Three years ago, the student-founded Book & Plow Farm became a department within the College’s Office of Environmental Sustainability. Under the leadership of Maida Ives, the manager of farm education and operations, the campus farm has become a wellness resource and teaching tool.
![Maida Ives, manager of farm education and operations at the Book & Plow Farm, standing in front of a shipping container](/system/files/media/01_2019_0410_Book-and-Plow-3.0_MS_0521_1200x800.jpg)
From the Book & Plow Farm’s greenhouse atop Tuttle Hill, the view stretches on for miles. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the Quabbin Reservoir. Ives calls it “the best office view I could ask for.”
![A student and a farm staff member raking](/system/files/media/02_2019_0410_Book-and-Plow-3.0_MS_0538_1200x800.jpg)
Student Farmer Sona Kim '22 (left) rakes alongside assistant farm manager Kaylee Brow. Currently, the farm produces over 40,000 pounds of food a year and employs nearly 40 student farm interns.
![Students gathered inside the greenhouse](/system/files/media/03_2019_0423_Cultural-Studies-of-the-Americas_MS_339_1200x800.jpg)
Students visiting the greenhouse in April saw the flats of lettuce and microgreens that would eventually make their way to Valentine Dining Hall for plant-based dining week.
![A professor and his student visit the Book & Plow Farm](/system/files/media/04_2019_0418_The-Resilient-Earth_MS_023_1200x800.jpg)
Professor Ashwin Ravikumar (center, in black jacket) and students from his “The Resilient(?) Earth: Introduction to Environmental Studies” class walk behind Ives during their April visit to the Book & Plow Farm.
![Maida Ives holding up a seedling](/system/files/media/05_2019_0418_The-Resilient-Earth_MS_053_1200x800.jpg)
Ives holds up an onion seedling while addressing the environmental studies class.