Composed by the Grass Whisperer
This past year we embarked on an Environmental Studies project led by Hamilton College Students, Nina Merz, Jacqueline Cleary and Andrew Court with direction from my neighbor and Professor of Environmental Studies, Alicia Luhrssen-Zombek. The students wanted to help us tell our story of grazing and our positive role we play for the community by our land management practices and decades of stewardship here at Bishopp Family Farm.
This was a project-based course exploring environmental issues integral to the local community, especially the climate crisis and climate justice. Students interacted with local communities of practice – interaction that took as its starting point, the experiences
and priorities of these local constituencies and sought to present those findings in
manners that are broadly accessible to the public.
Projects focused on three primary objectives:
Assessing existing strategies addressing the climate crisis and sustainability within a
designated community of practice, analyzing the strengths and challenges related to those
strategies and their applicability to broader change, and generating narratives (e.g.,
technical, creative) to inform the wider local community.
We are so proud to see the final result from their efforts in communicating to the public and developing a web QR code webpage where folks can continue to learn how important local farmers are. We love how the 3 students used their own context and ability to showcase what interested them and what was important, in their eyes, for our Hudson-Mohawk River Watershed. Things like soil organic matter, a grazing plan, rotational grazing, riparian areas, tree planting, water infiltration and the beauty of such things on the farm, like cows, birds and wild flowers are also important for our “viewscape”.
Thank you Nina, Jacqueline, Andrew and Alicia
The Christmas Tree Upcycle
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