History of F.H. King Students for Sustainable Agriculture

Founded in 1979, F.H. King Students for Sustainable Agriculture is a registered student organization that encourages education and hands-on experience with small scale sustainable agriculture. Through lectures and workshops, potlucks and speakers, we strive to establish the relationship between land, food and the UW-Madison campus community as well as the surrounding community.

To pursue our mission, F.H. King operates a two acre farm located on campus next to the Eagle Heights Community Garden.  We follow organic practices, yet do not currently grow on certified organic land. Although F.H. King has two garden directors, we rely on volunteers to tend the farm and are open to teaching any individual how to maintain a garden. During the growing season, volunteers plant, weed, harvest and wash over sixty different varieties of produce. Over 75 percent of our produce is then donated back to students on campus. We have also run a small-scale CSA in past growing seasons. See our Produce Distribution page for information about where our produce goes.

When we’re not out on the land, F.H. King’s directors and volunteers dedicate their time to planning and facilitating hands-on workshops. Workshops and lectures focus on sustainable growing practices, food preparation, cooking and storage as well as how to run a successful garden. Past topics have included cover-cropping, season extension, canning, raw foods preparation, brewing, and cheese making.

For Specific information on F.H. King (the man), check out our Resources page.

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We need a historian!

F.H. King has a rich, yet undocumented history. We are lucky to have several former F.H. King directors living and pursuing sustainable agriculture activities in the Madison area. Our goal is to find a student or group of students to conduct interviews and research the F.H. King electronic and paper archive to create a history of the organization. The final output of this project can take several forms: written thesis, brochures for distribution at F.H. King events, a page on the F.H. King website, a page on the student farm wiki that will be used for a reference for other students farms, or a video documentary, for example. We encourage interested students to be creative and use multi-media to convey their work.

How can this help me?

We see this as an opportunity for a student or group of students to have an interesting and practical topic for a semester project, seminar paper, or even Master’s thesis. We are also happy to help facilitate credit for your work if you choose to do this project independent of a course.

Interested?

Check our our internships on our Get Involved! page or contact Micah Hahn (mbhahn@wisc.edu) for more information.