The 87-Acre Classroom: Hands-on Lessons, Research Reap Big Rewards at Dickinson College Farm
A student and staff member lead an educational tour of the Dickinson College Farm in July 2023. Students in any major can get involved in hands-on learning, research, internships and activities on the 87-acre property. Photo by Dan Loh.
Students in any major can build skills for impactful careers
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Science students pour a mustard solution into soil and count earthworms wriggling to the surface. Ceramics students dig up clay they’ll sculpt into art. Geoscience students use ground-penetrating radar to map underground biodigester pipes. Interns host educational events. Music students collect sound-map samples.
It looks like fun, because it is—but there’s also deep learning afoot. The science students are conducting original research. The art students are adding standout entries to their portfolios. The interns are sharpening transferable professional skills.
Visit the Dickinson College Farm on any ordinary day and you’ll see extraordinary learning in action. These hands-on experiences deepen students’ understanding of the subjects they’re studying and illuminate paths toward impactful careers.
Lay of the land
The farm features 87 acres of tillable land and pasture, barnyards, greenhouses and areas for composting and sustainable-energy production. Photo by Stephen Munchel.
Founded in 2007 on donated land close to campus, the farm features 87 acres of tillable land and pasture, barnyards, greenhouses and areas for composting and sustainable-energy production. It’s powered by renewable energy, and it serves dual purposes: Producing revenue-generating, fresh, organic food to the college’s Dining Hall and the local community and serving as a “living laboratory” that supports active learning for hundreds of students each year.
The College Farm is nationally recognized for excellence in both areas, and reps from government agencies, nonprofits and educational institutions regularly travel there to learn how it’s done. But the farm’s central mission is educational. And 2025-26 was another banner academic year for farm-based learning and research.
Planting seeds for every major
Students learn about the farm's renewable energy systems from Matt Steiman, energy projects manager (far left). Photo courtesy of the College Farm.
Students are introduced to the farm in their first year on campus, often during an outing with an intro-level class. Professors like Nicky Tynan say the benefits are clear.
"Students get to connect theoretical learning to what they observe at the College Farm," explains the associate professor of economics, whose students saw water use, soil health and alternative energy systems in action while learning about the economics of natural resource sustainability. "For some students, it helps them think about readings in different ways and to build connections between courses."
Students from across the spectrum of majors can get involved. As economics students learned about food-system consumer behaviors last year, student performers presented an original musical about the farm’s biodigester. Budding writers soaked up inspiration in sun-drenched fields. World-language learners explored global cultures through farm-to-table cooking classes. Chemistry students brought a specially grown East African melon into the lab as they explored cosmetic chemistry techniques.
These hands-on activities “help make complex concepts more easily accessible,” says Boriana Yotzova ’26, a star chemistry grad who was involved with the cosmetics lab.
A ’perfect sandbox’ for research
Students quantify the number of earthworms in the soil to determine soil health. Their research will help inform farm practices. Photo courtesy of Maggie Douglas.
The farm’s most potent benefits, however, may be the opportunities it creates for original research. Students recently investigated air quality and farmer health and studied pollinator populations.
“These aren’t just exercises—there are no predefined answers,” emphasizes Maryann Huffman ’27 (biology, geosciences). “The farm is the perfect sandbox for students to practice this kind of ‘real’ research.”
And in some cases, as students gain field experience, they also know that the work they’re doing can make a tangible difference in their own community. That’s a rarity for researchers in general, let alone undergrads.
Makayla McCloskey '26 (environmental studies, German), for example, studied seed banks across differently managed areas of the farm.
"It's not disconnected ivory-tower kind of research—the hope is that their work could have an actual impact on how the farm is managed,” says Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Maggie Douglas, whose agroecology students are out in the field through much of the fall semester, collecting samples they’ll process in the lab and analyze.
Digestible research
The farm's biodigester converts waste into renewable energy. It's also a fruitful resource for student research. Photo by Dan Loh.
The farm’s biodigester, which converts roughly 1,000 pounds of waste each week into renewable energy, is a powerful new resource for hands-on research. Since its 2025 launch, science, environmental studies and computer science students have seen the biodigester in action and contributed to new knowledge about it.
Max Carfrey ’26 (environmental studies) researched biodigester proximity, air quality and cow behavior. Yotzova ran weekly pH and volatile-solids analyses of the biodigester's contents, published her research and presented it at the 2026 American Chemical Society meeting. PJ Ruggiero ’28 (data analytics) will soon work with Matt Steiman, the farm’s energy projects manager, and Associate Professor of Geosciences Jorden Hayes to map the biodigester’s underground pipelines, using a leak-detecting tool.
Eliette Whittaker '27 (environmental studies, political science, food studies) hauled buckets of restaurant and brewery waste to the biodigester and calculated the greenhouse gas savings and energy production for each donating business. She created educational media to share her findings.
All these experiences are augmented by the farm’s annual internships, apprenticeships, volunteer opportunities, community programs, professor orientations, tours and collaborative research with other institutions. And the Farm Works store adds professional skills and experience to student worker resumes.
Harvesting impactful careers
Students commonly associate a profound sense of purpose with this work, and the results can be deeply affecting, notes Rachel Eng, the associate professor whose ceramics students explore new creative approaches by harvesting clay. “I notice the beneficial impacts that working with slower processes can have on my students,” she says. “They connect with this place and with each other as they work together.”
Some students even say the College Farm helped them home in on and prepare for their dream careers. “I got into natural science because I wanted to help people and planet. The farm was my gateway into that world,” explains Huffman, one of the earthworm student researchers.
A student on the farm. Photo by Dan Loh.
Douglas, the environmental scientist who’s led farm experiments since 2019, has seen former students do exactly that. Hannah Seburn ’22 provides soil-conservation support for the local Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Audree Khalishah '21 works for Penn State Agricultural Extension. Both recently participated in an on-campus career panel. Daniela Aldrich ’19 founded an organic, sustainable farm and CSA program in Maine, while Kelsey Horowitz ’18 is guiding current students as part of the College Farm staff.
More room to grow
Nearly two decades in, the farm continues to innovate. The F.A.R.M. to Barn Lab—a renovation of the farm’s historic barn into a year-round, low-impact teaching space—is in the planning stage. Jenn Halpin, the farm’s visionary director, expects it to expand the farm’s reach exponentially.
That’s exciting news to Whitaker, who describes her farm internship as “one of the most fruitful, encouraging and constructive experiences” of her college career.
Yotzova agrees. “I really wanted a more hands-on and not so ‘pretty’ experience in chemistry,” she says, as she prepares to begin Rutgers University-Newark’s Ph.D. chemistry program this fall. “I am so happy the farm was able to give me that.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published July 8, 2026