Classes and Series: Cultivation

Here are some examples of past classes in this category:

Introduction to Native Plants

Guest speaker Gavin Schaefer discussed the importance of native plants and ecologies in this two-part series. What makes a native plant a native plant? How can you plant them and help rebuild or enhance native ecologies? These topics were discussed in the series.

Archive

  • The Art of the Commonplace: Wendell Berry’s Vision for a Grounded Life, Jeremy Cowan (concluded November 2025)
    • A four-part course drawing on a selection of essays from Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace. The course sessions built on one another to move from the messiness of the present to modes of action, visions of wholeness, and the rootedness of work in community.
  • Introduction to Native Plants, Gavin Schaefer (concluded September 2025) [VIDEO #1, VIDEO #2]
    • Guest speaker Gavin Schaefer delivered a two-part series on all things native plants, focusing on the importance of native ecologies.
  • The Implications of Sustainable Agriculture at Home, Jeremy Cowan (concluded July 2025) [VIDEO]
    • A guest lecture and Q&A by horticulturalist and homesteader Jeremy Cowan about how to make sustainable food choices with information that goes beyond the grocery store label.
  • Succession Planting, Ryan Dostal (concluded November 2023)
    • A single lecture on succession planting for people looking to grow their own food with minimal land or in urban environments.
  • The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture (concluded November 2023) [VIDEO intro]
    • A four-part series that discussed the themes in Wendell Berry’s book The Unsettling of America. A key point is the way in which dislocations of peoples and environments create harm and require care and repair.
  • Agricultural Biotechnology and the Information Economy (concluded September 2022)
    • Analyzed the political economy of agricultural biotechnology using insights from critical studies of the information era.