This year, many senior students at Concord Academy are participating in senior projects. Senior projects are a second semester course of study that either contain an interdisciplinary or experimental aspect. The students design the project themselves and partner with a faculty advisor who helps them along the way. The project culminates in a presentation that students give at the end of the year. This year, students are doing senior projects on a wide variety of topics.
Maya Khalil ’23, a senior day student, is working with Land’s Sake Farm to help redesign their gardens and education program. The project involves many different aspects that change with the varying seasons. Maya said, “At the beginning, I was just researching plant varieties to put together a plan for what we were going to plant, and making a calendar for [when to plant].” As the weather became warmer and the ground thawed, she began helping to replace and build garden beds. She also worked on the landscape and layout of the new garden. Now, as the end of the season nears, Maya helps to ensure that the gardens are watered and getting proper amounts of nutrients.
Maya conducted research on many aspects of gardens and farming for this project. Topics included different plant varieties, care, and sourcing materials. Maya said, “Most of the research I’ve done relates to plant varieties and care.” Another aspect of her project related to her research was helping develop the farm’s education program. Land’s Sake Farm runs educational programs and volunteer days consistently. Part of Maya’s project involved organizing volunteer days and running programs related to the garden. During her research, Maya found plant varieties that would specifically help with the farm’s education program, so she combined these two elements of her project.
Many faculty members at Land’s Sake Farm also participated in Maya’s senior project. Maya worked very closely with the education department and collaborated with her manager to design gardens and programs. Because many members of the farm wanted to be involved with her project, she had a self-guided endeavor while working with the team at Land’s Sake. Maya said that this has been a very fun project and that she would definitely do something like it again. She adds that her project has been an excellent and enjoyable work experience, and she is grateful to be involved in something she is passionate about.