Educate
Students come to the O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm to test new ideas, apply their classroom learning and take part in on-farm research. From symbiosis and nutrient cycling to understanding the relationships among food production, ecology, economics and health, the farm is the place where theory is put to practice.
Hands-on learning experiences are available in a variety of forms, from workshops and Stanford science and design courses to health improvement classes. We also offer programs for local school groups in collaboration with the Haas Center for Public Service and a summer high school internship program through the Doerr School of Sustainaibility.
Come Learn with Us
Student Internships
The farm offers Stanford Earth Systems Internships for credit, as well as a summer program in which students work alongside our farmers to design and build their own on-farm research or environmental education projects. The farm also hosts high school students from the Bay Area every summer as part of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences High School Internship Program.
Residential Learning Field Trip Program
The Stanford Educational Farm hosts special field trips for residential learning communities. Our goal is to connect Stanford students to opportunities within the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences through the farm.
Stanford Student Courses Taught at the Farm
Our courses give students both classroom and laboratory access to farming practices as well as leveraging our farm for student projects and field trips.
Academic Field Trips to the Farm
Enroll in a course that offers a field trip to the educational farm.
School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences
- Earth Systems 10: Introduction to Earth Systems
- Earth Systems 20: The Cuisine of Change
- Earth Systems 148: Grow it, Cook it, Eat it
- Earth Systems 155: The Science of Soils
H&S: Humanities
- Comparative Literature 27Q: You Are Here
- English 9CE: Creative Expression
- English 91: Nature Writing
- English 92: Reading and Writing Poetry
- French 166: Food, Text, Music
- Studio Art 140: Drawing 1
H&S: Interdisciplinary Programs
- Human Biology 113S: Healthy/Sustainable Food Systems
- Science, Technology & Society 200A: Food & Society
- Urban Studies 164: Sustainable Cities
H&S: Natural Sciences
VPUE Undergraduate Requirements
- Education as Self Fashioning 6: Wind of Freedom
- Education as Self Fashioning 10: Unintended Consequences
- Writing and Rhetoric 1: Where I'm From
- Writing and Rhetoric 1: The Rhetoric of Climate Change
- Writing and Rhetoric 1: What Are We Trying to Sustain
- Writing and Rhetoric 91: Farmers, Scientists & Activists
- Thinking Matters 40: Sustainability Challenges & Transitions
- Thinking Matters: Food Talks: The Language of Food
Engineering
- Civil & Env. Engineering 70Q: Food/Water/Waste Nexus
- Mechanical Engineering 104S: Designing Your Stanford
- Mechanical Engineering 170A: Mechanical Engineering Design
Professional Schools
Research and Innovation
The farm provides a space for student-directed research in sustainable food systems. In addition to student work, farm Director Patrick Archie and computer science graduate student Victor Chahuneau are researching the impact of a new IT system to manage sales and track yields on small-scale community-supported agriculture. Student groups in the Design for Extreme Affordability course prototype their low-cost agricultural technologies on the farm, and farm staff are testing innovative practices for small-scale agriculture.