community garden outreach (fall 2010)

i'm teaching two classes this fall. one of them is community garden outreach which i'm co-teaching with melinda stone. classes begin august 25, 2010.


Community Garden Outreach
Environmental Studies 145
Wednesdays 11:45 am - 3:25 pm
Hayes Healy Formal Lounge

Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Mon and Wed 9 – 10 am & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu

Professor Melinda Stone
Office: Kalmanovitz 120
Office Hours: Tues 10 am – noon & by appointment
Contact: stone [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu / 422-5755

Course Description:
Community Garden Outreach introduces students to environmental, cultural, social, political, and philosophical issues that circulate through and around food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution. Through readings, films, and class discussions, students will learn about sustainable and unsustainable systems of food production. Through field trips, homestead workshops, and an on-campus farmstand, students will engaged directly with various food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution practices. This service learning course is offered in tandem with Justin Valone’s Urban Ag I and both are part of USF’s Garden Project living learning community.

Learning Goals:
1. Discuss some of the key contemporary issues revolving around food and food production;
2. Develop practical skills in preparing, preserving, and distributing food;
3. Design, implement, and manage the campus farmstand;
4. Create and distribute farmstand recipes that engage and educate the campus community; and
5. Demonstrate effective and creative collaboration.

Book:
Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, 1991.

Course Calendar:
August 25:
In class we will introduce ourselves, the course, and course expectations. At the end of class, we will field trip to the Upper Haight Farmers Market. Your homework, in addition to your weekly reflection, is to visit the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on either Thursday, August 26 or Saturday, August 28.

September 1:
Discussion about farmers markets and our farmstand. Class guests will include a few past Garden Project students who will share their experiences with running farmstand. Class will also include a visit from Sarah Klein, who will help us assess our kitchen and garden. Keep in mind: On Thursday, September 2, we will have our 1st campus farmstand!

September 8:
Prior to class, read Mollie Katzen's "Useful Tools," from The New Moosewood Cookbook, pp. xvi- xvii; and Joan Dye Gussow, “Is It Worth It?” from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, pp. 200-214. Full kitchen/cooking day with Sarah Klein. At the end of class, be ready to commit to particular tasks for this semester's farmstand.

September 15:
Prior to class, watch Food, Inc., which we will discuss in class. We will end class with a discussion and early assessment of our farmstand.

September 22:
Prior to class, read Michael Pollan’s “Introduction” & “Two Gardens,” pp. 1-34, which we will discuss in class.

September 29:
Prior to class, read Joseph Radabaugh's "A History of Solar Cooking," "Designing & Building Your Own Solar Cooker," and "Building the SunStar," from Heaven's Flame: A Guide to Solar Cookers, pp. 1-4, 71-110. Homestead workshop: Solar Ovens and Sour Dough Crackers.

October 6:
Prior to class, read Molly Katzen's “An Illustrated Guide to the Baking of Yeast Bread,” from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pp. 86-95; Mark Bittman's Making No-Knead Bread (Video – 4:58), New York Times, December 29, 2006; and Brother Rick Curry, S.J., “Making Bread,” from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, pp. 11-21. Homestead workshop: Baking Bread.

October 13:
We will not have our regular Wednesday class this week in preparation for our field trip to Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16.

October 20:
Prior to class, read Kim Severson's “Neighbor, Can You Spare A Plum?” New York Times, June 10, 2009; Fallen Fruit, “Take Back the Fruit: Public Space and Community Activism,” from Food, edited by John Knechtel, pp. 94-103; Roxanne Webber's 10 Ways to Barter for Food, Chow, August 6, 2009; and Pollan’s “The Harvest,” pp. 137-149. Homestead workshop: Green Media.

October 27:
Prior to class, read Pollan's “Compost and Its Moral Imperatives,” pp. 66-75. Homestead workshop: Canning.

November 3:
Prior to class, watch Chet Bentley's Elixir of Life, from How-to Homestead (2010); and David Owens, Brittany Rowles and Reece Snyder's Jerusalem Artichokes, from How-to Homestead (2009). Homestead workshop: Gleaning & Preserving.

November 10:
Prior to class, watch Ruth Stout’s Garden (23 minutes); Close to Nature Garden (24 minutes); and Garden Song (28 minutes). Be ready to discuss the three films in class.

November 17:
Prior to class, read Pollan's “Weeds Are Us,” pp. 98-116. (Important: Field trip to GFE has been postponed until spring semester) Field trip to Garden for the Environment.

November 24:
No class: Thanksgiving

December 1:
Prior to class, watch Dirt! which we will discuss in class.

December 8:
Wrap up first semester and prepare for Vision Day, Thursday, December 9.

Grading:
o Weekly 1-page reflection papers - 25%
o Classroom, field trip, and workshop participation - 25%
o Farmstand participation - 25%
o Creating and distributing farmstand recipes (Students enrolled in 2 units will be required to create – either individually or collectively – 2 farmstand recipes; students enrolled in 4 units will be required to create 4.) - 25%

Please note: Students enrolled in 2 units will be expected to work at least 2 hours a week towards our campus farmstand; students enrolled in 4 units will be expected to work at least 4 hours a week towards our campus farmstand.

Course Rules:
1. Starting September 1, no drinking out of non-reusable containers in class and during farmstand. Be creative with your thirst-quenching solutions.
2. In class, on field trips, and during farmstand, try your best to listen to and learn from everyone.
3. No late work accepted.