Bailey GREENhouse
The Bailey GREENhouse and Urban Farm enhances the living/learning community and provides numerous engagement opportunities for RISE students. The Bailey GREENhouse is a passive solar greenhouse (also known as a hoophouse) intended for the production of certified organic produce as well as a site for numerous student projects including vermicomposting, urban farm production and management, sustainable agriculture and season extension, collaboration with campus dining, agricultural education, apiculture, and collaboration with MSU’s first student-run business, Land Grant Goods.
THE MISSION OF THE BAILEY GREENHOUSE AND URBAN FARM IS TO PROVIDE A SPACE OF LEARNING AND GROWTH FOR STUDENTS OF ALL ACADEMIC BACKGROUNDS IN THE PURSUIT OF A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND JUST FOOD SYSTEM.
The site surrounding the GREENhouse has been designated the first organic no-spray zone on MSU’s campus; no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are permitted on site. The Farm uses market garden-style production systems designed to produce significant quantities of produce to feed members of the MSU community. The entire landscape is edible featuring foods such as: blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, apple, pear, paw paw, lavender, and grapes. The hoophouse serves as a model to students of year-round vegetable production in cold climates and features such items as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in the summer and salad mix, herbs, and spinach in the winter. The facility was built in partnership with Residential and Hospitality Services, Department of Community Sustainability, RISE and the Student Organic Farm, in 2012 when the RISE program was relocated to the Brody complex.
Bailey GREENhouse & Urban Farm Learning Objectives:
- Practice skills of sustainable food production under organic certification.
- Demonstrate business management skills through real-world partnerships.
- Develop an ecological care ethos within the context farm (healthy food, farmers and place).
- Analyze issues associated with a sustainable food system and food security.
If you have any questions about the Bailey Greenhouse, please contact Dr. Laurie Thorp or Jorhie Beadle.