The Farm and Forest Project Center is a residential project center set in nature, approximately 20 minutes from campus. Established in 2019 as the Farm Stay Project Center, it operates on 58 acres in Paxton, MA, with one acre of farmland, including horses, poultry, goats, rabbits, and barn cats. The remaining 57 acres include forest, a beaver pond, streams, and gardens. Projects at the Farm and Forest Project Center focus on conservation, nature-based education, sustainable building and development, sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, renewable energy, as well as the connection between nature and human health.
Students who choose the Farm and Forest Project Center can engage in field work in nature, interact with farm animals and wildlife, and produce deliverables that have a concrete impact on local ecosystems and diverse human communities. Past projects include designing and building pollinator gardens to support migratory birds in a changing climate, building educational tools to de-villainize predators on farms, designing and building an 80 ft accessible footbridge across a wetland, and designing and building an automatic watering system for farm vegetable gardens. This local, residential center allows students have an immersive, hands-on, community engaged IQP experience, while still having access to resources at home and on campus.
