South Hill Forest Products

As a first-year in Ithaca College, I got introduced to this amazing class. It is a hands-on experience of how to run a business while making non-timber forest products (NTFPs). NTFPs are anything made out of a naturally harvested material that can be a marketable good - this ranges from maple syrup and hickory syrup to woodworking, to making salves and candles with beeswax. My passion for crafting and creating a product with my hands was well fed in this class as I was part of a South Hill Forest Products (the business that is run out of the lab by the products made in the class). Jason Hamilton, the professor for this class, allows for much flexibility within the class - any student who has an idea of a product is encouraged to work on r&d for their product. I have developed mini mushrooms (made using a lathe) and pine needles baskets. Although I have been able to dabble in all parts of this business, I will always cherish the experience of making maple syrup. As someone from India, I had never seen maple syrup actually being made, and had the time of my life at every step of this process.

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This spring (2023), I was fortunate to work as a teaching assistant for the class. This meant that I was helping 30+ students learn the ropes of the business as well as teach them skills such as knife and axe carving, weaving, among other things. I hope to continue this through the rest of my college life and beyond!

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