Expanded Community Farm Visit Program for Youth

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Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: alley cropping, cover crops, crop rotation, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, irrigation, multiple cropping, pollination, pollinator habitat, pollinator health, row covers (for season extension), season extension
• Education and Training: demonstration, youth education
• Farm Business Management: community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets/farm stands, grant making
• Pest Management: biological control, cultivation, integrated pest management, mulching - plastic, precision herbicide use, row covers (for pests), sanitation, traps
• Production Systems: organic agriculture
• Soil Management: green manures, organic matter
• Sustainable Communities: employment opportunities, food access and security, food sovereignty, partnerships, urban agriculture

Sola Gratia Farm (SGF), a nonprofit, sustainable farm, regularly offers educational farm tours to local school and youth groups. The farm will expand the content of these visits for older students with hands-on activities to provide deeper understanding of sustainable agricultural practices such as organic plant start production, crop diversity and rotation, and soil health and preservation for long-term land use and viability. The farm will also develop a new segment of farm visits that explores both career opportunities and food sovereignty to give youth a stronger understanding of the farm and our partners’ work.

1. Design expanded and enhanced sustainable agriculture education opportunities, including farm field trips and hands-on agriculture education activities, for youth in local schools and youth programs;
2. Provide localized and relevant agriculture experience and career awareness opportunities to 40+ local youth, especially those already interested in sustainable agriculture;
3. Develop age-appropriate, interactive and replicable educational materials to be featured on SGF’s learning farm.