<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Jon-Zirkle-photo-250pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 268px; float: right;" />Au Sable alum Jon Zirkle has a wealth of experiences -- Chicago Botanic Garden, Congress for the New Urbanism, Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois -- all focusing on issues of sustainable, urban living. In 2009, Zirkle vacated these positions and headed to the cool mountains of Vermont to pursue a graduate program in soil science. To many, the idea of going from urban planner to soil scientist seems like a departure. To Zirkle, a student of Winter Stream Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening at Au Sable and Geography major at Calvin College, the program was perfectly consistent.&nbsp;</p>
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	Zirkle&#39;s life work could be said to follow author and farmer Wendell Berry&#39;s twist on the golden rule, &quot;Do until those downstream as you would have those upstream do to you.&quot; Caring for our downstream neighbors is the work of urban planners and soil conservationists. Zirkle has simply transferred his work from urban neighborliness to rural neighborliness. Sustainable lifestyles must involve how we grow and distribute our food, and Zirkle practices and teaches this every day as the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College. We caught up with him to learn more:</p>
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	<strong>What do you do in your current position?</strong></p>
<p>
	I am the Farm Manager at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, which is a nature sanctuary 30 miles away from Goshen where we practice Christian earthkeeping on our diverse prairie/forest landscape and teach courses to K-12, college, and graduate students. My work as Farm Manager includes:</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Managing organic vegetable production (weeding, soil preparation, composting, fertilization, greenhouse plant production, natural pest control, harvesting)&nbsp;</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Overseeing sales and marketing efforts of Merry Lea-grown produce at farmers markets, food co-ops, and on campus as Goshen College</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Coordinating field and marketing tasks with summer agroecology students&nbsp;</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Working alongside and managing our farm interns&nbsp;</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Developing long-term planning efforts to improve infrastructure and organizational structures of the farm</p>
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	&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Disseminating information about our Sustainable Farm projects through our&nbsp;blog and social media outlets</p>
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	<strong>Why is this work important to creation care? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Agriculture, as currently practiced throughout the US, is a significant contributor to air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. It is thus an important commitment to teach and actually implement more sustainable agriculture practices for food production, developing new generations of gardeners, farmers, and food industry professionals who work not only to develop healthy, locally-grown, organic and natural foods but who are working to defend the integrity of agroecosystems. &nbsp;Agriculture has the potential to reduce its environmental footprint and even help provide carbon sinks through improved soil management, for example. As global food demands increase, there is a need to approach agriculture with care and humility out of respect for God, our Creator.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What about your work gives you hope?</strong></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Merry-Lea-5.JPG" style="width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right;" />There are many reasons to be hopeful within agriculture. Agriculture, and agroecology at that, is a rewarding professional and lifestyle pursuit, can help facilitate community building, and offers a bright future for increased opportunity as the world population grows and needs food. It&#39;s an interdisciplinary enterprise, bringing together people of different strengths and backgrounds (e.g., natural sciences, sociology, ethics, engineering, policy) to create sustainable food systems. I also find great hope in the ability of creation care-minded farmers and food professionals to reflect the Kingdom of God and change the way we do agriculture in the U.S. and abroad. More personally, I find hope in seeing young people discover passions in agriculture through the work I do helping teach summer courses where students learn important skills in agroecology, soil science, small farm management, and vegetable crops. These students will surely become leaders and Christian servants in the field someday. I see great potential in Goshen College&rsquo;s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center to be a leader in agroecology teaching, farmer training, and stewardship of the land that has great synergy with Au Sable Institute and its mission.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What was most memorable and important to you about your time at Au Sable? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	When I reflect on my Au Sable experiences, a few things come to mind. First, it was a time&nbsp;of peace and quiet out in stunning natural ecosystems of northern Michigan and western Washington, where I could listen and observe, journal, and incorporate classroom material with actual experiences in nature. I formed many close relationships with other Au Sable students and faculty that remain friendships today. It also provides the opportunity for&nbsp;reading and spiritual reflection. &nbsp;And of course, I&#39;ll never forget the opportunities for outdoor recreation: cross country skiing, hiking, swimming, broomball(!), and campfires.</p>
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	<strong>How does your faith in Jesus Christ affect the work you do today? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	My faith in Jesus Christ is a critical force in reminding me that I cannot save the world on my own, or simply with the work of my own hands. &nbsp;Christ also reminds me that I am charged with being an agent for change to further build the Kingdom of God and being a community member, a team player, part of a body. I can&rsquo;t just individually think good thoughts and simply pray and give praise to bring about a more healed creation--I need to act and do creation care, physically and teach others to do so as well. I believe in Christ as Savior, in a God that is greater than my shortcomings. My faith in Jesus Christ influences the way I interact with others at work through grace I have been given, that my life and professional goals should come second to other higher pursuits, and that suffering and giving are part of human life and the natural world Christ came to redeem and affirm.</p>
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	<strong>How did your time at Au Sable help prepare you for what you are doing now? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	My time at Au Sable gave me creation care foundations that inform how I go about my job, provided a number of social and professional connections that helped me find my current job, and provided academic training that informs the substance of my job in farming and agroecology. The social and spiritual experiences I&rsquo;ve had Au Sable also give me ideas and positively influence the culture I hope to pass on to students at Merry Lea ELC, as well.&nbsp;</p>
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	<strong>Why do you think people should continue to study at Au Sable today? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	It is important, and extremely rare, to find programs that teach both science and Christian practice and ethics in an integrated fashion while giving students rich outdoor experiences in nature. For me, it now feels impossible to imagine learning about science without talking about one&rsquo;s religion and spiritual values. It was at Au Sable where this kind of integrated learning and spiritual development can happen, and I wish that experience for all who seek it. There are great opportunities to grow, change one&rsquo;s lifestyle and environmental impacts, meet and learn alongside wonderful people, and serve and explore God&rsquo;s amazing Creation while at Au Sable.</p>
