kc ford, Author at Chewonki

Cows, firsts, and making friends

Leave a Comment / Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki / By kc ford

The farm was the second place I explored when I first arrived at Chewonki for Semester 58. A couple of my new cabin mates and I didn’t want to sit around in our cabin so we sauntered down to the farm beginning to get to know each other. We introduced ourselves and unearthed basic facts …

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Cycles at Chewonki and their lasting power

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

Chewonki is a place of breath, in and out, a tapestry of looped threads. A place of repetition, and of cycles. I notice this morning one. It is barely bright and we overturn soil. It steams with a hundred million microbes scurrying through the stages of decomposition- our food will become rich dirt spread …

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Our Dynamic Duo on Work Program!

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

Abrar: “I hear Imogen from across the quad yell, ‘Abrar! We’re on the same work program again!!!’” Imogen: “It has been five times now that Abrar and I have worked on the same work program. Multiple times on the farm, once in the kitchen and now blogging!” Abrar: “When I found out that Imogen was …

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My Pal Sal

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

I’m going to be honest, waking up at 6 o’clock in the morning the past nine days hasn’t been the easiest thing. My fellow gordy gals and I are the first cabin to be on farm chores (every cabin will have two weeks to do farm chores throughout the course of the semester). It’s definitely causing …

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It’s Farming Season

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

Though Maine Coast Semester is not in session during the summer, Chewonki’s 25-acre organic farm is a bustling place at this time of year. Crops and livestock are flourishing under the care of Farm Manager Megan Phillips, Assistant Farm Manager Hilary Crowell, and Farm Apprentice Lisa Beneman, who is an alumna of Semester 40. They …

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Chores

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

At home I used to sprint upstairs after dinner so my mom couldn’t ask me to wipe the table or unload the dishwasher, and then I’d get mad when she did. I had a lot to learn about community. Being a member of this little civilization means spending a lot of time cleaning up after …

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Human Ecology Capstone: Food insecurity in Maine’s Immigrant

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

Grace, a Maine Coast Semester student from Concord Academy, produced this podcast about Food Insecurity in Maine’s Immigrant Populations as the contribution piece of her Human Ecology Capstone this spring. Take a listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=AUHdRNFiu5M

Environmental Issues Student Project: Food production and access

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

Environmental Issues students at the Maine Coast Semester spent a few weeks this semester working on an environmental justice issues unit. Students researched case studies and reported their findings to their classmates, and then they wrote these blog posts in order to spread their learning out to the broader world. Enjoy! Think about the last …

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The Metaphor of Sheep Shearing

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

What is more Chewonki than writing about the complex metaphor of sheep shearing? The answer is nothing. Therefore, I am going to humor you all and discuss what sheep shearing truly means. Just fifteen minutes ago, I watched as a very talented shearer transformed two balls of hay-covered fleece into a pair of beautiful sheep. …

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Roots of Logging – A Human Ecology Capstone Project

Leave a Comment / Foundation / By kc ford

This past week, the students here at Chewonki have been focusing on something a little different than the regular class schedule: Human Ecology Capstones. Each student has chosen a completely different focus for this week to expand upon in a project that can literally be anything one’s imagination can illustrate. Some are doing surveys relating …

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