New Wildcat Farm manager brings wealth of experience to campus

The CWU Wildcat Farm welcomed a new manager this spring, and the Auxiliary Enterprises team looks forward to tapping her extensive expertise as they look to move the program forward.

Kaitlyn Flesher will oversee the leadership, management, coordination, production, and continual development of the CWU Wildcat Farm by using organic and sustainable principles.

The Farm employs organic growing practices and provides produce to the campus community through Dining Services, 1891 Catering, and the Wildcat Pantry. The outdoor plot, located along 18th Avenue on the north end of campus, also serves as an educational space where students and faculty can conduct research. Members of the CWU and Ellensburg communities also can volunteer and participate in the Community Garden.

Flesher says her background in plant health and integrated pest management will enable her to sustainably produce healthy, nutrient-dense foods for the CWU community-a mission she feels strongly about.

"I'm committed to making the Wildcat Farm an inclusive and accessible space for all to enjoy regardless of an individual's abilities or skill level, and I will continue to work with our community to ensure the farm is a welcoming space to all," said Flesher, who comes to CWU from the Trellis Center, an Ellensburg-based nonprofit organization that serves as a classroom and day center for teens and adults with developmental disabilities.

"My time at the Trellis Center was an incredible experience and it really helped me to realize the therapeutic benefits that gardening can have for our minds and bodies," she added.

Flesher's career experience spans from production of wholesale ornamental grasses and plants to nonprofit vegetable farming, and she is passionate about supporting biodiversity through gardening across the Central Washington region.

The Minnesota native earned a degree in biological sciences from Montana State University (Bozeman), studying ecology and horticulture, including propagation techniques and required site conditions for woody and herbaceous ornamental species. These areas of focus have allowed Flesher to control pests using nature as the tool.

At the Trellis Center, she oversaw all aspects of growing, cultivation, and plant health, tending raised garden beds, row crop fields, apple orchards, a nutrient film technique hydroponic system, and capillary flow mat growing system.

Auxiliary Enterprises Executive Director Joseph Pearson said he and his team are excited to bring Flesher's expertise to the CWU campus.

"We look forward to the wonderful ideas and direction Kaitlyn will bring to help us achieve excellence at the Wildcat Farm," Pearson said. "Her experience and training will be very beneficial to our efforts, and we look forward to the delicious produce, outstanding research opportunities, student engagement, and community connection that she will bring through her efforts."