Painted Turtle Farm

Painted Turtle Farm Home | Environmental Education | Green Goodies | Compost Program

The Painted Turtle Farm is a student-run organic garden at Gettysburg College, which generates herbs and produce that is donated to Campus Kitchen or utilized by the College's Dining Services.  Student volunteers are involved in all aspects of small scale organic agriculture and manage projects year-round, including planning, planting, growing, and harvesting a variety of fruits and vegetables, to improving soil integrity and biodiversity in the local ecosystems, to reaching out and educating the student body and local community about the importance of local and sustainable agriculture.  The Farm welcomes students from all backgrounds and levels of experience to visit and work on the garden and to learn about organic food production.

The program won state and national honors in RecycleMania's 2008 Food Service Organics competition, placing fifth in Pennsylvania and 37^th nationally.

The garden offers environmental education to students of Gettysburg College, especially within the Environmental Studies Department, as well as helps educate local children through the Green Goodies program.

In addition to the volunteers throughout the academic year, the Painted Turtle Farm also offers three student internships each summer.

Location: The garden is located on roughly 3/4 of an acre northwest of campus, past the West Building next to the Observatory. Currently, a 4,000 square foot plot is cultivated. In addition, one room in the Science Center greenhouse is reserved for the student garden to start crops in the early spring, to grow herbs for their annual fundraiser, and to extend the growing season into the fall and winter months.

History: The Painted Turtle Farm Organic Student Garden at Gettysburg College was initiated during the 2005-2006 academic year as a senior project of student Freya Gibbon '07 with the support of several other Gettysburg College students and Dr. Randall Wilson of the Environmental Studies Department. Grant funding was provided by the Mellon Grant for Faculty Student Research, the Center for Public Service, the Environmental Studies Department, and by the student environmental club, G.E.C.O. The farm is named after a small friend found at the garden site in 2005 after a heavy rainstorm. Four students worked as interns the first summer: Jason Cessna, Freya Gibbon, Christopher Martin, and Dominique Shaw, all of whom majored in Environmental Studies.

The Painted Turtle Farm meets frequently during the academic year and is always looking for more help.  No garden experience required!

Student Directors and Interns - paintedturtlefarm@gettysburg.edu
Jo Ann Zeman (Faculty Advisor) - jzeman@gettysburg.edu
Randy Wilson (Faculty Advisor) - rwilson@gettysburg.edu