Urban-farming apprenticeship programs crop up across the country.

By Aleigh Acerni
Urban Farm Magazine
February 3, 2012

Excerpt:

Would-be farmers have a new way to hone their skills while helping to increase access to fresh produce in urban communities: urban-farming apprenticeship programs. They’ve been cropping up across the country with mounting frequency for the past few years, offering specialized, hands-on training in sustainable, urban-farming methods. And as the popular — and typically competitive — programs grow, they’re giving rise to a new contingent of professional urban farmers.

“We just graduated our first class of beginner farmers in December,” says Dan Bravin, food program coordinator for Multnomah County, Ore., and one of the creators of the Portland-based Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship program. A partnership between the county and the Oregon State University Extension Service, BUFA provides in-depth and comprehensive training in sustainable, small-scale urban-farming methods through formal classes, hands-on training, field trips, online learning, farmers market sales and supervised apprenticeships.

Read the complete article here.

Proposed project an entry in the Mahindra Spark the Rise Project Championship.

Project Implementation Examples

The idea of School Garden was conceptualized and set up at Loyola Composite Pre-University college with the help of one organization, that funded this project. An Eco-Club was formed, comprising of 16-18 students from 8th and 9th standards, to maintain the terrace garden and this was a huge success. These students have displayed initiative and enthusiasm in maintaining the garden on their own and are very involved that they reach out with questions and related problems they face. These students have been supported by their teachers and have been able to harvest 3 kilos of greens within 30 days of starting the project. Vegetables harvested from this project have been directly diverted to their mid-day meal preparation, which is an achievement in itself. This has fostered a green community within the school today.

The second school which has its own garden is B M English School located in Hennur, Bengaluru. The high school students of the ICSE division were introduced to gardening through a workshop and ever since have played an active role in maintaining their garden and are part of the “Green Club” in school. The vegetables grown are sold to their teachers and it is observed that their knowledge of plants, seeds etc. have increased tremendously and are able to identify them with ease.

See the project proposal here.

Curtis Stone wants to teach you how he makes $60,000/year in sales growing food on 3/4 of an acre.

Mission: To create a movement of urban farmers to build communities, resilient local food systems, and income to support their families.

Your Guides: Curtis Stone, owner and operator or Green City Acres, a 3/4 acre pedal-powered urban farm in Kelowna, BC ($60,000 sales in his second season) and Luke Miller Callahan, founder of GroAction, a hub for social entrepreneurs.

The details of the course:

This course is laid out for you to go through all the steps of creating a successful urban farm even if you’ve never grown a vegetable before.

Tasks – Each week we will give you tasks to complete for your urban farm.

Video Lesson – After you recieve the task, you’ll be sent a video where Curtis and Luke will go over Luke’s progress for that task to give you tips and clues of what you may run into and how to get through it

Submit your progress – After you have completed your task you will submit your progress to be reviewed by Curtis, Luke, and your peers. With the submissions, Curtis and Luke will review a sample of them in the weekly video lesson, talking about the good points and what can be improved.

Topics Covered: Market research, site selection, site negotiation, crop selection, bed layout, tools, planting, weeding, watering timers, harvesting, market prep & storage, restaurant, CSA, and much more!

Take the course here.

Michigan State University

Welcome to a one of a kind learning experience! MetroAg MOOC (massive open online course) is a 6 week online course. MetroAg facilitates the discussion on how we integrate agriculture back into urban areas. The content will build awareness of how agriculture can play a vital role in cities, focusing on areas such as food production, recreation, waste, energy, water management, & health care.

Course Objectives:

There are several key objectives for the MetroAgMooc course. The instructors and course planners hope to build awareness of how agriculture can play a vital role in cities around the world focusing on areas such as food production, recreation, waste management, and health care. Another primary objective is to build a network of individuals that will work together to solve problems relating to the complexities of metropolitan agriculture. In addition to this, the course will result in the creation of new content resources in this area.

Week One: Introduction to Metropolitan Agriculture
Week Two: Value Creation Strategy A: New Markets
Week Three: Value Creation Strategy B: Revaluation of Existing Markets
Week Four: Value Creation Strategy C: Sustainable Intensification
Week Five: New Operating Principles
Week Six: Guided Reflection

There are three co-instructors of the course including:

Dr. Henk C. van Latesteijn, Owner of Van Latesteijn Consultancy
Sander Mager, Managing Director of License to Grow
Dr. Chris Peterson, Professor – Michigan State University (MSU) and Director of the MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources

See more here.

UMass permaculture garden dedicated and praised

By Stephen Hewitt
The Massachusetts Daily
October 02, 2011

Excerpt:

The story of a group of University of Massachusetts students who set out to initiate the construction of the school’s first permaculture garden a year ago is a remarkable one, but it’s only the beginning of a worldwide movement.

That was one of several messages delivered last Thursday afternoon, as award-winning author and anti-hunger activist Frances Moore Lappé visited campus and joined University administrators to help dedicate the permaculture garden in an event at the Franklin Dining Commons.

“This beautiful garden is a perfect illustration of what can manifest and what also proves this eco-mind, this ecological understanding of life itself, and what I find so incredibly empowering,” said Lappé in her address.

Lappé, a co-founder of three national organizations including the Small Planet Institute of Cambridge, is an activist on world hunger, poverty and environmental issues, and is the recipient of 17 honorary doctorates, including the Rachel Carson Award and the Right Livelihood Award.

She is also the author of 18 books, including “EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want,” her latest publication that was made available for purchase and personally signed by her at the event.

Lappé was joined by UMass Chancellor Robert Holub, Executive Director of Auxiliary Enterprises Ken Toong, and permaculture garden coordinator and sustainability specialist Ryan Harb, each of whom also added their appreciations for the garden and what it represents.

“It came from the students,” said Harb. “It’s a grassroots movement, and then we decided to compose those grassroots, and establish our own roots, that have now spread further than we ever could have imagined.”

Harb, a recent graduate of UMass and the first person in the nation to receive a master’s of science degree in green building, was contacted by auxiliary services to put together a student committee to create the garden last fall.

The project – which at one point nearly failed and saw that space almost turning into a parking lot – was headed by Harb, who put together the different factors needed to make the initiative a success, from hosting events to sheet mulching the quarter-acre area, which required over 150 volunteers moving 250,000 pounds of organic matter in less than two weeks last fall.

Read the complete article here.

From Ryan Harb’s talk in Vancouver, January 2012

Ryan (right) visiting City Farmer Jan.13, 2012. Diana Cowdery, a Virginia farmer (centre). Mike Levenston (left).

In under one year we…

Converted a 12,000sf grass lawn to permaculture garden

Moved over 500,000 pounds of organic matter by hand, with more than 1000 volunteers and no fossil fuels on-site

Planted 1500 edible plants, 150 different varieties

Supplied 1000 pounds of local produce for UMass Dining

Featured in over 30 media appearances: newspapers, magazines, radio, local TV, national TV

Won 2 National Awards – 2012 NASPA and Real Food Challenge

Received $26,000 in awards and grants

See more about the project here.

Part 1/3 UMass Permaculture Documentary Series

Part 2/3 UMass Permaculture Documentary Series

The average Californian farmer business owner is 58 years old. These entrepreneurs produce crops valued at $20 billion per year.

By Krie Nguyen
The Urban Farm
January 6, 2012

Excerpt:

The 22-week program, priced at $1,950, is designed for those with busy schedules, with courses offered in the evening and on weekends for a total of seven to 10 hours of class and training time per week. The cost includes printed materials, machinery, tools and supplies.

The coursework load will be substantial, with students graded on participation, extra reading assignments and tests. In addition, participants will work on two long-term projects, a business plan and independent study project. Both have as their goal to place students in a scenario of a real-life business.

The California Farm Academy training program was conceived to spur young people to go into an industry in which, according to the organization, the average Californian farmer business owner is 58 years old. These entrepreneurs produce crops valued at $20 billion per year, it says, and the business is in need of the next generation of farmers.

Read the complete article here.

See the course here.

Urban farmers hope to grow in school district

By Naoibh O’Connor
Vancouver Courier
January 4, 2012

Exceprt:

Fresh Roots, a project co-founded by Ilana Labow and Gray Oron in a backyard garden three years ago, now develops school-based market gardens to help teachers meet curriculum goals through experiential learning, while providing produce for school cafeterias and culinary arts programs.

The group has worked with Queen Alexandra for one full growing season.

“It’s had such a tremendous impact in the school community that my inbox became flooded with requests from teachers in other schools to be in a partnership with us,” Labow said, adding, “I’ve watched eight-year-old boys arm wrestle for broccoli flowers growing in that garden. It’s astounding to see the student body hungry to pick collard greens and bring green beans home to their parents.”

Read the complete article here.

John Jeavons to give 3-Day Workshop in NYC, January 6-8, 2012

Bu Cindy Conner
Homeplace Earth
Nov 1, 2011

Excerpt:

When I was learning to garden back in the 70’s, I had read John’s book How to Grow More Vegetables (HTGMV) along with all the other organic gardening information available at the time. I gained skills and knowledge over the years, first growing food to keep my family healthy, then expanding as a market gardener, growing food for my community. Since I was the only organic grower most people knew, I would get a lot of questions. In fact, the cooperative extension office used to refer people to me.

Out of self defense, I began teaching through our county parks and recreation program in 1998 and at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC) in Goochland, VA in 1999. Those classes are the Sustainable Agriculture Program offered there now. I left the college in 2010, but the classes continue with our daughter, Betsy Trice, as the instructor.

When I began teaching, I was bringing together a lot of material from various sources. About that time I came across a copy of the 5th edition of HTGMV in a used bookstore. I was pleased to see the ongoing research on sustainability. Just what I needed for my classes! I took a new look at what John Jeavons was doing at Ecology Action and discovered their teacher certification program. All the better!

Read the complete article here.

More about the course here.

“I like to play farmer, and the rent from the two units on the property covers my costs. And I get to give food to people who need it.”

By Joe Eaton, Ron Sullivan
The San Francisco Chronicle
December 21, 2011

Excerpts:

Financial planner Scott Terry’s “hobby” in Hayward could be the fifth act of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard.” His property there was once part of pioneer farmer William Meek’s Cherryland estate, covered with orchards, before it was subdivided for housing. Terry is bringing back the fruit trees, as well as tomatoes, squashes, corn and greens, and a local 4-H club is helping plant and harvest. The proceeds go back to the community, by way of the Davis Street Family Resource Center in nearby San Leandro.

Chickens and bees might join the plants. Both are permitted in Hayward and unincorporated Alameda County (Terry’s property straddles the line) but not where Terry lives, in San Leandro. Terry and other urban farmers have lobbied the San Leandro City Council for zoning changes. After an October session drew a large pro-bee-and-chicken turnout, the council appointed a committee to draft rules for backyard coops and hives. There’s been no progress since then; Terry says the city claims it has to deal with other issues first.

Read the complete article here.

Local Hungry Families Helped By Urban Farmer

Scott Terry, known for championing chickens and bees, now donates food to the Davis Street Family Resource Center pantry. The SF Chronicle profiled Terry in Wednesday’s paper.

By Carol Parker
San Leandro Patch
December 21, 2011

Excerpt:

Today Terry has more than just the birds and bees on his mind. Since January he has taken on another role, as urban farmer and benefactor of the poor.

His nearly quarter century as a successful financial planner put him in the enviable position of having both the time and money to pursue his dream of owning a hobby farm.

Vanity, however, has played no role in the acquisition and operation of his half acre of land in the unincoporated Alameda County’s Cherryland District . From the beginning owning the farm has been all about helping those in need, say those who know him.

A few years ago Terry founded the Broadmoor Garden Exchange in San Leandro with neighbor Gayle Hudson and others. The group shares gardening expertise, swaps produce and grows food which it donates to the Davis Street Family Resource Center’s food pantry. It once donated nearly 300 pounds of lemons to the pantry and has been bringing food each Monday to the site.

Read the complete article here.

“We had some shiitake mushrooms,” says Shields. “And my momma made sloppy joes with it.”

By Tracie Mcmillan
Grist
16 Dec 2011

Excerpt:

Gilligan, co-director of New Orleans’ Grow Dat Youth Farm, traipses up the mound, which terminates at a deck of sorts and more containers, crowded with architectural students from Tulane University and local urban farm experts. Beyond the deck sits a bayou, lined with trees weeping Spanish moss into the water; the I-610 freeway buzzes along in the background. “I can’t believe how much is done! My office is going to be in a treehouse!”

She has reason to be excited. At four acres, the buildings’ site is just a sliver of City Park, 1,300 acres of green space on New Orleans’ north side. But come February, the buildings will be done, the beds will be ready for planting, and the second class of Grow Dat farmers will commence their work. The goal: one acre planted, 10,000 pounds of food grown, 20 jobs for student workers.

Read the complete article here.

“We have all sort of lost touch with where our food is coming from.”

By Rebecca Sesny
CUNY J-School
Dec 14, 2011

Excerpt:

The administration agreed in the fall of 2010 to create a new program with initial funding coming from the PTA. Local farmer Zachary Pickens and Madiba Restaurant, which has its own rooftop garden, agreed to partner with the school to create this class. Mr. Pickens began the program in the spring of 2011, teaching third grade classes about composting and worm growing. The children grew their own lettuce and the chef at Madiba Restaurant came in to teach them how to make salads with their vegetables.

“We can teach about healthy eating, sustainable agriculture and science education, and a school garden seemed a way we could combine all three,” said Ms. Middlestadt. “We have a beautiful indoor greenhouse on the second floor, which is where we started, and our next step is this pollinators garden.”

Read the complete article here.

Digging In – urban agriculture grows vegetables – and community

By Kris Gallagher
DePaul Magazine
Getting Green
Winter 2012

Founded in 1898, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the largest private institution in Chicago, serving over 25000 students.

Excerpt:

DePaul is ideally positioned to lead such an initiative, Rosing says, based on a survey his students conducted on how North American universities support urban agriculture. DePaul already offers nearly all the necessary core disciplines. He ticks them off:

“We can teach students to analyze compost. We can do marketing and PR, we can do entrepreneurship, we can do nutrition by involving our nursing graduate students. We can definitely do website development–we have a website incubator program through the Steans Center and the College of Computing and Digital Media. We can do policy analysis. We can do horticultural plant science. We can definitely do urban planning through [DePaul’s] Chaddick Institute [for Metropolitan Development]. We can evaluate water through environmental science. We can definitely hold conferences, and we can convene people.”

That could put DePaul on the map as a national center for urban agriculture, says Willard. “Given our interest in social justice, the Vincentian mission, the students that are interested in it, the faculty that are interested in it, and with everything that’s going on in Chicago, this is the place to make it happen.”

Read the complete article here.

Support an Urban High School Farm Project!

EcoStation:NY, Boswyck Farms, and the Bushwick Campus and its students are in the process of building an incredible greenhouse on the Bushwick Campus, and we’re raising $15,000 through Kickstarter to do it! We want to expand the greenhouse infrastructure and education programs, install both hydroponic and aquaponic systems, pay teachers, and create more opportunities to learn about food justice and community food production in the Bushwick area.

We are creating an outdoor classroom, to be used by the four public high schools at the campus: the Academy for Urban Planning, the Academy for Environmental Leadership, the Bushwick School for Social Justice, and the Brooklyn School for Math and Research. Working with four schools means that we teach more than 1,200 students. Every single one deserves the opportunity to learn science, economics, green building, nutrition, and food production year-round. These are skills they can put on their resumes, skills that can get them into college. We would like to see our students running this greenhouse and the farm education program in the future.
Urban farming is the future of our city. When we teach students, they go on to teach each other, their families, and their neighbors. We are supporting future leaders in the green economy.

Already, the Bushwick Campus students have done a huge amount to get this greenhouse off the ground. Our students have worked at Campus Farm and dedicated their energy and skills to greenhouse builds on their lunch breaks, after school, and on weekends. They are working in the rain, in the snow (yes, that Halloween blizzard: they were there! ), and at 8:00 AM on Saturdays and school holidays. They are going to weekend events at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden to talk about expanding our farm. The ideas are there. The enthusiasm is there. We just need the money.

The Bushwick Campus is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Please do what you can to help this community take control over both their education and their access to fresh healthy food! Help our students engage with hands on learning opportunities year-round.

Spread the word about our project: contact friends and families personally, bring this campaign to your community center or church, or alert politicians and local businesses. We need to reach our goal of $15,000 before December 30th. If we do not receive $15,000, we won’t get anything at all. Don’t let that happen. Make a donation, tell people about the project, and use your network, knowledge, and community to help this amazing project.

The Bushwick Campus Greenhouse. Donate to their Kickstarter campaign before December 30th here.

Seeds@City Urban Farm: “Shoots” Greenhouse

Excerpt from their Kickstarter food project appeal:

Seeds was formed in June 2008 through a partnership between San Diego City College and San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project. Since its inception, Seeds@City––an approximately 1-acre farm on the City College campus––has offered apprenticeships three times yearly, and the student demand has consistently been beyond our capacity. The farm provides students with hands-on experiences necessary for learning the skills of urban farming and is the first of its kind at an institution of higher education in San Diego County.

Our new Sustainable Urban Agriculture academic program builds on the three-year success of Seeds @ City and is a model program for sustainable agriculture academic programs in higher education. We have developed and are now offering an Associate degree in Sustainable Urban Agriculture as well as certificate programs in Urban Farming, Urban Gardening, Organic Gardening for the Culinary Arts, Introductory Ecological Landscaping, and Advanced Ecological Landscaping.

More here.

It is a passion for this city-girl-turned-farmer, whose farm is making a mark on the plates of Oklahoma school children

By Doris Wedge
The Norman Transcript
Dec 12, 2011

Excerpt:

Her 330 acres near Stratford are producing tons of vegetables, with some being harvested throughout the year. There are more than 20 vegetables, from lettuce mix to green onions — available to her wholesale clients today — plus five culinary herbs, all of them grown without chemicals.

She was told that she couldn’t do it by folks who supposedly were in the know, she said.

“They told me I couldn’t do this … couldn’t make it work,” Bergen said, showing both indignation and determination as she drove through fields with 800-foot-long rows of crops including radishes, bok choy, turnips and other crops.

“Ten acres of spinach,” she said.

This week, she is shipping 10,000 pounds of white sweet potatoes.

Read the complete article here.

See Peach Crest Farm here.

Save A University Farm from Development

The University of Nevada’s University Farm, a working farm used to teach college students about farming and agriculture, is under attack. The University’s Board of Regents recently voted to have part of the farm rezoned to a light industrial/commercial site. Unless the City Council or University Regents reverse this decision, the 112-year-old farm could be destroyed by commercial development.

The University of Nevada’s College of Agriculture is one of the few colleges in America where students can learn at a working farm on campus. With local, sustainable, urban farms just starting to crop up in cities across America, the country desperately needs collegiate agricultural programs like that which could be offered by University Farm.

As a Reno-based small farmer, I know just how important this farm is to the community. The 1140-acre University Farm is a living piece of history, a hub for agricultural research, and a learning center for America’s future generation of farmers. University Farm should be treasured as an invaluable community resource–not destroyed to make way for even more development in Reno.

America already loses more than one acre of farmland to development every minute. Let’s not let University Farm become another casualty.

This issue will go before the City Council on December 14, 2011, so it’s important to voice support now for conserving all of University Farm. Please sign this petition urging University of Nevada officials and the Reno City Council to protect University Farm.

Sign the petition here.

Nevada’s Farming Future In Peril?

One week from Wednesday, the Reno City Council could decide the fate of about 100 acres at the University’s Main Station Agriculture Lab. The land sits on a flood plane. The Reno Planning Commission approved re-zoning of the land for commercial development last month.

By Terri Russell
Kolo TV
Dec 7, 2011

Excerpt:

Welcome to Wendy Baroli’s world.

She works a small farm just inside the Nevada border and loves it.

“More than anything in the world what I wanted to do was to learn to feed people,” says Baroli

A native Nevadan she worked for a California representative for awhile, but later discovered raising turkeys, chickens, cows, sheep, and pigs was more her style.

You could say it’s in the blood, she comes from a long line of farmers, her great grandfather came to Reno from Italy to work this difficult land.

“Most people say we can’t grow things here. It’s not true. It’s harder, it’s certainly harder,” says Baroli.

Baroli sells the meat and wool to locals in Northern Nevada interested in buying local for their restaurants and businesses.

Read the complete article here.

From the Field to the Cellar, to the Table

Trent Alumni Magazine
Spring 2011

Excerpt:

The construction, which will take 4-6 weeks, is just the first example of the opportunities for community building which the cellar will make possible.

The cellar will be constructed using sustainable building practices. The foundation and the walls will be made from compressed bags of earth and it will be built with a green roof. The green roof will offer insulation to the vegetables below and opportunities for educational programming.

The cellar will be sunk 4-6 feet into the ground, which will create temperatures around 6 degrees Celsius. earth walls, called burms, will also be built up around the structure to increase insulation. Batteries or solar panels will provide the little light that will be needed.

A variety of vegetables will be kept in the cellar. Cabbages, radishes and parsnips will be stored on shelves built into the walls, and squash, onions, and garlic will be hung from overhead, creating a kind of canopy of organic produce. Seeds can be bred to produce food that stores longer, and there are plans to start growing storage-ready vegetables at the Trent Vegetable gardens.

See complete article by going to page 14 here.

Also see: Trent University: “New Sustainable Agriculture Program tackles Food Security Issues”. Go to page 18 here.

“The amount of opportunities to get involved in small scale and urban scale farming surprised me.”

Multnomah County, Oregon
Multco.us
11/16/11

Aspiring urban farmers, listen up: Multnomah County, in partnership with Oregon State University Extension Service, is offering classroom training and hands-on, in-field apprenticeships with local farmers during an eight-month program in 2012.

The application period for the Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship (BUFA), which is in its second year, opened on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The program provides season-long training for the next generation of beginning farmers who want to participate in small-scale, urban farming. Apprenticeships start April 4, 2012.

Students gain knowledge through opportunities such as field trips, online learning, hands-on experience and OSU’s Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management Workshop Series. The series focuses on farm business planning.

More here.

Seed to Plate: A Cultivate Wine’s Competition from Jones Valley Urban Farm on Vimeo.

In the last 10 years, Jones Valley Urban Farm has successfully transformed over 3 acres of vacant downtown property into an organic teaching farm.

Jones Valley Urban Farm is partnering with Phillips Academy–a K-8 public school in downtown Birmingham, Alabama–to educate over 700 students through our Seed to Plate program. This powerful experience teaches kids the joy of planting and growing food, as well as how great fresh food taste and how fun they are to prepare. Little minds are engaged. Energies are spent productively outdoors. And young taste buds begin to crave “healthy.”

This program meets traditional academic standards (we designed our curriculum using National Health Education Standards and National Science Education Standards) while also providing the students with an active learning experience. It has been proven that lessons learned in this type of environment often have the most “staying” power.

Read the complete article here.

“The main difficulty in our American mode of life now is that we are tending to obliterate the distinction between work and play, by crowding work into hours which ought to be devoted to perfect relaxation of mind and body.”

Scientific American Magazine
April 6, 1878

Excerpt:

As a rule school hours are intelligently adjusted with a view of taxing the young brain to a safe limit; and to put any more upon it, by compelling children, voluntarily or involuntarily, to absorb more knowledge of the kind which should be, if it is not, taught in school, and this during their play hours, is simply continuing work. Besides play that is of any value as play has its very essence freedom.