MSU Student Organic Farm Straw Bale Structure

The MSU Student Organic farm has begun the planning process to build a straw bale workhouse. The vision for this example of sustainable building grew out of our commitment to keep students at the center of all that we do.

Beginning with Professor George Berghorn’s students conducting a design charette in CMP 245 during spring semester 2023, Berghorn’s class spent the semester identifying the many sustainable design elements of a straw bale structure and working in teams to research these options. Berghorn’s graduate student and TA for the class developed our preliminary design for the structure which is now being reviewed for the full design phase of the project. Dr. Laurie Thorp, director of MSU’s Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE), has been in close contact with Professor Joe Trumpy and Jeremy Moghtader at the UMich Campus Farm for lessons learned from their straw bale build that was completed in 2018.

We are excited to now have our own example of a sustainable or green structure at the MSU Student Organic Farm, and we invited you to support the development of the straw bale structure and help advance the mission of the farm.

About the Structure

The straw bale will include students in not only the design but also the actual build. Straw bale structures use bales of compressed straw for high r-value insulation and adobe mud taken from Michigan earth to seal the walls. We believe this first-of-its-kind structure at MSU will help bring awareness and critical conversation around the carbon footprint of construction and farming. The MSU SOF straw bale will be a meeting place that embodies our philosophy that places a reciprocal relationship with nature at the core of what we do. It will be a focal point for gathering at the farm with community partners and student crew members to celebrate good food that was sustainably produced.

Who Grows There?

The MSU Student Organic Farm is now a program of Student Life and Engagement. We are a 20-acre certified organic, year-round educational farm. It is a place where students are able to engage with growing food and growing their knowledge of sustainable food systems while becoming campus leaders. Students at the SOF participate in field trips, internships, capstone projects, and service-learning connections with credit-bearing undergraduate courses at MSU. We also offer an 8-month Organic Farmer Training Program (OFTP) in year-round organic farming.

 Our harvest goes to:

• MSU SOF’s Community Supported Agriculture
• MSU dining halls
• Allen Neighborhood CSA
• MSU Student Parent Resource Center

Make a Gift by Mail:

University Advancement
Spartan Way
535 Chestnut Road, Room 300
East Lansing, MI 48824

*Make check payable to Michigan State University and write “Appeal 24OOPCF1SOFSTBA” in the note section.

Comments