Hometown: Anoka, Minn.
Major : Sustainable Agriculture
Eco League School I attend: Northland College
Eco League School I visited: Green Mountain College
The kind of work I want to do: I want to work with children and agriculture in an urban environment.
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Most dramatic difference between the two environments: The overall feeling of the campus – Northland’s has a real secluded north woods feel, it’s on Lake Superior and is really pretty – an hour and a half from Duluth, Minnesota. At Green Mountain, there is a real tangible sense of the history of old New England, but with Rutland only 20 minutes away there’s a lot going on.
Courses I took and what I liked about them: Homesteader’s Ecology, Fundamentals of Organic Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and two music classes, Folk Ensemble and Fiddling Lessons. The sustainable agriculture classes are exceptionally hands on – we have a field trip at least once a week to long time farms in the area. We’ve had a chance to ask a lot of questions and get the perspective of people who have been farming for years. This is a really good balance to the classroom learning. I also do farm chores twice a week so I really get to put to use what I’m learning in the classroom. The music classes helped me discover a new aspect of playing an instrument I’d known for years. I played the violin for 7 years, now I’m enjoying fiddling and learning new fiddle styles. The folk ensemble hosted an open mic in the campus coffee shop.
Fun Things to do in the area: Swimming in the river is really great. The river is right behind campus just a short walk away. There’s a rope swing and trails for hiking. A short ways down the road a small mountain, Haystack, is a great day hike that a lot of people do. Deane’s preserve, a wildlife preserve, is another beautiful, peaceful place, with another river.
Best Time to Go: I think it’s best to go for spring semester, people talk about the incredible fall colors, but nothing can compare to how green everything gets here in the spring. I got to experience syrup season and the syrup festival in town.
What to read up on before you go: It’s definitely good to check out a few maps of the New England to see where everything is, where all your new friends come from, and how these states fit together.
What I enjoyed about the people there: People at Green Mountain are really outgoing and engaged. There is a warmth that I think is a regional difference from the Midwest, and the Green Mountain community is really accepting.
Faculty member I enjoyed working with: Phillip Ackerman-Leist was my professor for two of the agriculture classes. He is very active with the farm on campus.
Reasons to participate in an Eco League experience: One of the reasons I chose Northland is I learned about the Eco League and this seemed like a great option. I chose Green Mountain because of the great campus farm and because it is similar to Northland, but different enough to provide new experiences. The experiences I had here opened to me to new possibilities and new ideas about how I can combine my interests and where I can go. The Eco League exchange- getting to go to different schools within a similar framework - is a really great concept that I highly recommend.