students for Community Agriculture and Regenerative Farming). We originally centered our focus on the Community Garden and Medieval Herb Garden, but were joined by our fellow intern Maleah Upah, who has added Demeter’s Garden to the umbrella of our organization. Our fourth coordinator is Gabriel Vesenka, who will be our event coordinator and marketer. We recently submitted and defended our first budget before the S&A Commitee and are waiting for funding to proceed with repairs and maintenance.
Clean and organize the community greenhouse
On Monday, April 11th, a group of six interns, students, and alumni gathered in the community garden for a Spring-Cleaning Work Party sponsored by SCARF and committed to restoring the usability of the community greenhouse space. We jointly committed 18 hours to the project, removing eight-wheel barrows full of trash, recycling degraded plastics, organizing planting materials, weeding, wasp removal, and wood chipping the entire workspace. Additionally, we moved the garden seed catalogue from the tool shed to a more appropriate place near the seeding benches. Continuing maintenance has been weed suppression and the implementation of a plant-based rodent repellent.