Common Good City Farm’s Certificate Program in Regenerative Agriculture

Commodities

Practices

Common Good City Farm's Certificate Program in Regenerative Agriculture addresses both food issues and environmental sustainability by training individuals to become skilled farmers. This free, seven-month program teaches regenerative farming techniques, including crop rotation, carbon sequestration, and no-till bed preparation, among others. Participants also learn about land attainment, business planning, and agricultural entrepreneurship. The program's long-term goals include increasing the number of farmers in the, promoting regenerative farming practices, and expanding access to healthy, affordable food. Common Good will track participant demographics, completion rates, and the adoption of regenerative practices, measuring the impact through surveys conducted immediately after program completion, and again at six and twelve months. The program also monitors the number of new farmers. These results will be shared publicly to ensure transparency and continuous program improvement. Through this multi-faceted approach, the program supports both individual career growth and broader community development, while helping to transform the local food system.

Through our Certificate Program in Regenerative Urban Agriculture, now in its third year, we aim to reverse these statistics and grow the number of BIPOC urban farmers in this country.

Through a free seven-month long training program, Common Good City Farm trains and certifies 35 adult participants per year with a curriculum designed and based on best-practices in regenerative urban agriculture, adapted for urban spaces. It focuses on techniques that are easily put into practice in small spaces, including crop rotation, carbon sequestration, cover cropping, no-till bed-preparation, terracing and contouring, drip irrigation installation, perennial and biomass establishments, mulch and compost application, integrated pest management and more.

The program also focuses on the relationship between climate change and crop resiliency, to provide participants with tools to build resiliency in their own crops through adopting these regenerative practices. In order to build an internal talent pipeline and provide graduates with a career launch pad, Common Good offers employment opportunities to students and graduates of the Certificate Program, as well as opportunities to become educators, providing a comprehensive workforce development program.

Some of the lessons include:

March

• Orchard Management
• Crop Planning and Record Keeping
• Plant Propagation
• Protecting the Soil and Bed Preparation
  
  

April

• Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus and Climate Change Solutions
• Irrigation
• Pest and Disease Management

May

• Nutrient Management
• Planting and Crop Support
• Spiritual Connection to the Land
  
  

June

• Harvesting and Processing
• Land Access Basics
• Planning Your Business with the USDA

July

• Extension Office Basics
• Preserving and Value Added
• Forestation

August, September, October

• Individual Projects
  

October

• Graduation from Program

The program also includes field trips to visit urban farms like EcoCity and The Well, where we will get to see some of the techniques we teach in action and hear from guest speakers in the field. The program is taught by Common Good's Farm Production Manager, Foster Gettys, and by Wes Mahmud, Farm Educator and a graduate of Common Good's Certificate Program.

The long-term goals of the Certificate Program are to increase the number of urban residents (including teens) who see agriculture as a possible career field, to increase the use of regenerative techniques among urban farmers, growers, and producers, and to improve crop and environmental outcomes through the promotion of those regenerative techniques.

Common Good's Certificate Program has three specific outcomes:

• Increase adoption of regenerative agriculture practices in urban farms. We will increase the number of regenerative agriculture practices utilized in urban farms by providing training, mentoring, and resources while employing an evidence-based curriculum and certifications based on assessments. After each year we will collect surveys to assess pre- and post-levels of adoption. Beneficiaries will be the farmers involved in the program as well as the communities they serve--reaching potentially thousands of residents each year.
  
  

• Increase the number of urban farmers. Our City Farmers Certificate Program will increase the number of new and beginning urban farmers. We aim to certify 35 adults in the next cohort.

• Increase the number of BIPOC individuals in urban farming. Washington DC and the surrounding area has a strong network of urban farms, many run like Common Good does, with a non profit model. Students in our certificate program will receive the training they need to be ideal candidates for employment opportunities with these organizations. It is key that our program is setting our BIPOC certificate students up for success in a farming career, either through an existing farm or via their own project. We will track success in this through our follow up surveys and by staying in touch with program alumni.

The program is designed to further the community's momentum and eagerness to produce healthy, local food by expanding opportunities to do so and building expertise in minimizing environmental impacts, while maximizing soil carbon sequestration. Through relationships with city government and other local organizations, we can help students identify growing spaces available to them through the city's tax-abatement program, city-owned land, or underutilized land owned by private citizens or corporations. The curriculum also contains components to help students write a business plan for their possible future agriculture business.

Through its multi-faceted approach, the program not only cultivates a new generation of urban farmers but also supports the broader community by increasing access to healthy, locally-grown food. As the program evolves, Common Good City Farm remains committed to evaluating and adapting its approach to meet the needs of participants and ensure long-term impact, ultimately contributing to the growth of urban agriculture, and the success of the students whom we certify.