Rhode Island Urban Agriculture

YEAR 1 (October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015)

1. 25 Agriculture Service Providers (ASP) and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers also distributed at urban community farms and at the urban indoor winter farmers market.
2. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 25 farmers attend workshop to learn about soil health in fields and high tunnels (Spring 2015).

Complete. 3 ASP and 10 farmers participated in workshop focused on running a profitable farmers market and speaking English. April 2, 9, 30, & May 7, 2015. The African Alliance of Rhode Island helped organize these workshops and informed us that the participants needed practice with English and help in running a farmers market booth. Our original plans of a workshop about soil health and high tunnels was too ambitious.

3. 25 ASP and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers also distributed at urban community farms and the 9 Providence summer farmers markets (Summer 2015).
4. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 25 farmers attend workshop to learn pest management techniques in fields and high tunnels (Summer 2015).

Complete. 3 ASP and 5 farmers met and discussed pest management. Earlier in the day attended opening of Prairie Avenue Farm, which was a new farm developed through the ‘Lots of Hope’ program. The state coordinator served on the review team for this program that selects lots for development into farms. July 10, 2015. Meeting occurred rather than workshop because growers were not advanced enough for an actual workshop. An informal meeting was more appropriate. We were still mainly working on developing relationships.

5. Attendees of the two workshops receive and respond to a follow-up evaluation
   (Fall 2015).

Completion Note. It would have been inappropriate to try and measure learning accomplishments. The biggest accomplishment is that the farmers and urban ASP are beginning to trust URI Cooperative Extension and see we can be an asset. (see narrative below) 

6. Heather Faubert and Andy Radin meet with ASP to choose topics for Year 2 workshops.

Narrative. The Rhode Island Urban Agriculture Project is amazing, and not at all what I expected or planned on. Let me explain what actually happened on this terrific SARE project. It started October 28 with going into the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution maximum security and talking with the inmates about their strawberry beds. This doesn't have much to do with Urban Agriculture and this project, but it is an example of how this project took off in unexpected directions.

On April 12, Andy Radin (URI Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agent) and I met with Julius Kolawole of the African Alliance of Rhode Island (AARI) and expressed our interest in working with him and the farmers of AARI. Julius was happy, but cautious and told us many times that working with immigrant farmers and AARI was all about building relationships. Towards building relationships with farmers and Ag Service Providers (ASP), I met April 2, 9, 30 and May 7 and together we discussed how to run a successful farmers market booth. The purpose of these meetings was two-fold; to learn better skills about running a farmers market booth and to improve English speaking skills.           

Through this SARE project, I got on the review team for the 'Lots of Hope' project of the City of Providence. The team selected a farm design for an empty lot at 433 Prairie Ave., Providence. The chosen design was constructed and Groundwork Providence won the bid to run the farm in collaboration with the AARI. I attended the Grand Opening of the farm on July 10th and celebrated with people from Groundwork Providence and AARI. Later in the day we held a workshop on IPM with 3 ASP and 5 AARI farmers. Only one of the farmers spoke English well and she interpreted for the other farmers.

Throughout the summer and into the fall I made many visits to the AARI farms and farmers markets to talk about IPM and strengthen relationships. I've told the AARI farmers and ASP that I am a permanent fixture, that I'm not going away, even once the 3 year SARE project is done. They are stuck with me!

YEAR 2 (October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016)

(update or add milestone accomplishment reports below each milestone)

1. 25 APS and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers also distributed at urban community farms and at the urban indoor winter farmers market (Spring 2016).

Advertised series of 4 vegetable production classes in Providence. Advertising was aimed at beginning, urban farmers through the Young Farmers Network.

2. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 15 farmers attend on-farm workshop to learn Beginning Farming 201. Curriculum topics will be similar to Year 1, but the training will be more advanced and in-depth. Additional topics will include crop rotation and an introduction to cover cropping for urban agriculture (Spring 2016).

Held 4 classes at the Brown Tri-Lab at 10 Davol St. in Providence on February 16, 18, 23, and 25, 2016 for urban farmers and ASP in conjunction with the Young Farmers Network. Topics covered included plant problem diagnosis, insects and diseases of vegetables, crop rotation and cover cropping. All four classes were attended by the same 4 ASP and 18 growers. A preliminary survey was sent to workshop participants to discover what were their most significant insect and disease pests and what management methods did they try, and were their efforts successful. Learning was assessed at the final class on February 25th.

3. 3 ASP and 6 farmers use a group Facebook page established for the project to submit questions, receive answers, and obtain information about urban crop production (Spring/Summer 2016).

Answered questioned via email. Questions were about specific insect and disease problems found on crops. From one participant I've answered emails on 24 different farming topics since he attended our classes. Most questions are pest identifications and management recommendations. No Facebook page established.

4. 6 urban ASP attend one or more farm visit to be conducted by URI Extension (2 farm visits/month planned) (Spring/Summer 2016).

The state coordinator:

• Visited African Alliance of RI farm with one ASP on October 1 & 12, 2015
• Visited AARI farms alone on 6/6/16.
• Visited growers and ASP at Armory Farmers Market in Providence with one ASP on 6/9/16, 8/18/16, 8/25/16, 9/1/16, 9/8/16, 9/15/16, 9/22/16, 9/29/16, 10/6/16.
  Farm visits centered on pest identification and management strategies. Visits at Farmers Markets were to build relationships and check with growers to see if there were any troubles on their farms.

5. 25 ASP and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers also distributed at urban community farms and at the 9 Providence summer farmers markets (Summer 2016).
   Did not hold urban farming workshop in Providence in summer, 2016. Since we conducted 4 workshops for the Young Farmers Network, we did not try to hold additional summer workshops with this group. My contacts established in Year 1 with African Alliance of Rhode Island and Groundwork Providence either left their non-profit organization or stopped talking to me. This was very puzzling and frustrating. I tried numerous times, making 10 trips to Providence and several phone calls, trying to establish or reestablish relationships with urban ASP and urban farmers. For the third year of my project I'm going to reach out to a different organization working with urban farmers, Southside Community Landtrust. The organizations working with urban farmers in Rhode Island do not appear to interact very much. Southside Community Landtrust has been working in Providence since 1981. I've worked with them slightly in the past and next year I will pursue them more directly.
   
6. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 20 farmers attend workshop to learn about Beginning Farming 202. Similar topics as Year 1 will be covered more thoroughly, as well as more advanced training in cover cropping (Summer 2016).
   Did not occur. See comments in #5.
   
7. Attendees of the two workshops receive and respond to a follow-up evaluation (Fall 2016).
   Follow-up evaluations were obtained from winter workshop participants. Growers and ASP reported gaining significant knowledge and offered helpful suggestions for future workshops. The workshops were well received.
8. 6 ASP meet with URI Extension to discuss advanced farming topics for Year 3 workshops (Fall 2016).
   Discussed future workshop plans with other ASP at URI and Southside Community Landtrust.

1. 25 APS and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers will also be distributed at urban community farms and at the urban indoor winter farmers market.
   Advertised via email from Southside Community Landtrust and Young Farmers Network, Roger Williams Park Botanical Center Newsletter, Elmwood Neighborhood Association newsletter, and Meet Up.
   
2. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 25 farmers attend workshop to learn crop production techniques (Spring 2017).
   Three workshops were held on April 1st, April 18th, and April 29th. The April 1st workshop was on IPM and held at the Providence Botanic Center. The April 18th workshop was on soil science and took place at the Southside Community Landtrust center in Providence. The third workshop, on April 29th, was at a urban farm in Providence, Somerset Hayward Community Garden, owned by Southside Community Landtrust, and focused on building a field tunnel. Participants evaluated each workshop and reported they acquired new skills that they would put into practice on their farms.
   
3. Facebook page continued for ASP, urban farmers and URI Cooperative Extension (Spring 2017).
   With a series of 3 workshops, we saw some of the same growers at all three workshops. The repeated contact built wonderful, lasting relationships!
   
4. 25 ASP and 375 farmers receive advertisements for urban farming workshop in Providence. Flyers will also be distributed at urban community farms and at the 9 Providence summer farmers markets (Summer 2017).
   Advertising for the workshop was primarily through Southside Community Landtrust.
   
5. 6 Agricultural Service Providers and 25 farmers attend workshop to learn crop production techniques (Summer 2017).
   Workshop on building field tunnels was held in Providence at an urban farmer's farm. The farmer had attended all three workshops in April and was excited to host this workshop.
   
6. Attendees of the year’s workshop receive and respond to a follow-up evaluation
   (Fall 2017)
   In September and October went to 4 Providence farmers' markets to talk to growers and ASP that had attended URI Urban Ag workshops and to meet new growers and ASP. Also visited Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket, RI and started a relationship with ASP who I intend to work with in the future.