Our Faculty and Staff

Caroline Stephens

PEAS Farm Lecturer

Contact

Office: JRH 017
Email: caroline.stephens@mso.umt.edu
Office Hours: By appointment only, as I am often at the farm and not in my office on campus. Send me an email to schedule an appointment.

Personal Summary

I am a farmer and educator from the bluegrass region of Kentucky. I earned my B.A. at Centre College in Kentucky, which is also where I started farming, volunteering for vegetables at a nearby farm in the Kentucky knobs. Since college, I have worked at and managed vegetable farms in both Kentucky and Montana. Throughout my career, I have also taught farming in various contexts, from urban to rural and with preschoolers and adults.

In 2015, I earned a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana where I focused my graduate work on agriculture, food systems, and creative writing. My graduate thesis addressed the history and practice of drought adaptation among organic and conventional grain farmers in Central Montana. In addition to my work at the PEAS Farm, I live on a historic homestead where my wife and I manage a 130-year-old orchard, low-water-use garden, keep chickens and pigs, and interpret the complex histories of farming, homesteading, and colonization in Missoula, Montana.

The thread between all of this work is a keen interest in people, place, and storytelling. My teaching is student-centered, active, and begins with a focus on relationship: with one another, the larger community, and the land. I hope you will consider spending a semester—or three--on our student crew at the PEAS Farm.

Education

B.A. Art History, Environmental Studies and French Minors, Centre College

M.S. Environmental Studies, University of Montana

Courses Taught

ENST 396: PEAS Supervised Internship

ENST 430: Culture & Agriculture

ENSC 470: Agroecology

ENST 491: Special Topics: Food Sovereignty Practice

ENST 590: PEAS Supervised Internship

GBLD 194: From Seeds to Sovereignty: Agriculture Past, Present, and Future

HONR 394: Soil to Soil: Food and Climate

Research Interests

Food Systems, Food Justice, Tribal Food Sovereignty, Agroecology, Community Agriculture, Active and Inclusive Teaching, Place-Based Teaching, Storytelling

Selected Publications

Christina Leas, Sarah Halvorson, Neva Hassanein, and Caroline Stephens, 2024. "Seeding Resilience: The Impacts of a Seed-Saving Network in Western Montana," Geographical Review.

Erika Berglund, Neva Hassanein, Paul LaChapelle, and Caroline Stephens. 2021. "Advancing Food Democracy: The potential and limits of advancing food policy positions in local government," Journal of Agricutlure, Food Systems, and Community Development.

Caroline Stephens. 2015. "Raising Grain in Next Year Country: Dryland Farming, Drought, and Adaptation in the Golden Triangle, Montana," Graduate Student Theses, Professional Papers, and Presentations. 4513.

Caroline Stephens. 2015. "The Onion Harvest," Whitefish Review #18, Volume IX, Issue 2. Pushcart Nomination.

Caroline Stephens. 2014. The Impacts of Climate Change on Montana Agriculture. Montana Environmental Information Center: Helena.

Neva Hassanein, Laura Ginsburg, Kim Gilchrist, Caroline Stephens, and Eva Rocke, editors. 2013. Local Is Delicious, But It's Not Always Easy: A Case Study of the Western Montana Growers Cooperative. University of Montana, Environmental Studies: Missoula.