Student Projects and ISPs in the Outback

Are you looking for an ISP or Senior Project in the Outback? 

The Outback is a place of experimentation, exploration, and learning. Over the years, student-led learning has included biochar, rabbits, hempcrete construction, compost, beekeeping, and food justice. In addition, artists have created signs, murals, and sculptures to beautify and connect our community to the farm. Here are some ideas we currently need help with:

• Hempcrete construction (finishing a shelter that is already 80% built) 
• Designing and building two chicken tractors, with a moderate budget for supplies
• Researching and inoculating our veggie rows with beneficial fungi (from spores or "forest tea," etc)
• Permaculture design: redesigning path and orchard on the S side of the farm
• Ecosystem valuation of Outback using ecological economics
• Measuring water quality indicators at entrance to and exit from the Outback to assess wetland filtration
• Research into the details of installing a raised aluminum ADA path from parking lot to Outdoor Classroom 
• Bee shelter: constructing a rain shelter over the bee table in the apiary, using existing clear roofing panels

Do you want to complete a project in the Outback?

Then we want to hear from you! Please reach out to the Farm Manager Terri Kempton (kemptot@wwu.edu) to explore your idea and fill out the required paperwork.  Outback Project Proposal.  If you plan on applying for grant funding for your project, you will need to complete the Outback Project Proposal form and get approval from the Outback Advisory Council before completing your grant application. This is a critical step to make sure your project is right for the farm, to set you up for success, and to preserve the long-term sustainability of the Outback.

If you’re a Fairhaven College student and would like to host a group ISP at the Outback that does not involve a long-term change on the farm (no construction or land modification), including the use of garden space, we’d love to support you. Talk to your faculty advisor and contact the Farm Manager to get started.