Why Did the Chicken Cross Perimeter Road?
To get to Thacher's new coop!
The Environmental Action Committee (EAC) is a student organization at Thacher that helps encourage and execute environmental initiatives on campus. The scope of the EAC has grown tremendously in recent years and encompasses many programs integral to the life of the School—the compost program, the bee program, and the hog program, to name a few!
Based on the success of Thacher's hog program—now in its fifth year—seniors Casey Gaughan and Talia Isaacson decided they were ready to hatch a new program, this one involving chickens. There will be many benefits to adding chickens to campus, some obvious—like fresh eggs daily—and others perhaps less obvious—like reducing flies around the barns. Chickens, much like our hogs, will also help to reduce food waste by eating scraps from the Dining Hall.
Thacher's chickens will reside in a new hand-built coop that sits out by the Hay Barn and was constructed by students and faculty members.
To Casey, the most important aspect of the chicken program will be providing students with firsthand experience with responsible small-scale argriculture. "The chicken program will provide a kind of 'living lab' for students to experiment with permaculture and sustainable farming, offering them an opportunity to develop their own understanding regarding this crucially important facet of the transition to a more sustainable world."
Back
Based on the success of Thacher's hog program—now in its fifth year—seniors Casey Gaughan and Talia Isaacson decided they were ready to hatch a new program, this one involving chickens. There will be many benefits to adding chickens to campus, some obvious—like fresh eggs daily—and others perhaps less obvious—like reducing flies around the barns. Chickens, much like our hogs, will also help to reduce food waste by eating scraps from the Dining Hall.
Thacher's chickens will reside in a new hand-built coop that sits out by the Hay Barn and was constructed by students and faculty members.
To Casey, the most important aspect of the chicken program will be providing students with firsthand experience with responsible small-scale argriculture. "The chicken program will provide a kind of 'living lab' for students to experiment with permaculture and sustainable farming, offering them an opportunity to develop their own understanding regarding this crucially important facet of the transition to a more sustainable world."
More About Thacher
Interested in learning more about Thacher? Sign up for a virtual visit here.
A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.