Building on spring and summer quarters on the farm, the Reciprocal Farming: Regenerating Soil and Nutrient Sovereignty program engages the campus as a living lab and supports upper-division work for students continuing from earlier quarters as well as those joining the sequence for the first time. We will collect soil, compost, and crop samples on campus to add to data generated in previous quarters, with which we will characterize soil nutrients and carbon, the soil food web, and crop yield, biometrics, and tissue nutrients across space and time. Students will continue their summer work on the circular nutrient economy by collecting urine at home for fertilizer application on the farm, as a key treatment in the on-farm experimental design and major focus of analysis.
In addition to hands-on farm work, students will be in the lab identifying and quantifying microarthropods and nematodes using microscopy and taxonomic keys, and quantifying fungal hyphae using staining and microscopy. Crop tissue samples will be sent to a commercial lab for tissue nutrient analysis. Students will analyze these data on flora, fauna, and funga in the context of soil biogeochemistry, alongside wet lab analyses of soil carbon and nitrogen and measurements of greenhouse gas flux using a portable LI-COR system.
Students will work collaboratively to collect, analyze, and report on these data, integrating leadership and team-building skills developed in previous farm programs and other experiences to produce a cohesive, co-authored manuscript suitable for publication describing soil health at the campus farm. This work will be grounded in the cultural and historic context of the campus farm, with particular emphasis on Land relations with Coast Salish peoples developed during the summer. Analysis of the intersections between nutrient sovereignty, food justice, and Indigenous sovereignty in the context of contemporary agriculture will be accomplished through reading and synthesizing peer-reviewed literature and several texts. We will be referring to The Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance and their definition of Indigenous data sovereignty, which is "The right of a nation to govern the collection, ownership, and application of its own data. It derives from tribes' inherent right to govern their peoples, lands, and resources." We will be exploring the link between Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous food sovereignty, referring to the works of Indigenous scientists, such as soil scientist Prof. Lydia Jennings and environmental scientist Prof. Max Liboiron.
This is an advanced program offered for upper-division science credit. Successful participation requires students to have a solid understanding of ecology, the nitrogen cycle, agriculture, and data management. The program is well-suited for students interested in research-based agriculture and those who wish to continue their scientific work on the farm from spring and summer quarters.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
*8 - Soil Ecology and Soil Health
*4 - Circular (Bio)nutrient Economy
*4 - Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Up to 16 upper division science credits are available to students who have lower-division science competency and meet all program expectations. This includes excellent performance on exams, demonstrating proficiency in interpreting and critically assessing primary literature, and communicating advanced science topics effectively.
Students with prior experience in farm-based or related coursework are encouraged to apply; others may be considered following a conversation with the faculty. Students are encouraged to meet with the faculty in person at the Academic Fair at the end of Spring quarter.
Registration
Signature Required
Students must demonstrateunderstanding of ecology, the nitrogen cycle, agriculture, and data management by presenting achieved credit in these areas (or equivalent experience).
Academic Details
$50 required lab use fee
Upper division science credit may be awarded in Soil Ecologyand Soil Health(8*),Circular (Bio)nutrient Economy(4*), andIndigenous Data Sovereignty (4*) if students participate in all of the following: hands-on sample collection, sample processing, data management, data analysis, reading and analyzing peer-reviewed literature, writing of final report, and oral presentation. In addition, students must use these data and skills to contribute to a collaboratively written and reviewed paper with their peers that is of publication quality.