The PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture, already at the forefront of farm-based education in Pennsylvania, Tuesday announced an expanded list of partners offering courses for consumers interested in living more sustainably.

Through its Good Food Neighborhood program, PASA partners with organizations, groups and individuals to provide “Sustainability Schools” throughout the Commonwealth.  

“Living more sustainably is something we can all do to contribute not only to the viability of our own families, but increasingly of our local communities,” says Hannah Smith who heads up PASA’s community outreach efforts.

Smith designed the program which parallels PASA’s very popular peer-to-peer farmer education program.

“PASA is well-known for its farm-based education programs which highlight the skills and experience of our farmers to farm sustainably. Likewise, our local communities are gaining strength by the networking of folks who have much to offer in the way of living sustainably. Our Sustainability Schools draw on these community resources,” said Smith.

Smith points to a wide range of courses available from composting to backyard poultry and beekeeping, from home energy efficiency to food preservation, and even home brewing and fermentation.

PASA is now partnering with Chatham University’s School of Sustainability and the Environment (Eden Hall Farm Campus, Gibsonia, Pa); Dickinson College Farm (Boiling Springs, Pa); Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild (Lansdale, Pa); Greener Partners (Collegeville, Pa); Home Grown Institute (Philadelphia, Pa); Jennings Environmental Education Center (Slippery Rock, Pa); Quiet Creek Herb Farm and School of Country Living (Brookville, Pa); Spring Creek Homesteading Fund (State College, Pa); and Pennypack Farm & Education Center (Horsham, Pa).

Katherine Watt, an organizer with Spring Creek Homesteading, offers, "These courses are about learning how to do more things for ourselves. In this time when families are feeling so stretched from a contracting economy, rising energy prices and the impacts of extreme weather conditions, building a safety net using local resources of time, skill and land can make all the difference."

For more information on upcoming courses, visit the Sustainability Schools webpage.

4/8/2013