Leadership positions in the garden were originally envisioned and continue to be organized based on the idea of a wheel. Typically two students fill the main leadership role as the hubs of the larger garden wheel out of which numerous spokes radiate. Examples of past spoke roles include Website, Art, Outreach and Facilities.
Over the past 6 years Middlebury College students conceived of and/completed several projects at the garden site with support from faculty, staff and volunteers from Addison County:
Built post and beam garden shed.
Built composting toilet.
Installed solar panel to pump water from garden well.
Initiated program of ingoing "insectary" plantings to encourage pollinators to the garden.
Worked with Restoring Our Seed to setup seed saving program.
Worked with Whole Systems Design to design and create a windbreak and permaculture plan. Our initial planting was 150 trees and shrubs.
Currently building a classroom structure at the garden that will enable more classes to be taught at the garden over a longer time period.
Students in MCOG also set up activities on campus and participated in food sustainability conferences and workshops:
Winter Symposium 2005 (see separate item on our website).
Food sustainability film festival during Winter Term 2006.
Helped conceive and support the "food mapping" project with Environmental Affairs, the Geography Department and Middlebury College Dining Services.
MCOG members were delegates to the 2006 Slow Food "Terra Madre" conference in Torino, Italy and will attend the 2008 conference.
Organized the Food Symposium in fall 2008