Community Farm

The Farm: A Bird’s Eye View

The Eckerd College Community Farm is a one-acre sustainable farm and food forest situated between the soccer and baseball fields in the heart of Eckerd’s campus in St. Petersburg, FL. Built on the foundation of the student garden that broke ground in 2010, the EC Community Farm provides produce to the campus, while creating opportunities for hands-on education, service, and recreation. Through classes, workshops, performance events, and open volunteer days, the Farm seeks to engage and build community on campus and beyond and contribute to the health and well-being of students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding ecosystem. 

How it works

Whether through formal coursework, internships, work-study, Reflective Service Learning, or extracurricular volunteering with the Garden Club, students participate in every level of production, from planning to planting, weeding, harvesting, and composting. The Farm is guided by an Advisory Committee composed of students, faculty, and staff. Daily operations are collaboratively managed by a Farm Manager, Maggie Jensen within the Office of Sustainability and a Faculty Director, David Himmelfarb.

Sustainability and Service

As a “liberal arts farm,” the EC Community Farm embodies the idea that truly sustainable food production necessitates the insights of many disciplines from the natural and social sciences to the arts and humanities. Over time, the Farm seeks to create a community hub for cultivating and disseminating knowledge about sustainable agriculture in South Florida and supporting local efforts to promote a more environmentally sustainable and socially just food system. 

Contact

For questions about Farm operations, email Farm Manager Maggie Jensen (jensenmr@eckerd.edu

For questions about academic programs or to set up a tour or workday, email Faculty Director Dave Himmelfarb (himmeldk@eckerd.edu )

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Get Involved!

To stay in the loop, sign up HERE for the Farm email list.

Or just show up! Specific tasks will vary by the day and by the season. This fall, volunteers can expect to turn compost, clear grass from the food forest, plant annuals and perennials, spread mulch, and, of course, pull weeds. If there's something you're interested in doing, just ask.

All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to volunteer at the Farm during the following times:

Open Volunteer Hours*

*These are also the times when students enrolled in Reflective Service Learning courses affiliated with the Farm can carry out their service hours Please note that RSL hours can not be earned during Garden Club hours listed below.

Garden Club Volunteer Hours

Farm work is hot, dirty, and hazardous to bare feet. Please dress accordingly (most serious gardeners/farmers consider this to include, at minimum, closed toed shoes and a sun hat) and bring  your own sunscreen and water. 

Leadership

The Farm is guided by an Advisory Committee composed of students, faculty, and staff. Daily operations are collaboratively managed by a Farm Manager within the Office of Sustainability and a Faculty Director.

2023/2024 Farm Advisory Committee Members:

Maggie Jensen, Farm Manager

Liza Conrad, Faculty Director, Biology 

Evan Bollier, Sustainability Director

Dave Himmelfarb, Faculty member, Environmental Studies


For Faculty

There are many ways for faculty to incorporate the Farm into their academic programs, whether a single assignment, a semester-long engagement, a research project or RSL. For more information, contact Faculty Director David Himmelfarb (himmeldk@eckerd.edu ).


POLICIES GOVERNING ACADEMIC PROJECTS AT EC COMMUNITY FARM