Pomona College Organic Farm
{{Short description|Academic farm in Claremont, California}}
File:Pomona College Organic Farm rocks, trees, and Earthdome.jpg
The Pomona College Organic Farm is an organic campus farm on {{convert|1.2|acre}}{{cite web |title=Pomona College Organic Farm |url=https://www.pomona.edu/farm |publisher=Pomona College |access-date=8 August 2020 |language=en |date=26 August 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807043321/https://www.pomona.edu/farm |url-status=live }} of the southeast corner of Pomona College's campus in Claremont, California.{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Erin Mahoney |title=Visit California Farms: Your Guide to Farm Stays, Tours, and Hands-On Workshops. |date=2016 |publisher=Wilderness Press |location=Berkeley, California |isbn=9780899977904 |page=151}} It is within Blanchard Park (more commonly known as "the Wash"). It was begun as an experimental permaculture project by a group of three friends in 1998,{{cite web |title=Farm Resources |url=https://www.pomona.edu/farm/resources |publisher=Pomona College |access-date=8 August 2020 |language=en |date=26 August 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930062525/https://www.pomona.edu/farm/resources |url-status=live }} and was institutionalized in 2006.
History
The farm was begun in 1998, when students began composting dining hall waste and planting crops in an unused portion of campus. Masanobu Fukuoka's book The One Straw Revolution provided the initial inspiration. One student remained on campus to tend to the farm over the summer, but, according to the farm's website, only a single tomato grew. Over the next few years, students from the "Gorilla Farming Club" worked to improve the nitrogen content of the soil and remove rocks.
During this time, the farm developed a reputation as an activist space,{{cite journal |last1=Sherry |first1=Cathy |title=Learning from the Dirt: Initiating university food gardens as a cross-disciplinary tertiary teaching tool |journal=Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education |date=August 2022 |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=199–217 |doi=10.1007/s42322-022-00100-6 |doi-access=free|pmc=9098788 }} with extensive marijuana smoking, squatting, and other exploits.{{Vague|reason=|date=September 2020}} This, combined with the farm's unofficial status, led to strained relations with the college's administration.{{cite magazine |last1=Enzminger |first1=Peter |title=Down on the Farm |url=http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/pcmfl06/DEtoday3.shtml |access-date=5 August 2020 |magazine=Pomona College Magazine |date=Fall 2006 |volume=41 |issue=2 |publisher=Pomona College |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512180837/http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/pcmfl06/DEtoday3.shtml |archivedate=12 May 2008}} In 2002, students constructed an earth dome using Nader Khalili's superadobe designs, but the college demolished it at the start of the fall 2002 semester because of safety and permitting concerns. In April 2003, plans began for a new, institutionally-approved Earth Dome, which was completed in 2005. In May 2006, the farm and the college reached an agreement on rules for the farm, and it has since become institutionalized{{cite web |title=2006 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2006 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |access-date=5 August 2020 |language=en |date= |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104150047/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2006 |url-status=live }} and expanded to include the East Farm.{{cite news |last1=Barboza |first1=Tony |title=Pomona College considers organic farm's future |url=http://www.claremont-courier.com/archives/organic%20farm%20story%204.15.06.doc |access-date=3 November 2021 |work=Claremont Courier |date=April 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029153755/http://www.claremont-courier.com/archives/organic%20farm%20story%204.15.06.doc |archive-date=October 29, 2007 |format=DOC |archive-format=DOC}}{{cite news |last1=Barboza |first1=Tony |title=Organic farm will stay put |url=http://www.claremont-courier.com/archives/farm%20follow-up%204.26.06.doc |access-date=3 November 2021 |work=Claremont Courier |date=April 26, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031113132/http://www.claremont-courier.com/archives/farm%20follow-up%204.26.06.doc |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |format=DOC |archive-format=DOC}}
Layout
File:Pomona College Organic Farm sign.jpg
The farm occupies {{convert|1.2|acre}} of the far southeastern corner of Pomona College's campus, within the naturalistic portion of the campus known as "the Wash" (formally Blanchard Park{{cite web |title=Campus Facilities |url=http://pomona.catalog.acalog.com/content.php?catoid=33&navoid=6714 |website=Pomona College Catalog |publisher=Pomona College |access-date=2 August 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420011804/https://pomona.catalog.acalog.com/content.php?catoid=33&navoid=6714 |url-status=live }}). It is split into two halves, separated by the college's hammer throw field.{{cite news |last1=Orenstein |first1=Natalie |title=Petition to Relocate Hammer Throw Field Draws Criticism |url=https://tsl.news/news110/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The Student Life |date=21 April 2011 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919092552/https://tsl.news/news110/ |url-status=live }} The West Farm includes the superadobe Earth Dome, as well as a number of fruit trees, rock-lined student plots, an outdoor classroom, and a chicken coop.{{cite news |last1=Wax |first1=Shelby |title=The Roots of Pomona College's Organic Farm |url=https://tsl.news/life-style3492/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The Student Life |date=4 November 2013 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624071054/https://tsl.news/life-style3492/ |url-status=live }} The East Farm has a 162-square-foot greenhouse and is used to grow crops and compost waste.{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Cindy |title=Fine Feathered Friends |url=https://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2009-winter.pdf |volume=45 |issue=2 |access-date=7 August 2020 |work=Pomona College Magazine |date=Winter 2009 |publisher=Pomona College |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514184205/https://magazine.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/2009-winter.pdf |url-status=live }} A number of coast live oak trees dot the area.{{cite journal |last1=Tyack |first1=Nicholas |title=Ralph Cornell and the 'College in a Garden' |journal=Eden |date=Fall 2014 |volume=17 |issue=4 |url=https://cglhs.org/resources/Documents/Eden-17.4-Fa-2014.pdf |access-date=19 August 2020 |publisher=California Garden & Landscape History Society |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423044915/https://cglhs.org/resources/Documents/Eden-17.4-Fa-2014.pdf |url-status=live }}
Operations
File:Pomona College Organic Farm Earthdome interior.jpg
The farm is predominantly run by students.{{cite news |last1=Egelhoff |first1=Rose |title=5 Colleges Where Students Are Getting Creative with Sustainable Agriculture |url=https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/5-colleges-where-students-are-getting-creative-sustainable-agriculture/1009501/ |access-date=12 August 2023 |work=Smart Cities Dive |publisher=Industry Dive |date=October 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528065447/https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/5-colleges-where-students-are-getting-creative-sustainable-agriculture/1009501/ |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |url-status=live}} It grows some of the food used in Pomona's dining halls, composts dining hall waste,{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Jennifer |title=Tending More Than Just a Seed |url=https://tsl.news/opinions3510/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The Student Life |date=11 November 2013 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622194341/https://tsl.news/opinions3510/ |url-status=live }} operates a food stand,{{cite news |last1=Freedman |first1=Kara |title=Pomona College Farm Stand Brings Fresh Produce to Campus |url=https://tsl.news/news224/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The Student Life |date=23 September 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926181034/https://tsl.news/news224/ |url-status=live }} and facilitates a course on agriculture in the college's environmental analysis program.{{cite news |last1=Asokin |first1=Ratik |title=8 Classes You Might Have Overlooked |url=https://cmcforum.com/2011/life/11142011-8-classes-you-might-have-overlooked |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The CMC Forum |date=November 14, 2011 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204221352/https://www.cmcforum.com/2011/life/11142011-8-classes-you-might-have-overlooked |url-status=live }}
It also hosts a number of events, including an annual "FarmFest",{{cite news |last1=Xu |first1=Sitong |title=FarmFest Celebrates Earth Day |url=https://tsl.news/life-style5879/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |work=The Student Life |date=29 April 2016 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928174223/https://tsl.news/life-style5879/ |url-status=live }} and provides a space for quiet retreat.
It is funded by proceeds from produce sales, the Associated Students of Pomona College, and the Environmental Analysis Department. Pomona alumnus Ronald Lee Fleming has also donated to the farm, funding a statue.{{cite web |title=2008 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2008 |website=Pomona College Timeline |publisher=Pomona College |access-date=5 August 2020 |language=en |date= |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125052624/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/2000s/2008 |url-status=live }}
Reception
A 2023 critique of campus farms in The Nation described the farm as "as visually appealing as it is functional" and highlighted its teaching function, but also questioned its non-native vegetation and water consumption.{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Rachel |title=Do University Farms Truly Teach Sustainability? |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/student-campus-gardens-farms-sustainability-food-systems/ |access-date=10 August 2023 |work=The Nation |date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810232438/https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/student-campus-gardens-farms-sustainability-food-systems/ |url-status=live }}
Further reading
{{ref begin}}
- {{cite thesis |last1=Long |first1=Adam J. |title=A Guide to the Pomona College Organic Farm: An Introduction to the Farm's History and Basic Gardening Skills and Techniques |publisher=Pomona College |date=1 April 2013 |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/84/ |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022042602/https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/84/ |url-status=live }}
- {{cite thesis |last1=Schmidt |first1=Jennifer |title=Farming: It's Not Just for Farmers Anymore: Bringing Agricultural Education to the Liberal Arts at the Pomona College Organic Farm |publisher=Pomona College |date=18 October 2013 |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/109/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203150143/https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/109/ |url-status=live }}
{{ref end}}
References
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External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official|https://www.pomona.edu/farm}}
- [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15831coll10 Archive at the Claremont Colleges Digital Library]
{{Pomona College}}
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Category:Adobe buildings and structures in California
Category:Organic farming in the United States
Category:1998 establishments in California