The Sustainable Student Farm, run by students who grow produce to supply the dining halls and serve the local community, held an open house in Urbana on Friday. 

Funded by the College of ACES, the open house had several students and faculty from ACES in attendance. They heard speeches from faculty about their upcoming projects, went on tours to the new teaching gardens and saw firsthand how perennial food systems work. 

Many agricultural RSOs were at the open house to inform new and current students of their clubs. 

One of the RSOs present was the Beekeeping Club. Breven Stark, the Beekeeping Club’s president and a senior in ACES, said the RSO attended to encourage people to learn more about sustainability. 

“We’re at the Student Sustainable Farm because we have our hives on the farm,” Stark said. “We want to encourage people that work here, visit here or have any interest in sustainability to check out our bees. They’re an important part of farming because we need them for pollination.”

When it comes to recruiting new members at the open house each year, Stark said the club has a good success rate of finding loyal participants. 

“We’ve definitely attracted a few new members,” Stark said. “I can’t say for sure (whether) they stick around, but most of our members do stick around, so there’s a good chance that we did get some people because of this event.” 

Another organization in attendance was Bug2School, an ecology research program where undergraduate students collaborate with other researchers to perform ecology experiments in the farm gardens. Carmen Blubaugh, a research scientist who directs the program, said that the majority of the work happens during the summer. 

“The students are learning to be scientists, so they occupy the (SSF) gardens, do their project and tend to the garden over the summer,” Blubaugh said. “They’re doing a service to the school, so the teachers are returning to a lovely tended garden in August. We leave behind fun educational resources and use them with our students in the classroom.” 

Bug2School’s outreach doesn’t stop on University grounds, according to Kylie Fuoss, Bug2School program assistant and a graduate student in ACES. Fuoss said reaching out to members of the local community is her favorite part of the job.

“It’s been really fun and educational. I love to be out in the (SSF) field tending to the plants,” Fuoss said. “I also love engaging with community members and educating them on different insects or plants. I volunteer at Yankee Ridge Multilingual School and help with their after-school garden club.”

Matt Turino, farm manager of SSF and a research specialist in ACES, said that planning the open house was easier this year thanks to the assistance from faculty. 

“It’s a lot of moving parts — dining services brings out all the tables, cooks the food and we deliver a pile of veggies to cook,” Turino said. “Everybody chips in to make this thing happen. I’m definitely more rested and more coherent this year than I’ve been in many years.” 

Turino also said that planning the open house happens in early April. The planning begins with meetings with dining services, but the more intense work happens the week of the open house to get the farm ready. 

The SSF is currently accepting job applications for student workers. To learn more, Turino suggests checking out the SSF’s weekly farm stand on the Main Quad from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and applying for a job. 

“We have a farm stand every Thursday and have volunteer hours, so if you’re interested in working here, we welcome students from all majors,” Turino said. “We are happy for people to do their projects here, get their hands dirty, learn more about vegetable production, where food comes from, and fall is the best time to be out here.”

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