Final report for YENC18-127
Project Information
Our project will be a combination of in the classroom and on the farm workshops that will highlight new trends in urban agriculture and introduce youth to successful urban farming projects and entrepreneurs.
Our goal is to help youth discover that urban farming is profitable and show them how empty city lots can quickly be transformed into local food that is good for the community but also profitable. Therefore, we will focus on soil quality improvement and crop planning techniques provided by leaders in the industry such as The Market Gardener and The Urban Farmer.
1) Increase sustainable farming skills of high school students through hands-on work sessions with local farmers at our urban farming campus.
2) Introduce youth to sustainable urban farming career opportunities through meetings with local farmers and introducing them to all the support partners in Flint.
3) Provide students with the know how to turn vacant lots into producing market gardens with nutrient rich soil.
4) Give youth an introduction to crop planning that can maximize yields and in doing so showcase how market gardens can provide a large amount of local food for the community while creating a sustainable business.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Presentation: Youth watched a screening of The Market Gardener’s Toolkit and youth packets were handed out.
On farm demonstrations: (1) Soil health (2) Planning and Planting
Field days: From May to October we had over 14 field days for our 16 youth
Tour: Students were given the opportunity to bring their parents for a tour and then had a meal where our chef also handed out recipe books to use for produce youth helped grow.
Project Outcomes
One of our youth said he wanted to become a farmer one day and he said that he was also interested in working with us through the Americorp program.