Heading Out!

Hello everyone!

First off, in case you didn't see the news on Facebook, the wonderful people at the UW-Madison International Internships office found me an internship! I was honestly completely blown away with their generosity and effort on my behalf. My advisor worked endlessly with a million different agencies, working every connection that UW-Madison holds throughout China, and even covered all of the application costs for me. And so, thanks entirely to the wonderful people at UW-Madison, I will be spending the second half of my summer at BioFarm outside of Shanghai.

BioFarm is one of the thriving organic farms in China. They began in 2004, working to rehabilitate a poor stretch of land just outside of Shanghai and distribute vegetables and agricultural awareness to Shanghai business people and children. Since then, they have worked extensively with a local agricultural college to develop new methods for growing a variety of plants, increasing sustainability on the farm, and participating in outreach for schools all throughout the area. This farm is known for distributing delicious seasonal produce to residents of Shanghai through their incredibly successful Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and their participation in farmer's markets throughout the city. Beyond that, they also engage in agricultural outreach to students, by inviting them out to visit the farm, providing schools with organic seeds to start their own farms, and doing exchanges with students from two local universities and Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots volunteers.

Whatever your personal view on organic agriculture, CSA's, or the locavore movement, I think that we can all agree that BioFarm is providing a truly unique opportunity for countless people who may have never really thought about where their food came from. Agricultural outreach and education will become increasingly important as our agricultural industry faces the problem of feeding an ever increasing population with decreasing amounts of land and diminishing profitability.

As for my contribution to the farm... well... I'm not exactly certain yet. I have been accepted as an intern for the coming months. I presume they are going to train me on the specifics of their farming methods, what research projects are currently underway, and how to help out with the daily chores on the farm. Beyond that, I think I am either going to join in on a specific research project, or possibly develop my own. From what I've read, past interns have had a variety of experiences on the farm, but they all seem incredibly positive about whatever experience they have had.

BioFarm's website link