News & Events

Guest post by Cultivations instructor, Alex Gemme: As part of our Cultivations class, we are exploring the history of Rock Point and learning about how the land has been used through the years. This week, we met the research specialist, Prudence, in the special collections section of the UVM Bailey Howe Library. We felt like we were entering the 'restricted' section of the library at Hogwarts, but more heavily guarded.

In week two of summer session, we have spent a lot of time in the garden! Kara Buchanan, our resident herbalist, helped students learn about the various herbs and plants in and around our garden. Students tried various herbs, learning about their properties and some plant biology. Students made a healing salve by mixing olive oil infused with comfrey, plantain, St. John's wort and calendula with beeswax and essential oils. The salve can be used to soothe bug bites, burns, and dry skin.

We are wrapping up our first week of Summer Session 2016 and it has been a full one! Students have spent time getting to know one another, playing, and learning together. On the first morning of Cultivations Class, students took a "fox walk" around the property. Fox walking is a mindfulness practice that helps you tune into the sounds of the woods and be present in the moment. We've also been working on our carving skills in Cultivations, making eating utensils from sumac wood.

This spring, our Biology class was busy! The class has been working its way through the diversity of life, starting with the most basic and culminating in human biology projects. Mari, our science teacher, led several field trips to research centers at the University of Vermont so students could see the concepts they learned in action. One of their first trips was to the Zadock Thompson Zoological Collection, looking at the diversity of insect life. Students were particularly interested in the many species of bees in the collection, given their recent apiary work. Next, students toured the Miller Research and Educational Center, UVM's agricultural research facility. The MREC trip coincided with information on mammals and advanced organ systems. Students learned about dairy cow life cycles, bovine digestion, and agricultural research. While touring the Miller Center, the class saw fistulated cows, pet dairy cows, and learned the milking procedures.