The sun sets behind Hillsdale Homestead. Courtesy | Lulu Celecia
When Hillsdale College bought four acres of the closed Glei’s Orchards and Greenhouses last spring, Campus Recreation Director Ryan Perkins ’22 saw it as a dream come true.
“In the Student Activities Office, we’ve been talking about ways to get students engaged and active outside the classroom,” Perkins said. “‘What are ways we can teach hands-on, practical skills?’ And I’ve had an interest in farming for a while. I worked on a cow farm during one of the summers while I was a student here, and so a couple of things were coming together, just in terms of the idea.”
The Hillsdale Homestead came to life last summer and is expected to expand its operations capacity this spring.
According to Director of Student Programs Rachel Marinko ’22, the homestead only had tomatoes, peppers, and 50 chickens last year. This year, the program expanded to grow basil, dill, thyme, oregano, rosemary, green beans, cucumbers and peas.
“Our mission is three-pronged: it’s one, to teach practical, hands-on skills to students. Two, to develop the character of the students. The third would be to teach the full farm-to-table process,” Perkins said.
Students are not paid but can take home eggs and vegetables for their volunteer work. In the future, Perkins said the college may develop the program into a one-credit course. For now, about 25 students work in tandem during morning and evening shifts to collect eggs, feed the chickens, and water plants. Saturdays are focused on larger projects, like building a new chicken coop.
Junior Lulu Celecia has been a volunteer since the start of last fall, and like many of the other students who help on the farm, had no prior experience farming.
“In the winter time it’s as simple as collecting eggs, but last semester we were watering plants and picking some fruits and vegetables,” Celecia said. “Some people came in with loads of experience and others like me had never held a chicken before the homestead.”
Perkins primarily teaches new volunteers how to take care of the property, and then lets them pursue their interests on their own after a short period of training.
“It’s a mix between first walking the students through a few times that they’re out there, and then letting them take some of the ownership, and then providing more mentorship from more of a distance,” Perkins said. “I’m also hoping that we’ll be able to provide students with more of an opportunity with leadership out here as well, having some sort of shift lead, something like that.”
Those interested in volunteering with the homestead can email Ryan Perkins at rperkins@hillsdale.edu to be placed on a work shift and meet for training. As the project expands, so will the need for volunteers. The Hillsdale Homestead hopes to have up to 50 students in the years to come.
“Physical labor is an integral part of a liberal arts education, not just a supplement. We can’t separate our physical bodies from our minds and souls, so we need to learn how to live the things we are learning in the classroom,” Marinko said. “The best way to do that is simply to go experience life.”
