Campus as a Classroom
Our 1,100 acre campus is your classroom, your laboratory, and your library.
Our Campus
The Warren Wilson College experience is inextricably linked to its 1,100 acre campus located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.
The natural landscape is often what shapes the visitors’ first impression of the campus; our campus offers a distinct contrast to the typical college campus of vast manicured lawns and regimented planting plans. Emphasis is placed on using suitable native species and materials, drought and pest-resistant plants, along with consideration of form, seasonal, interest, and wise use of the area.
Simply put, it is stunning.
But it is much more than that.
It is your testing ground for you to apply what you learn in the classroom. It is your studio, inspiring creative and moving works of art. It is your home.
A Native Landscape
Landscaping with native plants has many purposes and benefits:
- The plants are already adapted to grow and thrive in this area so they need little maintenance once they have been established
- Native grasses and wildflowers provide forage material for wildlife, like birds, which are dependent upon native plants for their food and for cover
The Warren Wilson Landscaping crew has incorporated the use of native plants in the campus landscape. Most native grasses that our crew works with are warm season perennial grasses. They are managed through burning and manual weeding in the first stages of establishment.
Farm
Our 110-acre farm doesn’t just supply sustainably-produced meat to campus – it’s also where our pre-vet students learn about animal care, our business students flex their entrepreneurial muscles, and our agriculture students put book learning into practice. Explore the Farm Crew, and check out the Sustainable Agriculture program.
Garden
Our garden does more than provide produce for our weekly Garden Market or our student-run vegan cafe. Our garden greenhouses are the home of vegetable starts and student research. Our dye garden supplies natural dye to our Fiber Arts Crew, and our honeybees produce honey and serve as pollinators across campus.
Forest
Our 600-acre forest supplies our campus sawmill with fresh product, and it’s also where our biology students research non-timber forest products. It’s where our forestry students study mycology at our shiitake mushroom operation, and our art students paint some of the country’s most beautiful natural landscapes. Learn more about how you can work in and how you can study our Forest.
