Land ethics and integral ecology were the hot topics at a panel discussion last Thursday night at Star Route Farm, the pioneering organic farm in Bolinas that last year came under the ownership of the University of San Francisco. The evening was the first of many academic conversations the university hopes to open to the public, and coincided with the university’s completion of fundraising for the purchase that very day. The panel included both philosophy and environmental studies professors from universities across the West Coast, as well as West Marin representatives from the Carbon Cycle Institute, the Marin Carbon Project and Fibershed. Dr. Gerard Kuperus, an associate professor in philosophy and the faculty director for sustainability within the university’s college of arts and sciences, kicked off the evening by introducing a few themes. He referenced the concept of land ethics, coined by Aldo Leopold in his 1949 “A Sand County Almanac,” in which Mr. Leopold describes an ethic that reflects care for the natural world, for people, and for the relationship between the two. He also described the idea of integral ecology as introduced by Pope Francis in a 2015 encyclical. “Integral ecology is saying that there is so much more going on, that there are interrelationships between three things: the soul, society and soil,” said Sam Mickey, an adjunct professor in U.S.F.’s theology and religious studies department. “It helps us to learn to be part of our ecosystem, integrating humans and the natural world. Elizabeth Sikes, a philosophy professor at the University of Seattle, urged: “We need to think less of ourselves as individuals, and begin thinking of the self as an ecological self.” Some professors described the disconnect they see between their students and the land whenever their courses venture outdoors; others said that students often express despair at the reality of climate change and the societal frameworks that exacerbate consumption and exploitation of the natural world. Rebecca Burgess, founder of Fibershed, a local nonprofit that focuses on ethical textile production, contributed a more practical concern. Pointing to some of the farmers in the room, she said, “The concern and interest of students needs to be directed to helping those who are alone on the land, who are isolated and need more hands.” Melinda Stone, a Bolinas resident who directs the urban agriculture program at U.S.F., said Star Route Farm is fertile ground for that kind of hands-on education. Ms. Stone was instrumental in connecting the interests of the university with the community’s desire to preserve the farmland, which former owner Warren Weber first announced he was selling in 2013. Last year, the university purchased the 100-acre property for $10.7 million. The university has said it plans to incorporate the farm into its urban agriculture, ecology, and hospitality and tourism curriculum. Ms. Stone said she hoped the university would host a community forum in the near future to discuss the use of the farm. “Community members have a lot of ideas,” she added.