Ithaca College
ER-T2-5: Sustainable Enterprise

South Hill Forest Products is a student-run business dedicated to providing high quality, all natural non-timber forest products (NTFP) grown and/or harvested on campus-owned property. Each spring semester, Professor Jason Hamilton, associate professor of Environmental Studies, leads an NTFP class that is comprised of students eager to learn. The class is based around an experiential type of education, that allows the students to interact with the subjects they learn. Once the students leave the class, they are well equipped to:
- Integrate: connect academic knowledge, theory, and skills to the experiential learning context
- Problem Solve: identify challenges and opportunities that arise in the experiential learning environment, and respond constructively to them
- Communicate: develop written, verbal, and non‐verbal competencies to effectively communicate with diverse audiences
- Practice Professionalism: understand their roles and responsibilities within the experiential learning context, and act appropriately

Throughout the semester, students learn how to keep bees, farm mushrooms, and make maple syrup. While Jason and his TAs provide a knowledge base, the majority of the work is done by the students. Students in the South Hill Forest Products group pick and pack mushrooms, harvest and process honey, and tap maple trees and boil sap to produce maple syrup. We sell our products and organize an open house at the sugar bush. South Hill Forest Products brand maple syrup is also available for sale at the Campus Store.