Sustainable Ag/forestry

[bob_brhel]

I am on a committee that is exploring the possibility of starting a Sustainable agriculture/ Forestry program at a nearby college, and I’m just wondering what others thought the objectives/ outcomes of such a program should include?

[Gabe Ayers]

Hello Brother Bob,

So glad you are on this site now, given I know how dedicated and experienced you are at this work given our past association and your proven tract record at Paul Smith’s and in every forest you work.

This is an interesting question at this particular point in time. There are several efforts underway to develop such programs at several institutions throughout the country.

I feel fortunate to be in the position of working for a public charity which relieves me from proprietorial concerns over the information. The way I see it is that the information should be free to the public, as it is for the “public good” but the actual instructional course and instructors should be paid for their time, services and expertise. So an institution could offer the courses for a fee, just as any other college level course and the development of the instructional information should be adapted to the region that the eventual student will practice.

Although I often speak of there being no separation of forestry and agriculture for the sake of simplicity and clear differentiation of the tasks I would suggest two courses – Restorative Forestry and Sustainable Agriculture. I will only weigh in on the Forestry side at this point.

So to follow that thinking the information we have developed at HHFF is free to anyone that is interested. The course could include the obvious skills necessary to practice restorative and therefore sustainable forestry which could include:

Basic Chainsaw safety and skills
Silviculture: to include (local species identificatio) dendrology, market identification, potential value adding
Harvesting site management, job layout, landing selection, identification of previous human activities, etc.
Natural horsemanship and the skills of a modern horseman, teamster, drover etc.
Business arrangements:to include local/regional laws, multiple options of payment systems for practitioners and landowners, etc.
Business Development based upon community based systems of operation by integrating into the local community and not going out and redefining what is already happening everywhere. This could be a crucial aspect of eventual success. Defining this work as a superior service yet being a part of the existing industry is important in creating a lasting change to the current methods of heavily extractive conventional forestry.

This list can include a glossary of terms from the cultural practices, a syllabus of or appropriate text books with lots of lessons and test on the information provided in this form.

However the key to this type of educational opportunity will be the ground level instruction and the hands on experience for the students. That is why key people to conduct this instruction will be the most important aspect of the program being successful in creating more practitioners to work in the community of their choice and revive the honored profession of being a Woodsmen. We of course use the phrase Biological Woodsmen because we are dedicated to the use of modern animal powered techniques as the most superior method available. The desired end result is bottom up change in the natural resource management of our country. I have faith that given good information through examples, models and a system of rewards good practices that change will occur.

This is just a start on this effort and I will be glad to share what is being developed for other institutions that we are working with as time passes.
We hope to develop such a program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in the near future. Once this first program is underway at a large school then the same can be practiced regionally all over the world.

Again, thanks for being here Bob, I look forward to hearing from you again soon. Chad Vogel is working in Boone, NC with Ian Snider at the moment and we are hopeful that those two will be instructors for the first course offered through this institution.

Stay in touch. Go to our web site and read the list of equipment required for Biological Woodsmen apprentices and the expected skills base taught through our existing mentor apprentice educational system. You are right, it is time for this worthy work to go mainstream….

It will be interesting to hear the reactions and contributions from the other experienced practitioners on this forum. Other than the HHFF program, Paul Smiths, Sterling College and the private instruction provided by myself and Farmer Brown that is nothing like this available to my knowledge.

Warm Salute,
Jason Rutledge

[goodcompanion]

Bob,

My father, Dick Andrus, has been teaching an Ecological Agriculture course at SUNY Binghamton for over 25 years, I think. While a practically-oriented farmer myself, I have a real appreciation for the study of agriculture from a broader academic perspective, with attention to history, culture, and so on. Dick would have plenty of suggestions for bibliography and such for the academic portion of a program such as you are hoping to create.

My personal feeling is that the perfect program would have a balance between study and practice, though I haven’t myself had the benefit of such a program.

Dick is on sabbatical right now and Karl North is teaching the “ecological agriculture” course at Binghamton this semester, very capably I’m sure. You may contact Dick at randrus@binghamton.edu and you can probably contact Karl through Donn Hewes on this same forum. Right, Donn?

I am contacted regularly by participants and graduates of Sterling College in Vermont and I must say that they reflect very well on the work done there too.

[Donn Hewes]

I think the objective of a sustainable ag program should be the developement of future farmers that are aware of the issues of sustainablity and prepared / motivated to seek ever more sustainable models of production. I think this is best achieved with an experimental farm. There is still a lot of work / research to be done to make all our farms more sustainable. This work could simultanouesly serve the students and the broader community with the knowledge that Agricultural Sustainability is likely to be a life long persuit. Donn

[Anonymous]

Bob,

Jason’s list for a Restorative Forestry curriculum is a good one. I also would think you would want to include Forest Ecology study, as a way for understanding the natural processes you’re trying to mimic through the silviculture methods.

One thought I have is that a course like this should ensure the student get the baseline knowledge, (the “Why” of why we ought to practice restorative forestry). As Jason said, “However the key to this type of educational opportunity will be the ground level instruction and the hands on experience for the students. That is why key people to conduct this instruction will be the most important aspect of the program being successful in creating more practitioners to work in the community of their choice and revive the honored profession of being a Woodsmen.”

I’m not clear if this is one course, or a series of courses. If its one course, I wonder if you can really do a good job of tackling all the ground level instruction, especially with many people in one class. You could focus the class on the baseline knowledge, with a follow-up program of matching students with mentors or people already doing this type of training for the more hands on instruction. Might be a way to spread the word to a wider audience of students, and not spend too much time brushing over the woods work on many who will not stick with it.

Its exciting to hear that this is in the works!

-Luke

[Carl Russell]

Greetings Bob,

There is a Sustainable Ag curriculum under consideration at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Ctr. VT. Also John Hayden has been teaching Ecological Ag and related courses at UVM.

I find it interesting to consider a program dedicated to “Sustainability”. I think that technical skills associated with farming and forestry, such as husbandry, and equipment and animal operational skills, would be fundamental. I also think that ecology and earth sciences would provide a good foundation for considering the variables of “sustainability”.

Also the mentoring/internship approach would give the student opportunity to explore operations that suit their particular interests, AND it would get them out on farms and forestry operations that operate under REAL conditions.

My problem with Institutional Programs that provide the ground level experience “in-house”, is that rarely are these programs flexible enough to give experience in the wide range of opportunities, AND they are very often funded by the school.

This is not to say that “in-house” farms and forests can’t be excellent ways /places for the technical skills to be taught and practiced, but they can’t be expected to provide deep exposure. Otherwise the end results are students with a narrow understanding, and narrow experience. Carl

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