For almost two full years, Shippensburg University’s farm club and faculty have come together to keep the SU community farm well put together.

On April 21, the farm club, along with several professors, came together to celebrate StewardSHIP Week 2016. Throughout the week, various activities were held in order to show students and the rest of the community ways to keep a well-sustained campus for the future.

SU’s faculty and the farm club put together a series of events from noon until sundown for Thursday’s Campus Community Farm Day. This included activities such as tours of the farm, gardening, yoga and ended with s’mores and food around a campfire.

This specific day gave students and the community a chance to learn ways to plant using natural resources by teaching them how to do so with fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes and even peppers.

The day began with kindergartners from the Grace B. Luhrs Elementary School, who came for a tour of the farm. The tour then led to them getting the opportunity to plant flats of spinach and beets.

The SU community farm located off Britton Road used to be located behind the Seth Grove Stadium. However, the new location is a better ecological corridor, according to Sean Cornell, a geology professor at SU. The farm used to pay contractors to landscape, but to save money and get more people involved, an agreement was reached that allowed the students and the community to take over.

Gardening activities started around 3:30 p.m. Erica Misner, along with other members of the farm club, supervised and helped with all of the activities. Misner held a quiz for anyone who wanted the chance to win a variety of plants.

Several gardening activities included mowing the area, moving mulch or plant seeds where they needed to go and learning how to use each of the gardening tools.

“I mowed the grass, and I picked up mulch and moved it where it needed to go. I broke a pretty good sweat,” sophomore Matt Harder said.

“This week is to give people the opportunity and choice to be a steward. We’re working together to make better use of natural resources. It’s all about health. It helps destress a bit and zombie out a little,” Cornell said.

SU’s dining hall foods are provided by Chartwells. The company has teamed up with the SU community farm in regard to its produce. SU faculty assists them by purchasing the plant seeds, and in return, Chartwells serves a variety of the farm’s fresh produce, which is all organic.

The goal for the farm club and the faculty is to limit its use of machinery. Newly installed solar panels are soon going to be used to pump water in order to irrigate the farm all summer.

To relax the students after a stressful day, a yoga session was held afterward. History professor Christine Senecal led the students and community with her yoga routines.

“I enjoyed seeing students and faculty coming together for such a great purpose,” Senecal said. “The Shippensburg farm is a terrific community-builder for a wonderful cause.”

As the events came to an end, a potluck was put together. Various games and activities were put on in order to bring the students together to bond with each other. Alongside the fun and games, a campfire kept everyone warm and was used to make some delicious s’mores.

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