Hear from Emma Zuercher, a student in the Sustainability Leadership Semester (SLS) fall 2020 cohort, about how the SLS is an immersive language experience.

Merry Lea Sustainable Farm is now home to six new baby goats born the first week of May. Our two adult female goats, Ruby and Diamond, each had triplets and both families are doing well.

The search committee for Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College has announced Jason Martin, Ph.D. as Merry Lea’s new executive director. He will join the Merry Lea team July 1, 2020.

Hello nature friends–

Along with the rest of Goshen College, the Merry Lea Team is hunkered down and working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

When you need to get out to a safe place, Merry Lea is here for you. The Learning Center Building may or may not be open, but our TRAILS are OPEN dawn to dusk. Spring is coming soon!

For 21 days, students in Merry Lea’s Master of Arts in Environmental Education learn about a subtropical ecosystem and then work with six elementary schools to get kids outside and connect them to their environment. Every year, I am amazed by how much they absorb.

It’s been nearly two months since the seventh cohort of undergraduates completed Merry Lea’s Sustainability Leadership Semester (SLS). Between mid-August and mid-December, they shared classes, meals, field trips, hikes, social activities and a weeklong canoeing adventure.

What happens when children’s interests drive education? Merry Lea’s Nature Preschool could offer plenty of examples. In one case, it all began with dinosaurs.

Merry Lea’s second annual Seed Swap January 18 offered regional garden enthusiasts a chance to trade seeds and knowledge at nearly 20 booths and attend educational talks. Dani Tippmann of Whitley County Historical Museum spoke on “Plant Traditions of the Miami Tribe,” one of three educational talks offered.

On December 3, the Merry Lea Team rewarded its volunteers with a dinner, entertainment and gifts of homemade jam. Volunteers donated over 1,221 hours to Merry Lea during 2019. Some braved early hours and the beaks of cardinals to help band birds; others led children on hikes, helped at the farm or portrayed animals for the Enchanted Forest.

Having trouble keeping track of all the comings and goings at Merry Lea? Meet our new farm manager, environmental educator, international volunteer and SEED recruiter. Meanwhile, Farm Manger Ellie Schertz left us for Tucson. In 2020, we expect to welcome a new executive director.