 |
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||
 |
||||||||
|
|
 |
Previous | Next Lyra Leigh-Nedbor '08 A trip to Italy teaches a few essential agricultural secrets If you've ever wondered how to ward off vegetation demons, Lyra Leigh-Nedbor '08 can tell you. "You need to throw down poppy seeds," she says, "which are so small that the demon will be occupied with picking up the seeds while the crops are permitted to grow." Lyra discovered this fun bit of regional mythology during a course in AgroArcheology while studying at the 13th Century Brunnenburg Castle in Italy's South Tirol province in spring '06. The castle is now home to a famous agriculture museum and draws students of the American poet, Ezra Pound, who owned and lived in the castle for several years before his death. Despite the famously steep and rugged terrain, farmers have found ways to make the vineyard productive for more than a century. "They have a saying about turning disadvantages into advantages, and it results in very creative problem solving," Lyra says. Agritourism was a business in the South Tirol more than a century before the word even entered the American lexicon. "All around the vineyard has been developed with houses and businesses, so it was especially interesting to see how they find ways to continue to increase their production without any physical space to expand," says Lyra, an environmental studies major concentrating in agroecology. When not in class, Lyra split her time between the castle's vineyard and kitchen, carrying on a demanding schedule. In the vineyard, she worked as an intern, learning both traditional and new methods of viticulture. "The contrast between old and new is striking," she says, "due to Brunnenburg's unique way of interpreting historical methods of grape-growing while also building a modern, economically viable viticulture operation." Lyra isn't sure yet how her alpine castle experience will impact the way she does things back at the GMC farm, where she is a regular crew member. She does know that her three months in Italy broadened her worldview in many ways - and that vegetation demons at the GMC farm don't stand a chance. |
|
|
||||
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
