On a beautiful September morning, 15 乐播传媒 students hike a quarter mile through the woods of Freeport, Maine, shovels in hand, before emerging into a sunlit clearing.
Spread before them is Pettengill Farm, a historic saltwater farm perched on an estuary of the Harraseeket River. Now owned by the Freeport Historical Society, the 140-acre property features a circa-1800 saltbox farmhouse plus fields, woods, apple trees, and a salt marsh.
It鈥檚 a stunning vista.
Guided by Holly Ewing, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, the students are part of 鈥淪oils,鈥� an environmental studies course that digs into the science of dirt.
Farm Stand
This fall, faculty had the choice to offer their courses in person or remotely. For Ewing, 鈥淪oils鈥� needed to be taught in person.
鈥淭he course absolutely relies on students being able to see, smell, and feel soils in a variety of landscapes,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hese field explorations make the properties of the soil tactile and help the students come to see soils as bodies in the landscape.鈥�
The characteristics of soils are shaped by a variety of factors, she explains, ranging from vegetation, slope, drainage, and the parent materials from which they form.
鈥淭he physical, chemical, and biological properties we discuss in the classroom can be connected to what we have seen and done in the field 鈥� something that can clarify and connect concepts in a way that no textbook can.鈥�
Off to Dig
At Pettengill, the students explored transitions in soil characteristics on the landscape and compared what they found in the field to how the soils are mapped in the areas鈥檚 soil survey, which .
Students looked closely at soil structure, texture, and color among the different soil 鈥渉orizons鈥� 鈥� parallel layers of soil that have different characteristics from those above and below 鈥� that they unearthed.
鈥淭he changes that can occur within just a few feet of each other are incredible,鈥� says environmental studies major Sam Gilman 鈥�22 of Mendham, N.J. He and his lab partner, Zoe Knauss 鈥�23 of Buffalo, N.Y., dug about eight holes during the course of the morning.
Ewing had prepared students (including one studying remotely in New Hampshire, who dug her own holes there) for their fieldwork by teaching them about differences in soils and what causes those differences, from redox reactions to erosion. 鈥淚t’s really cool to then have the ability to get outside and actually see how what we’re learning in class applies to real landscapes,鈥� Gilman says.
Fieldwork in Ewing鈥檚 class, including a recent trip to the local Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, has been a blessing during a semester where so much has been curtailed due to the college鈥檚 public health measures.
鈥淚鈥檝e just been really thankful to have the opportunity to get off campus and get my hands dirty,鈥� Gilman says.
Guided by a Mentor
As the students spread across the old farmland in Freeport with their analysis assignment in hand, Ewing, joined by Camille Parrish, a lecturer in environmental studies, moved from one group to another to check in and give feedback.
Stopping to talk to Sophia Miller 鈥�21 of New York City, Ewing used a knife to scrape off the face of the pit to expose a fresh surface for examination before departing to work with a group down at the river.
Ewing is Miller鈥檚 senior thesis advisor and the duo have been working together intensely this fall. Because of the unusual semester, students are taking just two courses for 7.5 weeks (Module A) and then will take two more during Module B, which concludes in December with winter break.
Miller鈥檚 two classes, the soils course and her thesis work, are both led by Ewing. 鈥淪he鈥檚 my only professor at the moment,鈥� Miller says. That鈥檚 an interesting dynamic, she says, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 been pretty incredible to get to know a professor on that level.鈥�
Further Afield
As Miller takes notes, she explains what she鈥檚 learned. This part of Pettingill was cultivated so the soil was often plowed up, mixing everything at the surface into one deeper horizon. Below that is clay, which might have been originally deposited when this area was covered by the ocean after the glaciers left. 鈥淭here is a lot of clay that鈥檚 pretty hard to dig through because it鈥檚 so dense.鈥�
No matter, says Miller. 鈥淓xperiential learning has always been big for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of why I came to 乐播传媒.鈥� And particularly welcome this fall, when she鈥檚 been spending so much time in her room.
鈥淚鈥檓 socially more isolated than I have been in past years,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o the opportunity to be around peers in a socially distant way, to get off campus, and be learning from Holly is especially special.鈥�
This fall鈥檚 fieldwork, and its collaborative nature, helped solidify Zoe Knauss鈥� decision to declare her major in environmental studies. 鈥淚t was super cool to be able to relate what we learn about in the classroom to the actual environment we are living in,” she says.
