Spreading
the seeds of organic agriculture through education, training,
outreach and apprenticeships
After a six-month immersion in organic farming, graduates of the University
of California-Santa Cruz's Farm and Garden program are taking their programs
across the country and sometimes around the world.
Apprentices who come to USCS Farm & Garden program spend six months in a combination
of academic, classroom work and getting their hands dirty---literally. The program
has a 25-acre garden site that is both lab and classroom for the latest organic
farming methods. In the classroom, they learn the science behind it all. In the
fields, they learn the practical methods needed to make fruits and vegetables
grow and thrive.
| According to Ann Lindsey, the trainees in the
program often arrive with some farming experiences, but they
want to hone their skills and learn how to teach others. They
may have spent some time in the Peace Corps already, or they’re
heading off to the Peace Corps and hope to work on sustainable
agricultural projects in developing nations. The trainees,
about 35 to 40 of them each year, range in age from 21 to 65
and their backgrounds are quite diverse. They come from all
over the U.S., but also from Africa, Canada, and Columbia.
The program is gaining a worldwide reputation. |
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The funds from Stonyfield
Farm help USCS get the word out about the program and will
ultimately help with the cost of producing a training manual
so that organic projects can sprout elsewhere, perhaps led
by the program's own graduates.
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| "The most important
thing we can do is to get people to start their own projects
or farms," Lindsey said. "We want to have that kind of ripple
effect. We've not just been training people on site, but we
want to capture the essence of what we do in our program by
helping other organizations do similar training all over the
country." |
There are dozens of examples of projects that have been started
by USCS alums. One such program trained inmates at a state
prison to farm organically on a garden inside prison walls.
The prisoners ultimately took those skills into their jobs
after release.
“We’ve been wanting to document the kinds of projects
our alums have begun for a long time,” she said. “Stonyfield’s
contribution will help us do that.”
All of the USCS outreach and education programs are growing,
because the market for organic food is growing. They often
have a waiting list, but Lindsey’s hope is that all the
alumni projects will create more and more opportunities for
others to learn and spread the organic seed even further. |
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