The History Team: Where We Are Now
The students of the CU History Department’s “Environmental History at Home,” celebrating the end of the semester.
We just wrapped up the semester in the BATP-affiliated undergraduate research course, “Environmental History at Home,” run out of the History Department at CU. Despite closed archives and virtual classrooms, the students stayed engaged to the end and turned in some inventive and fun final projects on Boulder’s environmental and apple history.
Right now, we are transitioning from a semester of teaching while planning our upcoming exhibit with the Natural History Museum at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As with most public projects at the moment, we are preparing for different options, including an in-person exhibit and a virtual one. Whatever happens, we are excited to continue the undergraduate work that has supported the History Team so far!
Looking ahead, there are some big possibilities for the History Team. We plan to integrate historical interpretation into our future community orchard and we hope to continue providing a platform for people to meet each other and gather around our common love of apples through community history events (anytime) and apple blitz interviews (in the fall).
We cannot do this work without your support. If you are interested in learning about apple history through your own archival research projects, conducting oral histories, or hosting a community history event in your neighborhood, please let us know by filling out our history volunteer form. We also welcome volunteers to help manage the History Team moving forward.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who has been a part of the history side of BATP over the past two years. I have learned so much from you, and the love of apples in this place has been a source of energy and excitement for me while I have been a part of the team. Though I am taking a backseat on the project now, I know there is much more to learn about and to create with the historic apple trees of Boulder County.
Amelia Brackett Hogstad
More on undergraduate history research at BATP here and here.
More on oral history and community engagement at BATP here and here.