The Weblog
The Weblog is a forum for students to share up to the moment news stories and narrative experiences from the Berea College Farm. We hope you will return often to this feature of our online store.
About us…
In order to tell you about our unique operation,it is crucial to introduce you to the remarkable labor program of Berea College.
As you may or may not know, each student at Berea College is granted a full tuition scholarship upon acceptance. Part of the contract is a requirement to work on campus for the duration of their enrollment. Students work a minimum of ten hours a week and positions vary from residence facilities assistants (janitors) to beekeepers, cooks to accountants; Berea College students do it all. In fact, the College depends greatly on the work of its students. This is especially true for the Berea College Farms and Gardens.
Students who work in these areas devote a tremendous amount of time and energy to ensure the success of our operations. As with any agricultural business, this is a full time job and requires much responsibility. Students who work on the farm and in the greenhouses know that weekend commitments and evening hours are part of the deal.
They love what they do … And it shows.
We are committed to excellence in every aspect of our operation and a great deal of this comes from our student workers. From the pig pit to the hoop houses, diligence is our modus operandi.
-Maggie Greene’08
Berea Biodiesel: Out of the frying pan, into… your gas tank?
Jessa Turner and Jim Dontje, former Associate Professor of Sustainability & Environmental Studies (SENS) and Compton Chair of Ecological Design started the very first Berea Biodiesel system during a course in Ecological Design. Nathan took over the underdeveloped system during short term (‘07) because of his existent interest in alternative energy and fuels. The original class-related system was “rudimentary,” Nathan says, and was, essentially, inadequate. If fact, “we only made a couple of batches [of fuel],” Nathan recalls. Students may remember the “eyesore of a thing” in the Agriculture pavilion that once was an old hot water tank. This was the original operation.
After having taken Intro to Sustainability in the fall of 2006, Nathan began to develop a more focused interest in Biodiesel and consequently collaborated with Jim Dontje, again, for a directed study in Biodiesel production. Nathan’s ideas quickly outgrew the existent venue and he soon realized that the project needed a “dedicated, more conveniently located space.” Because many of the chemical materials used in the process are toxic, it was best to relocate and he found that the College Farm had just the place.
At Dead Horse Knob, a section of the Berea College Farm, there was a concrete pad that was not being utilized. Per Dr. Panciera’s suggestion, Nathan and others worked to build the structure that now houses the biodiesel operation. After speaking with several people on campus, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) chairperson, Dr. Sean Clark called Nathan, willing to adopt the project and, as a result, the department purchased an all-metal building for the operation. Unfortunately, the building is not climate controlled and, because biodiesel gels (and cannot be used) at just above freezing, much of the work is contingent on the weather. While Nathan was away, “a big gust of wind” knocked over the shed. Fortunately, the Greenhouse manager was able to salvage it and remount it with the help of a tractor and several other greenhouse workers. “I still make mistakes,” laments Nathan, “but that’s part of the learning process.” He will never forget his one “fatal flaw” when he installed a plastic pipe that melted during the heating and filtration process. Boiling hot oil sprayed everywhere inside the structure. What a mess! He has since revised the system with black iron piping so as to avoid another similar setback. Nathan insists that if he had “other minds” and other students who are interested in alternative fuel, small but detrimental mistakes could be overcome and reevaluated.
“I only have so much time and resources. But, more than that, I only have so much knowledge.” With others helping to brainstorm and take part in the project, Nathan feels confident that the goals for the project could be within reach. The immediate goal of the Biodiesel project is to produce enough fuel to run the farm vehicles and machinery. “But,” he says, “we’re hoping to eventually meet all the diesel needs of Berea College campus” as well as helping to provide fuel alternatives to the local community. “There’s some hurdles,” he admits, because the operation will have to grow in order to function and produce on a larger scale. To do this, though, Nathan cannot commit himself solely. In addition to his full-time dedication to the biodiesel project, he also has homework and other academic demands, like any other Berea College student. Nathan is also only one person. And though he invests much time and energy into research and improving the facility, the project would grow and function more efficiently with others by his side.
*Biodiesel production consists of a complex system of heating, filtration, and purification that transforms biological oil (which Nathan retrieves from Food Service and Crossroads Café) into fuel that will propel most any machine equipped for diesel use. With this alternative, we can help to reduce dependence on foreign oil which, as you may or may not know, is steadily approaching its peak. It is a reality that we will run out of such natural resources and be forced to rely on other alternatives. Help us (and Nathan) do our part to be more sustainable!
-Maggie Greene, ‘08