Beyond the Farm: How KSU鈥檚 Student Run Farm is Sharing Food and Knowledge Across the Community
Every morning 20 students can be seen tending to over 30 species of vegetables planted
in raised beds, a green house, and garden plots at 麻豆直播鈥檚 Harold
R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm. Under the direction of assistant professor
for urban agriculture, Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana, the group of 12 undergraduates
and 8 graduate students are conducting hands-on research on urban agriculture.
This is a continuation of last year鈥檚 highly successful research project which produced 7,127 pounds of crops that students donated to local community shelters,
students, staff, and faculty.
The group has grown substantially from its original team of five students and is on
track to produce and donate about 14,000 pounds to the community. The group has already
distributed more than 500 pounds since May.
鈥淜entucky State鈥檚 student run farm can be one of the avenues where we can reduce food
insecurity even on campus itself. Faculty are taking food, staff are taking food,
and students are taking food; it shows there鈥檚 really a need,鈥� said Dr. Nzaramyimana.
鈥淸The impact of the project really shows] when a student, who has never grown anything
in their life, comes and grows something and now gets to donate it. You can really
see the joy when they are donating, giving, and distributing food. It鈥檚 so rewarding.鈥�
In addition to the larger team and harvest, this year has also involved increased
research activities.
鈥淭he farm last year was small and our team was small. This year is really different
because our team has grown and Dr. Theo is giving a lot of opportunities to students
to do more research and he is attributing research to everyone so that they can have
more knowledge about what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� explained returning student participant,
Affoue Yao.
鈥淭he experience that you have in the classroom is [a nice way] to understand the book
side of things but then once you get to see it in the actual field or in the greenhouse
or in the lab, it鈥檚 a whole other experience,鈥� said Jaiya McCargo, junior environmental
systems major.
The group plans to use their research to create and distribute more fact sheets on
topics such as nutrition, land management, harvesting methods, and more.
For many students, this is their first experience with hands on agriculture and research.
鈥淚鈥檓 from Cincinnati so I really have no experience in any type of rural area and
it鈥檚 been really cool learning something new every day. We go to the farm every day;
we go to the lab; we go to the greenhouse; we go check on the raised beds. Literally
everyday there鈥檚 something new, something different. It鈥檚 very enriching,鈥� said Alecia
Daniels, junior environmental systems major.
Nia Ragland is one student who has returned for the research project鈥檚 second year.
This time around, Ragland has returned as a graduate research assistant and is helping
new team members develop their knowledge and skills just as her mentors had helped
her the year before.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always something to learn. I think the great thing about this lab in particular
is that we don鈥檛 just come and work, we also try to mentor our undergrad students.
We use every day as a learning opportunity to enrich them with something different,鈥�
explained Ragland. 鈥淐ora and all the other admin and grad students have been really
great, really welcoming, and really understanding, especially with some of our undergrads
who are completely unfamiliar with agriculture or how to grow and produce鈥t鈥檚 a very
priceless experience because these are things that stick with you and they鈥檙e life
skills that you can take with you in several different ways.鈥�
鈥淚 have an amazing team. They make this process of [going from] not having any hands-on
experience to being very experienced [possible],鈥� said Jade McCargo, junior agriculture
business major. 鈥淚 feel like I could teach someone how to garden now.鈥�
For more information or to join the project, contact Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana at
theoneste.nzaramyima@kysu.edu