Dearest farm friends,

We'd like to extend a warm welcome back to our returning Duke students. As the hottest weather fades, crew and volunteers have been doing a splendid job turning the farm over from summer's okra and tomatoes to fall's kale and carrots. 

Along with new crops, the beginnings of autumn also bring new faces and leadership to the farm. Joseph Yan (T'28) and Faith Hochman (T'28) join us as DCF's first Green Devils from the Office of Climate and Sustainability. Tallulah Bowden (MEM'27) and Peyton Shetler (MEM'27) are this year's Soil Fertility Fellows, and Pauline Yoo (MEM/MF'27) joins us on field crew through the Nicholas School Assistantship program. This positions bring new perspectives to the acre, with crew interests ranging from music to entomology. Read more about our new hires here. 

Over the past month, the farm's paths have been full with visitors, volunteers, first year students, and friends. We welcomed over 350 freshmen to the farm during orientation week, and and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) brought a group out for a pepper jelly workshop earlier this month. We'll be engaging with more class visits than ever this fall, with 14 faculty members bringing their students out for tours and work days. 

You're always invited to set foot on the farm. Hop in with our team at Community Work Days,  Wednesday mornings (9am-12pm) and Friday afternoons (1-4pm), or join us later this fall for our Contra Dance on October 25th from 5-8pm. 

We hope the turning of the leaves and cool breezes ease you into all the changes the season has to offer.

Cheers,

Christina Ferrari, Sloss Fellow

Project Farm to Table freshmen and orientation leaders planted seedlings, grilled pizzas, and learned about food security work in Durham during their two visits to DCF. 

Joseph Yan (T'28, left) and Tallulah Bowden (MEM'27, right) join our field crew as Green Devils and Soil Fertility Fellows, respectively. The Green Devils program aims to advance student leadership in sustainability at Duke, while the Soil Fertility Fellowship studies the long-term impacts of our regenerative practices on our soils.

Project SEED, an Orientation group focused on science and engineering at Duke, learned how to plant cosmos and sunflowers from Field Manager Izzy. 

Join us for community work days in the fall! Volunteers are welcome to join us on Wednesdays from 9am-12pm and/or Fridays from 1-4pm. Our students, volunteers, and staff consistently say that their most memorable memories at DCF are the conversations they shared over a wheelbarrow of mulch or while tackling weeds in a bed of carrots together.

This year, we're excited to offer a few THEMED Community Work Days!

Family weekend- October 17th

Sweet potato harvest- October 24th

Halloween CWD- October 31st.

No farming experience is necessary, and all are warmly welcomed to attend.

Bring your farm finery and get ready for dancing, old-time music, hot cider and more! Contra is one of our longest standing farm events, open to all community members, students, staff, faculty, friends, fellow farmers, travelers passing through....

Guided by Eileen Thorsos, a long-time contra caller, and serenaded by Mara Shea on the fiddle and Dean Herington on piano, you will find yourself whisked away into a night of promenading, balancing, and do-si-do-ing with new friends.

No experience necessary! 

October 25th, 5-8pm

Entry Fee: $5, pay at the door

Our second workshop for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will be on November 12th from 3-5pm. Participants will tour DCF's Southeastern American Indian Garden, discuss Indigenous crops and growing practices, and paint dried birdhouse gourds. Must be a member of the OLLI program. 

CANDOR, a DCF community partner, organizes the West End Free Market to provide the West End, Lyon Park, and Lakewood communities with organic, local, high-quality produce and dry goods twice a month. You can support their efforts through multiple available volunteer shifts for  at the market. 

At the Duke Campus Farm, we seek to catalyze positive change in the food system. In addition to offering healthy, seasonal, sustainable produce to our community, we work to grow climate and food systems  leaders with the tools to navigate a quickly changing landscape.

Now more than ever, we rely on the generosity of our community to continue offering sustainably grown food, and food systems education, to those in our network. If you are interested in supporting our work, we welcome your financial gift here.

Stay in touch with the Duke Campus Farm by following us on socials.