FARM TRAINING COLLECTIVE NYC INC

Farm School NYC offers an urban agriculture education program rooted in food justice and social justice. The Citywide Program is a one year urban agriculture training program grounded in food justice. This program is rooted in New York City on Lenape land and utilizes a multi-dimensional, hands-on approach that centers BIPOC land traditions and community building. The program begins with a foundation in popular education, botany, and food justice, before immersing in courses that follow the flow of a growing season. This year-long program is the bulk of our recurring programming, offered in-person at partner sites and online:Training of Trainers (December 2023): This dynamic course explored popular education methods, emphasizing the concepts of learner-centered teaching, and hands-on, participatory learning. Students explored various styles of learning, and practiced planning, designing and leading an effective workshop.Food Justice (January 2023) + Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Gatherings (March, June, October, December 2023): With NYC as the stage, this course provided an overview of food politics, food justice issues and approaches. This course looked at economic, political and social disparities, and the innovative people and projects working to overcome them. Historically, this course included an intensive weekend Undoing Racism training, giving students a food justice foundation to build on in their food movement work. These seasonal gatherings offered our community a chance to engage with the Food Justice course facilitator and all students who have participated in the course. Botany (February 2023): Study the plant body and the main component parts of the plants we eat: roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruit. This course will better prepare students for Propagation, Growing Soil, Plant Health and Crop Management.Propagation (March 2023): This course covers the basic aspects of plant propagation and best practices for raising healthy seedlings from seed to transplant, including: plant reproduction, the use and management of propagation tools such as greenhouses and hoop houses (managing microclimates, pests and diseases, and record keeping), creating and using propagation media such as soil mixes and common containers, and proper watering techniques for different types of seedlings and stages of growth. Growing Soil (April 2023): Essential to growing healthy plants is growing healthy soil. This course covers everything from basic soil science, soil remediation and the current state of NYC soils to soil fertility, proper irrigation and cultivation, and compost (biology and system construction).Carpentry and Building Intro (May 2023): Students learned carpentry basics: reading and drawing building designs relevant to urban agriculture (raised beds, compost bins, chicken coops, cold frames, greenhouses and hoop houses, rainwater harvest systems). Outdoor classes covered tool safety and maintenance as well as provide hands-on building experience. Learning the Land (June 2023): This course provided an overview of the forces which shape our ecosystem, both natural and man-made. We will discuss geology, hydrology, vegetation patterns, wildlife, Native American history, and disturbance. Students will leave the course with an understanding of how to apply these concepts in an agricultural setting.Irrigation (July 2023): Within the context of NYCs watershed, this course covered the role of irrigation in farm systems, types of irrigation, how to set up these systems and where to source equipment.Crop Management (August 2023): This course explored the best crops for NYCs climate, weed management, succession planning and planting, inter-planting, harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques, review of common crop plant families and their specific needs. Preparing for Winter (September 2023): This course covered seed saving, garlic planting and varieties, garden clean-up and tool storage, cover-cropping basics (varieties, sowing methods and planting calendar) as well as food preservation techniques.Small Farm Planning and Design (October 2023): This course examined the essential elements of designing small to mid scale scale growing spaces. Learn practical record keeping for urban farms and gardens, business planning 101, beginner marketing concepts and spatial design. Utilize the theory and practice of asset-based community mapping to turn your dream into a reality. Farm School NYC offered additional courses for the general public in 2023, including:Raising Animals: (February 2023) In this course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of animal husbandry in NYC, including care and legality of keeping livestock in the city. Specifically, students will focus on raising chickens, bees, and small ruminants.Crop Planning: (March 2023) This course focuses on advanced crop planning for vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb production. Students will gain a deeper understanding of specific plant families, including crop science and growing needs. Students will develop crop plans.Facilitation: (June 2023) Through practical application and classroom time, students gained skills in lesson and curriculum planning for a wide range of audiences. Participants learned about existing garden and food justice education curricula and how they can be integrated with public education state standards. Soilless Practices: (July 2023) This course introduces participants to soil-less food cultivation via aquaponics, an ancient eco-system method that combines plant production with fish cultivation. Each week will focus on various aspects of aquaponics including microbiology, aquaculture, hydroponics, water quality parameters and system design.Community Food Arts: (August 2023) In this advanced course, students learned about processing food through canning, pickling, drying, fermenting, and freezing. Students will learn about food science, NYS health and food safety standards, and relevant licensing. Students developed their own market-ready value added products.High Tunnel Basics: (October 2023) This course reviewed high tunnels (sometimes called hoop houses) and their many uses, values, and styles. It included how to plan for choosing a site, construction, and basic maintenance of a high tunnel in harmony with the urban setting. Advocacy: (October 2023) This course prepares students to walk away with an understanding of NYC, NY state, and federal policies and how they affect food access and food production in an urban setting. Students will develop skills in campaign building, community organizing and effective writing for and streamlining messaging around these issues.Farm School NYC was deeply committed to continuing an important collaboration in 2023 -- a Black Farmer Ecosystem in New York State -- with organizations such as Black Farmer Fund, Black Farmers United-NYS, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, Corbin Hill Food Project and Soul Fire Farm Institute. Each of the partnering organizations provides unique but complementary services including culturally-rich, climate-smart agricultural training; ethical, equitable land access; patient, blended investment capital; and collective, expansive marketing support. The Ecosystem continued collaborating on Building and Strengthening Social and Economic Sustainability Among NY State Black Farmers, a project funded by Northeast SARE Research and Education, a USDA agency. Farm School NYC also participated in the 2023 Black Farmer Redistribution Fund to support activities and projects that strengthen the work of New Yorks emergent Black-led farms, food businesses and food sovereignty efforts and to document lessons learned and best practices that emerge from this effort.