Mitigating Climate Change: Rutherford ’23 at Nightingale Montessori School in Springfield, Ohio
May 18, 2021For my second co-op, I self-designed a program which allowed me to work as an assistant project coordinate for a 140 acre farm, as well as a permaculture designer at a new campus for a Montessori school. Here I will spotlight my work at the Montessori school, where I spent most of my time during the week, even while out of school.
Mission Statement:
“Nightingale Montessori is deeply committed to implementing the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori as a paradigm shift in traditional education and as a model for educational reform.
Nightingale Montessori offers an educational method that nourishes self-motivation, inspires reverence for life, and teaches the self-discipline required for responsible citizenship. Success is measured by the child’s continuing enthusiasm for learning.
Our ultimate goal is to build a model educational system (Pre K-12) that can be used as a demonstration site for the purpose of enacting crucial education and social reforms so needed in our nation’s public schools today.”
My role at the Montessori school was to help with permaculture design on campus and the removal of invasive species, making way for native species restoration and intentionally planted food forests.
There have been several projects that I have contributed to within the last three months: green house maintenance, construction of a racetrack and labyrinth in the children’s area, paving and mulching pathways, construction of a kitchen garden, inoculation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, building and designing garden beds (clover-leaf garden, mandala garden), seed starting, removal of invasive species such as honeysuckle and buckthorn, and several others.
The impact these experiences have can be broken down as follows:
Global impact- Climate change mitigation and perennial agriculture
Community impact- Food security
Individual impact- Students will get to experience the joy of the natural world and their contribution to it.
The Dream of a Future Farmer: Rutherford ’23 at the Antioch Farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio
Oct 09, 2020At the Antioch Farm, sustainability is of the utmost importance. Food forests and annual gardens spread across the vast fields towards the south end of the campus, where permaculture practices are explored and utilized to create a beautiful and bountiful environment. The food grown on the farm is harvested for the benefits of those on campus and has also been donated to local food banks. The Antioch Farm provides students and volunteers with the opportunity to experience a farm-to-table lifestyle. It also allows us the chance to explore and learn about the biodiversity of plants, beneficial insects, and the sustainability of rich, organic soil.
There are many projects underway on the farm: chickens and ducks to be fed; beds to be tilled, mulched and weeded; and compost to be turned. Organic matter is always used to ensure the health of the land and those who benefit from it. Every morning, the chickens, ducks, and geese are fed and given fresh water, and their eggs are collected and prepared to be taken to the kitchens. Newly sprouted plants are then watered, as well as those in the greenhouse. Once the beds are tilled and ready, seeds and seedlings can be sowed or transplanted straight into the ground, then watered, mulched, and weeded as often as possible. This year has provided us with a number of varieties of potatoes, cabbages, and flowers, and the three sisters (corns, beans, and squash) beds have already begun to sprout. In the food forest, you can find a number of fruit trees, herbs, and other edible vegetation. During the days of harvest, lettuces, herbs, and asparagus are among some of the crops that are collected and taken to the kitchens to be prepared for those on campus. The scraps are then brought back to the farm and are added to the compost.
The Antioch Farm has been a fully hands-on experience, with the great benefit of witnessing hard work producing yield that is shared with the community. As a student of the sustainability program at Antioch College, the opportunity to work on an organic farm for the first time has provided me with immense knowledge and discipline. This particular job has been both extremely inspirational and motivational in my journey to become a sustainable farmer and provide for communities in the future, and has given me insight into the necessary requirements for managing and maintaining such goals. I plan to fully utilize this acquired knowledge and insight for every farming opportunity I may have in the future, for my goal is to reconstruct communities and to teach sustainability to others so that they too can benefit from their yields.