Chicks dig the campus farm
Liberty teaches students to be good stewards of new livestock additions
Entering into their third growing season, the Liberty University Morris Campus Farm is continually expanding on the farm and on campus.
Additions — The Morris Campus Garden became the Morris Campus Farm this past summer. Photo credit: Ellie Fraser
This past summer, the addition of chickens turned the former campus garden into a campus farm, and its spring stewardship series is bringing events to campus so students can easily get involved.
Kyle Herrington, the Morris Campus Farm education and events coordinator, said in the past, students were able to come to the farm and get involved. Now, opportunities are available on campus through
different events.
“We are structuring a lot more student involvement this semester,” Herrington said. “The spring stewardship series is one step in that process.”
According to Herrington, the Morris Campus Farm’s main goal is to teach students, faculty, staff and the community stewardship practices. Specifically, it focuses on being good stewards of God’s creation through practical ways at the farm.
“We believe we are called to be good stewards of God’s creation,” Herrington said. “I think stewardship is an important principle within Christianity, so we’re here to help students make that practical. We can talk about stewardship, and it’s good to have the concepts, but what does it physically look like to be a steward in the area of taking care of the earth?”
The remaining spring events include “To Bee or Not to Bee,” “Raising Backyard Chickens From Scratch,” “Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective,” and “Come and Grow with Us: Earth Day Planting Party.”
“To Bee or Not to Bee” is March 30 and will feature guest speaker Paul Tabor, who is the president of the Piedmont Bee Association.
“(Paul) is going to talk about all things bee related,” Herrington said. “A lot of people think bees are just for honey, but they do so much more.”
“Raising Backyard Chickens from Scratch” is April 9 and will be held at the Morris Campus Farm so participants get hands-on experience. Taylor Young, the Campus Farm livestock coordinator, will teach participants about raising chickens.
“You’re physically going to be able to feed the chickens, help us move the chickens, and (talk about) what it looks like to raise a flock of your own chickens,” Herrington said.
“Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective” is April 20 and will feature a documentary about permaculture as well as a Q&A session with a local farmer.
“There is such a broad range (of permaculture),” Herrington said. “It’s essentially using the space you have as efficiently and as naturally as possible. It’s really cool.”
Lastly, the “Come Grow with Us: Earth Day Planting Party” will be at the Morris Campus Farm April 23.
“(It’s) just going to be a time when we’re out here and we’re putting things in the ground getting ready for the summer, because springtime is our biggest time for seeding and planting,” Herrington said.
For greater involvement at the farm, students can earn Christian/Community Service (CSER) hours, volunteer or become a student worker.
The Morris Campus Farm takes around 10 to 20 CSER students per semester. Herrington advises students to send an email the semester before they want to do CSER at the farm because spots tend to fill up quickly.
Herrington said there are currently four student worker positions open for the summer, but applicants must be attending Liberty residentially and taking a minimum of one class.
Volunteers are always welcome, according to Herrington, and helping out at the farm can be a good way to escape the hectic campus atmosphere.
“If you’ve got 30 minutes to an hour, you can just come out here and get your hands dirty for a little bit,” Herrington said.
Although only a short drive from Liberty’s main campus, the Morris Campus Farm provides a different atmosphere for students who want to escape the busy campus.
“We love to teach students, but we also like building those relationships that if you just want to come and hang out at the farm, you can just come and hang out,” Herrington said. “We’re building out our space more to be able to do that. We’ve got a pergola that we’re going to be putting a cob oven in, which is a mud oven. So we’re going to have pizza days where you can come out, and we’ll make the dough and harvest some spinach to put on your pizza.”
For faculty and staff members who are short on time, the campus garden also does community supported agriculture, also known as harvest share, which allows faculty and staff to buy into the farm’s harvest and, in return, receive a box of vegetables.
“A lot of folks that are faculty and staff have expressed interest in getting involved out here, but the time doesn’t necessarily work out for them,” Herrington said. “It’s just one way to know where your food is coming from. If people want to help pick, they’re welcome to.”
Regardless of major or occupation, Herrington encouraged anyone to visit the farm and get involved.
“I would just come out and see us,” Herrington said. “There are a lot of ways to get involved. We try to make sure everyone has an opportunity to be able to get out here.”
For more information about upcoming events and the farm visit liberty.edu/campusrec/farm/ or facebook.com/libertyuniversitycampusfarm.
Fraser is a copy editor.