Six-Month Training Course in Organic Gardening and Farming

Students of the Farm & Garden Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture

The University of California, Santa Cruz, has announced their UCSC Farm and Garden’s Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture.  The program, hosted by the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, is an intensive six-month course in organic farming and small-scale sustainable farming.  The program does not begin until April 2012, however the application deadline is September 30.

According to the program’s website: “The six-month Apprenticeship offers instruction and daily work experience in organic gardening and farming, focusing on ecological interactions amongst plants, soils, climate, insects, and pathogens. In a hands-on education approach, apprentices work alongside staff in the greenhouse, gardens, fields, and orchards, as well as attend lectures, demonstrations, and field trips. Apprentices are exposed to the different aspects of growing plants organically on both a hand-dug garden scale and a tractor-cultivated field scale. The apprentices selected to attend the course each year are interested in practical training that will prepare them to teach others and/or to run their own operations.”

Graduates have established their own commercial farms and market gardens, run community gardens and work on international development projects.  There are 39 apprentices each year representing geographic, age and ethnic diversity.  There are also scholarships available for people of color and/or people from disadvantaged backgrounds and also the Simply Organic Scholarship for an apprentice with financial need.

For more information

visit: http://casfs.ucsc.edu

email: casfs@ucsc.edu

or call: 831-459-3240