Learning by Doing

You can study all the books you want or peruse the web. You can chat with the experts or listen to lectures. But in the field of sustainable agriculture, there is nothing quite like the John Dewey method of learning by doing—engaging hands, mind, and all the senses.

This is why, on our farm, we host an internship program, which offers college-aged students a unique opportunity to learn and grow on a diversified, homestead farm. Here is an explanation of the program:

Have a passion for animals and plants? Wondering if local and sustainable agriculture might be an ideal lifestyle for you? Looking to stay active and be outdoors this summer? Want to build skills in the farm-to-table movement? If these ideas appeal to you, then a summer internship at North Star Homestead Farms, LLC might be an exciting opportunity for you.

Tucked in the boundaries of the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin, North Star Homestead Farms is a model representative of small-scale, intensive, sustainable, humane, and wholesome agricultural practices. Our pursuits include pasture raised poultry, sheep, and hogs, as well as a large market garden for CSA and Farmer’s Markets, honeybees, fruit production, herbs, aquaponics tilapia and produce, and a fully-licensed Farmstead Creamery & Café (which includes food processing, bakery, grocery, and dairy plant).

Our focus is on building community, connecting people with the land, maintaining transparency, and giving great service. Owned and operated by three enterprising women, North Star Homestead Farms, LLC offers a constructive environment for personal growth, learning, teamwork, and humor in the everyday rigor of farm living.

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Our interns live with us full-time on the farm and come from a variety of walks of life. Each seeks a unique slant on their experience with us, from Michelle’s interest in getting more involved in sustainable community development to Clara’s desire to become a large animal veterinarian even though she didn’t grow up on a farm.

Days are long on the farm in summer, what with chores in the morning, garden work, packing CSA boxes, helping out at the Creamery, and chores again in the evening. Often we’re out finishing a job by headlamps or wrapping muffins for farmer’s market well into the night. It’s the busy time of year, with a multitude of projects needing attention. Interns learn as they go, taking time to ask questions and borrow books by Joel Salatin and Elliot Coleman, among others, from our personal library. Many also take time to snap pictures to document their experience here—experiences that make memories to last a lifetime.

And there are certainly the humorous moments as well. The day the pigs escaped and waltzed up to the studio window to look in at us, or the time the hydrant hose got stuck in the water tanker trailer and bent the hydrant pipe while the chickens squawked wildly. There are the unique moments when Mom and Clara performed surgery on a meat chicken with crop bind or Mike and Garrett worked with Kara as a lamb was born. And, of course, there are the long days of butchering 102 meat chickens or planting 3,000 onions.

It’s an experience that helps students build strength both physically and emotionally. They gain a greater appreciation of not only what they are capable of doing but of how much effort and care it takes to grow and produce wholesome, local foods. And they get to share the story of this place and their experience through guiding farm tours and helping at farmer’s market.

Working alongside us also shows our interns how much we value the community aspect of local foods. From partnering with other small, sustainably-minded farms like Springbrook Organic Dairy, Serendipity Springs, Shuman Cattle Co., or West Wind Community Co-op, interns help with packing and inventory while learning more about the diversity of stories, hurtles, and dreams these dedicated producers have. At Farmstead Creamery, our interns learn the value of building relationships on a personal basis with clients through special events like the Locally Grown Summer Music Series or the day-to-day inquiries and visits. Every moment is an opportunity to learn, grow, and share the experience and meaning behind the local food movement.

But it also takes the community to help make the internship process a success as well. This has been an adventuresome summer for finding help on our farm, but our Northland College intern Clara Bruner has stuck with it all summer and been an important part of animal care, CSA prep, and kitchen help at Farmstead Creamery. Now it’s time to celebrate her dedication to the farm with a special scholarship dinner!

Save the date—Thursday August 15th starting at 5:00 pm for our annual scholarship dinner. Bring $20 per person and enjoy a choice of roast pork, new potatoes, and broccoli salad or a summer zucchini and pasta medley with a fresh lettuce salad, along with Kara’s fabulous gelato and a cookie (coffee or tea included). Hear fun summer stories, some music by Laura Berlage, and a chance to share the evening with community and friends.

All proceeds and donations will go to a scholarship fund for Clara, so please bring friends and help us spread the word! Also, please call ahead or email if you can attend, so we can plan food preparations accordingly. We hope to see you there as we wish the very best for Clara and her adventures to come!

Remember those important moments when you learned by doing? Maybe it was a first job or alongside Grandma in the kitchen. Those skills and memories have stayed with you over the years, enriching your life experience. Maybe some of those memories are from days ago back on the family farm, just like the memories our interns are building here at North Star Homestead. See you down on the farm sometime.