Today marks the first day of autumn, and I was lucky enough to spend my first autumn in New England on a field trip to a local cranberry bog and apple orchard! After browsing the BU events calendar online, I discovered this awesome (and FREE) field trip arranged by the Sustainability Coordinator of BU Dining.  Being a lover of local food and guided tours, this excursion sounded right up my alley! My roommate joined me, as she has a strong affinity for cranberries and has always wanted to visit a cranberry bog.

This FREE field trip included:

• Pumpkin Muffins and Coffee at the George Sherman Union
• A tour of the various cranberry bogs at A.D. Makepeace
• A yummy box lunch from BU
• A trip to Keith’s Farm to pick our own apples

And now for the tour…

The cranberry bog tour was even more impressive than I imagined! A.D. Makepeace is the largest cranberry bog in the world and has about 2000 acres of bogs on their land. Our chartered bus drove us to 4 different bogs on the property, including the world’s largest cranberry bog (which is 75 acres large). We got to see both dry harvest and wet harvest. The wet harvest looked just like an Ocean Spray commercial! (Not too surprising though since A.D. Makepeace is an Ocean Spray grower)

Dry harvest

Wet harvest

After the tour, we wandered around the gift shop and ate our boxed lunches at picnic tables on the property. Then we got back on the bus and went to Keith’s Farm. Nothing says fall in New England like apple picking!

My roommate and I brought home 10 apples from Keith’s Farm. At the market at AD Makepeace, I also picked up a ½ pound of fresh cranberries and a ½ pound of apple juice sweetened dried cranberries. I see lots of cranberry and apple flavored meals in my future! These recipes are catching my eye:

• For the fresh cranberries: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Barley
• For the dried cranberries: Sausage and Quinoa One Pot Supper
• For the apples: Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal

BU students can be notified of future sustainability events like this one here. BU Dining makes an effort to embrace the sustainable food movement by putting on educational events such as this field trip, as well as making a commitment to incorporate more sustainable food products and practices. Below are some highlights of the BU Dining sustainability initiative:

• 28% of BU food purchases are sourced locally (within 250 miles)
• Monday menus (“Make a Difference Monday”) are based around local, sustainable, and organic foods
• Dining menus incorporate fair trade coffee, cage free eggs, and sustainable seafood
• In 2011, the GSU diverted 73% of waste from the landfill by recycling and composting
• A farmers market is held on campus Thursdays during September and October

-Kelly