Farm to Campus
Providing locally harvested foods to campus through experiential learning project
Providing locally harvested foods to campus through experiential learning project
Project Leader: Morgan Haas
Department/Unit: Collaborative effort among the Davis College of Agriculture,
Natural Resources and Design; the Sustainability Office; and Sodexo
In collaboration with the Sustainability Office and Sodexo, the Davis College launched a project to utilize internal expertise in plant and soil sciences to create an experiential learning opportunity for all students, while providing a sustainable, local sourcing option for Sodexo. The project, led by Morgan Haas, offered students opportunities to maintain the garden for experiential learning.
The students spent summer 2020 working at the WVU Organic Farm and helping to contribute to the first farm-to-table initiative on campus. Haas hopes to build upon this partnership between the Davis College and Sodexo to establish a consistent stream of local, student grown produce into the campus dining halls. Student interns grew a large plot of basil on the Organic Farm, which was harvested in early September and used in Cafe Evansdale the following week. The group documented the entire harvesting process and interviewed students, faculty and Sodexo representatives to include in the video. Additional highlights from the project included conducting research on the growing process, learning about the agriculture business, and the pride of connecting WVU resources to the WVU community.