Progress 08/15/16 to 08/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy, revised outreach materials and conducted outreach to enroll Certificate Programs cohorts that were racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our certificate cohorts during this grant were 72% female, 9% gender non-conforming, 34% African American, 26% Latinx, and 16% Asian. 78% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels. Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole. Changes/Problems:In the summer of 2018, a conflict between facilitators on The Youth Farm revealed a need for deep reflection on the structure of our partnering organization and deeper, more nuanced ways to identify and dismantle power dynamics that involve race, class, gender and sexual orientation within our community and the larger world. This work is core to Farm School NYC's mission, necessary to serving black and brown farmers of color whom we center in our work, and essential to accomplishing the objectives set out in this grant. In December 2018, we began a process of feedback, insight, repair and innovation.Our facilitators offered recommendations that included ideas from our current and former students, faculty, staff and partners. Certificate students, faculty and advisory board members reviewed, amended, and prioritized these recommendations along with staff through a series of in-person and virtual community meetings. As a result, Farm School NYC evolved the Farm Intensive Program in 2019 by offering: New Facilitator Role - Farmer and educator Mayfield Brooks served as the new Farm Intensive Certificate Program Facilitator, a re-envisioned role focused solely on mentoring and instructing FIC apprentices. Choice of Apprenticeship Site - Farm School NYC paused its partnership with The Youth Farm and FIC apprentices had a choice of five alternate apprenticeship sites to develop their knowledge, be mentored and practice what they were learning. This change also enabled apprentices to work more regular hours along with their Farm School NYC commitment. In the first two years of the Farm Intensive Program, the students' Youth Farm apprenticeship required them to be on the farm from 8:00am - 3pm every weekday, severely limiting their ability to find or keep full-time employment. Low income students, who were disproportionately people of color, found this particularly stressful, and this change was a welcome one. Sliding Scale Tuition and Transportation Support - The students were offered sliding scale tuition for the 18-month program based on household income and required course/workshop hours. Each Farm Intensive student was also offered a $500 travel stipend to assist with travel to their apprenticeship sites, which was often mentioned as a barrier by many former students. Individualized Learning Objectives and Mentoring - The FIC facilitator worked with each FIC apprentice to develop their own learning objectives and share knowledge and resources one-on-one to help students reach them. The facilitator also worked with FIC apprentices and their site hosts to enhance learning at their apprenticeship site. Intensive Workshops / Cohort Gatherings - Based on prior student feedback, the workshop curriculum was updated and strengthened. Four times during this reporting period, FIC apprentices gathered at an apprenticeship or partner site for 4 hours of hands-on group learning on topics that the cohort helped determine, including an Aquaponics intensive, a Carpentry intensive in which they constructed a hoop house, an Animal Husbandry intensive at Glynwood Farm in Cold Springs, NY, and a composting intensive at Earth Matter on Governor's Island, NY. Additional Core and Advanced Courses - Based on prior student feedback, the workshop series was supplemented by additional Farm School NYC core courses, offering more structured classroom and on-farm instruction. FIC students could take all core courses in 2019. FIC apprentices also had the option of taking four courses usually reserved for second-year students: Animal Husbandry, Advanced Teaching, Community Food Arts, and Enterprise. Four Farm Intensive students engaged in this re-envisioned program in 2019 and appreciated its increased flexibility. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Core Courses Each core course was offered three times during the grant period. Preparing for Winter (21 hours) 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 (35 hours) This course reviewed the value of and types of record keeping and learned practical elements of community garden, school garden and urban farm design, business planning 101, beginner marketing concepts and program planning. Students also study the theory and practice of asset-based community mapping. Transformational Leadership (14 hours) This course explored ways of connecting our values and our goals. Propagation (21 hours) This course covered the basics of plant propagation and best practices for raising healthy seedlings from seed to transplant, including: reproduction, using/managing propagation tools such as greenhouses and hoop houses, microclimates, pests and diseases, 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 Soils (28 hours) This course covered 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 (21 - 26 hours) Participants 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 provided hands-on building experience. NYC as an Ecosystem (14-21 hours) This course provided an overview of geology, hydrology, vegetation patterns, wildlife, disburbance, Native people's history, and their relationship to agriculture. Irrigation (21 hours) Within the context of NYC's 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 (28 hours) This course explored the best crops for NYC's 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. Advanced Courses Each advanced course was 18 hours long and was offered two times during the grant period unless noted. Advanced Crop Planning: This course covered planning for vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb production. Students gained a deeper understanding of specific plant families, including crop science and growing needs. Students developed crop plans. Soilless Production: Students learned about comprehensive aquaponic and hydroponic systems. This course covered plant propagation in soilless medium, fish selection and management, and basic design principles for planning a soilless system. Mushroom Production (2018 only): Farm School NYC, Cornell Cooperative Extension Urban Agriculture Program and Cornell Small Farms Program partnered on this new six-week course that explored the ethnography and social justice aspects of growing mushrooms and trained new and experienced farmers in the background, techniques, and economics of farm scale indoor commercial production.Students learned about mushroom cultivation, harvesting and marketing and received spawn and guidance to try mini mushroom experiments at home. Advanced Advocacy: This course covered city, state, & federal policies and how they affect food systems in an urban setting. Students developedskills in campaign building and effective writing for streamlining messaging around these issues. Advanced Animal Husbandry: Students gained a comprehensive understanding of animal husbandry in NYC, including care and legality of keeping livestock in the city. Specifically, students focused on raising chickens, bees, and fish. Advanced Teaching: Through practical application and classroom instruction, students gained skills as facilitators of learning for a range of audiences including children, youth, and adults. Participants also learned about various learning styles, and tools for designing & planning educational experiences. Advanced Community Food Arts: Students learned how to integrate value-added farm products into their farm business. Students learned to preserve food by canning, pickling, drying, fermenting, and freezing. Students learned about food science, NYS health and food safety standards, and relevant licensing. Together, students created a class product, and individually developed a plan for their own market-ready value-added product. Enterprise: Students learned and demonstrated the fundamentals of business planning, development and management of enterprises in a local food system. Students learned to identify opportunities and develop and implement sustainable models for local food production, processing and/or distribution for economic and/or social benefit. Students gained skills to develop CSAs, farmers markets, farm-to-school and farm-to-restaurant models and the regulations that accompany such trade. Certificate Student Seminar: Certificate students participated in a final student-led seminar and presentation. CRAFT We coordinated 22 CRAFT workshops with 16 partner sites in NYC for over 110 people. Workshops including: Intro to Hydroponics + Vertical Farming at Square Roots Farm Mushroom cultivation at Smallhold Microgreens at Brooklyn Grange Next Steps Career Panel with Cornell Cooperative Extension Season Kickoff at Randall's Island Urban Farm Lean Farming at Square Roots Farm Restoration Agriculture at Stuyvesant Cove Park No-till Farming at Project EATS- Randall's Island Farm Insect Pest Management at Kelly Street Garden Cover Crops & Mulches at Queens Botanical Garden Farm Intensive Trainings Students in the Farm Intensive Certificate Program in 2017 and 2018 attended 24 trainings, totaling of 55 hours, including: Soil Physical properties - 2 hrs Bed Preparation: Low Till techniques: 1.5 hrs Basic Tool Care and Maintenance: 1 hr Transplanting Annual Crops 101: 2 hrs Soil Science: Chemical Properties of Soil (2.5 hrs) Parts of a Crop Plan (2 hrs) CSA History and Models (2.5 hrs) IPM Part 1: About IPM, Common Pests and Diseases (1.5 hrs) Bouquet Making Basics (1.5 hrs) Post Harvest Handling for Vegetables and Flowers (2 hrs) Direct Marketing: Choosing a Market (1.5 hrs) Mushroom Cultivation Workshop using Spores (1.5 hrs) Season Extension (1.5 hrs) Cut Flower Production + Flower Justice (1.5 hrs) Other Trainings and Professional Development Opportunities Grow Together Conference Keynote, 3/30/2019, New York, New York, 300 attendees OEFFA Conference Keynote, 2/16/2019, Dayton, Ohio, 350 attendees OEFFA Conference Workshop, 2/15/2019, Dayton, Ohio, 42 attendees NOFA-NY Winter Conference Workshop, 1/19/2019, Saratoga Springs, New York, 38 attendees Graduation Celebration, 12/11/2018, New York, New York, 60 attendees NESAWG Conference Panel, 10/26/2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 325 attendees Seeds of Hope Screening, 9/5/2018, Brooklyn, New York, 75 attendees Info Session for Prospective Students, 8/29/2018, New York, New York, 40 attendees Food Justice Panel, Manhattan Country Day, 5/10/2018, New York, New York, 55 attendees NOFA-VT Keynote, 2/18/2018, Burlington, Vermont, 400 attendees Graduation Celebration, 12/12/2017, New York, New York, 58 attendees NOFA-NY Winter Conference Workshop, 1/20/2018, Saratoga Springs, New York, 42 attendees NESAWG Conference - Urban Agriculture Session, 11/10/2017, Baltimore, Maryland, 36 attendees Securing the Promise of Urban Agriculture Panel, 5/23/2017, Albany, NY, 22 attendees Just Food Conference Remarks, 2/24/2017, New York, NY, 300 attendees How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Farm School NYC shared updates with students, faculty and supporters through monthly newsletters and our website features. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact Statement: New York City and the metropolitan area that surrounds it is home to millions of low-income residents, particularly black and brown people of color, who face tremendous challenges in finding fresh, affordable produce and suffer disproportionately from diet-related illnesses as a result. Farming in and near cities is a vital way for these communities to increase their food security, to cultivate culturally and ethnically relevant food, to increase the financial stability by keeping food dollars circulating to locally, to offer fulfilling and fair wage work for farmers of color, and to build sovereignty in the food system for their communities. We need more of these farming projects committed to dismantling the systemic racism that has caused unjust health and wealth disparities and more professionally trained and experienced farmers to run them. With the support of this grant, 2,478 individuals gained knowledge and skills through Farm School NYC's grant-funded programming during the 36-month grant period. This includes 257 students who took one or more of the 57 courses we offered, and an additional 2,143 people who learned through the 20 workshops we presented at gatherings and food and farming conferences throughout the Northeast. 21 low-income beginning farmers graduated from our intensive certificate programs, completing 400 hours of training over 18-24 months. These graduates were 76% female, 5% gender nonconforming, 43% African American, 24% Latinx, and 14% Asian. 16 of these students began farming during the grant period, a change in action that increases the representation of black and brown farmers significantly in a state where only 0.24% of farmers are black and 1% are of Hispanic, Latino, and/or Spanish origin. Moreover, the deep learning about sustainable agricultural practice and environmental and social justice Farm School NYC facilitates is crucial for students of all ethnic and economic backgrounds. This is how we do the real work of creating a more equitable food system for all. Objective #1: 2,478 individuals gained knowledge and skills through our grant-funded programming during this grant period. This includes 257 students who took one or more of the 57 courses or the 10 short-courses and intensives that we offered. Each course ranged from 14 - 35-hours of in-class and on-farm instruction; our short-courses and intensives ranged 4-8 hours each. An additional 2,143 people learned through the 20 workshops we offered at gatherings and food and farming conferences throughout the Northeast, each lasting between 1 and 3 hours. We developed two new courses - Soilless Production and Mushroom Production and revised and refined the other 19 that had been part of our program prior to this grant period. Student self-evaluations and quizzes proved significant changes in knowledge of sustainable farming practices as a result. Objective 2: Farm School NYC developed, launched, refined and innovated a new Farm Intensive Certificate (FIC) Program, which was tentatively called the Advanced Farming Track. Twenty-nine students participated in the program, gaining hands-on training and skills with our partnering farms. This program offered highly motivated students interested in both sustainable agriculture and social justice three of Farm School NYC's foundation courses -- Food Justice, Botany and Training of Trainers, 24 on-farm trainings, and an immersive production farming experience for a growing season. In 2017 and 2018, with the guidance of senior farmers, students learned while helping produce an acre of food and flowers for various markets; a 30-member vegetable CSA, a 25-member flower CSA, a weekly farm stand and several restaurant accounts. FIC students learned to harvest approximately 10,000 of vegetables and 11,000 stems of diverse cut flowers and make 400+ bouquets. Objective 3: During the grant period, 39 Farm School NYC certificate students gained hands-on experience through apprenticeships of at least 140 hours on 17 urban and rural farms, including Edible Schoolyard, Queens County Farm, and Rise and Root Farm. 19participated through the Farm Intensive program and 20 through the Citywide program. Apprentices spent at least 75% of their time farming with a mentor/farmer throughout the season. Apprenticeship responsibilities for some students included work with low-income populations; food advocacy; teaching others how to grow food; managing markets and/or food-related businesses. In collaboration with our professional evaluation consultant, we conducted an end-of-season assessment of apprenticeship host sites to learn how we can support them in mentoring and immersing our students in their farm operations. Objective 4: More than 45 alumni and former students participated in Farm School NYC programming to support their entry into farming through networking and skill building since we were awarded this grant in August 2016. Farm School NYC launched a comprehensive initiative to contact and gather information from alumni, and then offered greater networking and skill building opportunities than ever in this reporting period. Alumni and former students participated in a variety of networking and continuing education events, including two new advanced courses, two sponsored conferences, our CRAFT programming, Food Justice and end-of-season gatherings and student graduation. We also engaged former students and alumni as teachers: they comprised more than 25% of our teaching faculty in this reporting period. In our learner-centered methodology, one of the most effective ways to deepen knowledge is by preparing and teaching skills to others. We intentionally recognize and reward our alumni for the expertise they have gained both through our courses and in their subsequent work experience by recruiting them to teach, which also serves to further enhance their mastery. Objective 5: CRAFT is a cooperative effort of local organic and biodynamic farms organized to enhance educational opportunities for farm apprentices through a variety of workshops and farm visits. Farm School NYC was proud to launch the first urban-based CRAFT program with the support from this grant, coordinating 22 CRAFT workshops with 16 partner sites in NYC. Over 110 people attended, including 78 regional farm apprentices and junior staff, 21 Farm School NYC apprentices, and 12 senior farmers and staff. Objective 6: During the grant period, 21 low resource students eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels completed our certificate programs. This comprises 75% of those graduating, reflecting Farm School NYC's demonstrated commitment to serving limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC refined our outreach strategy. These 21 low-resourced graduates are 76% female, 5% gender nonconforming, 43% African American, 24% Latinx, and 14% Asian. With the support of the USDA, we surveyed and met with students to shift our programming and policies to better serve them. This included: New student orientation, expanded from 3-hours to a 2-day immersion which helped build intentional community where students felt seen and heard and confirmed expectations for the program. Farm Intensive program evolution, which incorporating transportation stipends, sliding scale tuition, more flexible hours, more opportunities for rest and reflection. More opportunities for mentorship and feedback, and student-selected representatives to our board to make curriculum, partnership and other decisions that impact students' ability to thrive in our program. These initiatives were critical to helping us retain and graduate low resource students, and strengthened the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
The goal of this evaluation was to gauge the educational effectiveness during years two and three of Farm School NYCs Enhancing Educational Experiences, Resources, and Support for Beginning Urban Farmers project supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), from 2016-2019.
This evaluation focuses on three of the overall Outcomes:
- The primary outcome addressed in this report is Project Outcome 1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and to develop and manage innovative marketing activities over the course of the project.
The report also addresses aspects of two additional outcomes:
- Project Outcome 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and to develop and manage innovative marketing activities.
- Project Outcome 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farming.
The evaluation used a mixed-method approach. Student quizzes in both years two and three of the evaluation assessed student learning in 20 courses; and self-evaluation surveys in both project years gauged students assessment of their own learning through the same 20 courses.
Evaluation interviews with alumni in both years two and three; and, in year two only, with lapsed students who had begun bug did not finish the program, gathered alumni perspectives on the educational effectiveness of the FSNYC curriculum, based on experiences during and after graduation. In year three only, an online survey of apprenticeship host sites collected information about sites apprenticeship offerings, strengths, and areas of desired improvement.
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Progress 08/15/17 to 08/14/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy; and revised outreach material and conducted outreach to enroll a 2016 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our 2017-18 cohort is 72% female, 5% gender nonconforming, 16% African American, 22% Latinx, and 22% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 65% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels. Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole. Changes/Problems:In this second year of the grant, 2017-2018, we made several changes to the FIC schedule with a goal in mind to improve group synergy and to provide more support to students: We developed a conflict resolution policy and facilitated discussion around conflict resolution in our full cohort Orientation in November 2017 FIC facilitator Molly Culver joined the Undoing Racism/Building Equity training with the full cohort over two days in January 2018 (new to invite FIC farm facilitators) We added two optional "pre-season" gatherings in March and April between the close of the Botany course and beginning of the intensive portion at the Youth Farm with a goal to better support and prepare FIC students for the transition from indoor, more focused academic learning to on-farm hands-on training on a production - oriented farm. Activities included an time management activity, Youth Farm Q and A session, and facilitated conversation around personal goals and production farming and food justice. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned above, more than 100 students gained knowledge and skills through 18 Farm School NYC courses and five field trips. Fifty-three of these students are in our two Certificate Programs, 32 in our 2017 cohort. This cohort began taking courses in December 2017 with our Training of Trainers course, which introduces them to the popular education model that we integrate into all of our courses and encourage them to use as they share the knowledge they gain with their communities. The Food Justice course began in January and is critical to producing food sustainably and ethically in urban areas where racial and social injustice has caused health and wealth disparities. The cohort then completed our foundational Botany course before splitting in two groups according to their certificate programs -- the Farm Intensive Certificate Program students began their immersive, season-long training program on The Youth Farm in April, while the Citywide Certificate Program students continued with additional courses that combined on-farm, hands-on learning on weekends with weekday evening classes that allow full-time, working adults to attend. Additional courses the Citywide Certificate cohort completed during this reporting period included: • Propagation (direct seeding, transplanting, asexual propagation) • Growing Soils (soil science, soil testing, composting, amendments) • Irrigation (assessing plant watering needs, building and repairing drip systems) • NYC as an Ecosystem (geology, hydrology and history of our region) • Crop Management (crop planning, crop rotation, companion planting, intercropping, harvesting) • Plant Health (introduction to IPM, recordkeeping, organic solutions to pest and disease) This year, 2016 Citywide Certificate Program cohort accepted in November 2016 began their second year of the training program. We offered five advanced courses for these students during this reporting period of August 15, 2017 - August 14, 2018; we offer eight in all, of which students must complete five to graduate. The five advanced courses offered during this period were: Advanced Crop Planning: Thu Jan 4, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EST - Tue Feb 6, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EST This course covered planning for vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb production. Students gained a deeper understanding of specific plant families, including crop science and growing needs. Students developed crop plans. Soilless Production: Thu Jan 25, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EST - Thu Mar 1, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EST Students learned about comprehensive aquaponic and hydroponic systems. This course covered plant propagation in soilless medium, fish selection and management, and basic design principles for planning a soilless system. Advanced Advocacy: Tue Feb 13, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EST - Tue Mar 20, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EDT This course covered city, state, & federal policies and how they affect food systems in an urban setting. Students developed skills in campaign building and effective writing for streamlining messaging around these issues. Advanced Animal Husbandry: Tue Mar 27, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EDT - Tue May 8, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EDT Students gained a comprehensive understanding of animal husbandry in NYC, including care and legality of keeping livestock in the city. Specifically, students focused on raising chickens, bees, and fish. Advanced Teaching: (Tue May 15, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EDT - Tue Jun 26, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EDT) Through practical application and classroom instruction, students gained skills as facilitators of learning for a range of audiences including children, youth, and adults. Participants also learned about various learning styles, and tools for designing & planning educational experiences. Advanced Community Food Arts: (Tue Jul 10, 2018 @ 6:00 PM EDT -Tue Aug 14, 2018 @ 9:00 PM EDT) Students learned how to integrate value-added farm products into their farm business. Students learned to preserve food by canning, pickling, drying, fermenting, and freezing. Students learned about food science, NYS health and food safety standards, and relevant licensing. Together, students created a class product, and individually developed a plan for their own market-ready value added product. Starting in April, the Farm Intensive Program cohort began an immersive training experience during a full growing season at The Youth Farm. FIC students are actively involved in every stage of producing an acre of food and flowers for the farm's various markets; a 30-member vegetable CSA, a 25-member flower CSA, a weekly farm stand and several restaurant accounts. Students are trained in sustainable/low-till/agro-ecological farming skills through a blend of hands on work, formal workshops, discussion, and field trips. This season FIC students helped seed, prepare beds, plant, weed, irrigate, perform IPM, fertillize, maintain and harvest for 31 Vegetable CSA Shares and 20 Flower CSA shares weekly, June 11th - October 22nd. They delivered four shares regularly to a local food pantry through a grant with a partner organization NY Cares. One FIC student acted as CSA liaison, helping drive 19 of the 31 shares to a local food pantry and second distribution site. Each FIC student had an opportunity to help co-write a weekly CSA newsletter, contribute fun facts, recipes, storage tips and/or be profiled in the newsletter. Students in the Farm Intensive Certificate Program attended the following trainings and field trips, totaling of 55 hours of training: • Propagation, Youth Farm practices: 1.5 hrs • Propagation Basics (Parts of a seed, Germination requirements, Soil mixes, Structures and Materials): 2 hrs • Soil Physical properties - 2 hrs • Bed Preparation: Low Till techniques: 1.5 hrs • Irrigation Part 1: Testing Soil Moisture - 1 hr • Basic Tool Care and Maintenance: 1 hr • Transplanting Annual Crops 101: 2 hrs • Irrigation Part 2: Hands on assembly and use of various systems (2 hrs) • Irrigation Part 3: Why Water? (Evaporation, Transevaporation, Etc.) (2.5 hrs) • Soil Science: Chemical Properties of Soil (2.5 hrs) • Parts of a Crop Plan (2 hrs) • Hows and Whys of Compost (2 hrs) • CSA History and Models (2.5 hrs) • IPM Part 1: About IPM, Common Pests and Diseases (1.5 hrs) • Market Training: Common NYC Market Payment systems and Difficult Dynamics (2 hrs) • Bouquet Making Basics (1.5 hrs) • Post Harvest Handling for Vegetables and Flowers (2 hrs) • IPM Part 2: Field Study - Observation and Identification (1.5 hrs) • Carpentry 101 (2 hrs) • Direct Marketing: Choosing a Market (1.5 hrs) • Mushroom Cultivation Workshop using Spores (1.5 hrs) • Season Extension (1.5 hrs) • Cut Flower Production + Flower Justice (1.5 hrs) • Whys and Hows of Record Keeping + Analysis of YF Record Keeping Systems (2 hrs) In addition to the two farm trips that both programs took jointly to the Hudson Valley and to Pennsylvania, the Farm Intensive Certificate students also completed field trips to the following urban and rural farms: 1. New Roots - IRC Farm, Bronx, NY 2. Rise and Roots - Chester, NY 3. Earth Matter, Governor's Island, NY How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Farm School NYC continues to share updates with students, faculty and supports through monthly newsletters and our website features. As our CRAFT program and our alumni program evolve during the course of our grant period, we will create best practice guides to share with the larger agricultural education community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Outcome #1: 46-146 students gain knowledge & skills through courses to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 3-28 regular & AFT certificate students & 44-147 non-certificate students participate in Farm School NYC courses. With guidance from external evaluator, assess student recruitment & course effectiveness. (Staff, consultant) Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Continue to select new certificate program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach classes at community gardens, urban farms, regional farms, etc.. (Staff/faculty) Outcome #2: 2-8 students gain more intensive on-farm training & an expedited certificate through the new Farm Intensive Certificate program in partnership with The Youth Farm. Output: 14-18 students complete 480 hours of fieldwork & 207 hours of classroom learning. Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Select new program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach 15 classes & 90 workshops at Youth Farm. (staff/faculty) With external evaluator, track number of students recruited & skills gained.* (Staff, consultant) Outcome #3: 10 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 10 students participate in high quality apprenticeship experiences Continue to assess current Farm School NYC apprenticeship programming. (Staff & partners, alumni, Board) Continue to research best practices for apprenticeship management. (Staff) Develop resources to support community partners/apprenticeship hosts in apprenticeship management. Implement & evaluate new resources. (Staff, project partners, & Board) Develop new & manage existing relationships with 20-35 community partners. (Staff & Board) Coordinate Farm School apprenticeship activities for 10-15 second year students each year. (Staff) With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine new apprenticeship strategies. (Staff) Self-publish a set of best practices & share with community partners & BFRDP grantees. (Staff & Board) Outcome #4: 15-30 alumni gain additional information, skills, & networking opportunities to support their entry into farming. Output: Resources, educational programming & networking opportunities developed for alumni. Survey 15-25 alumni & 30-40 students to assess current & potential School alumni needs in collaboration with external evaluator. (Staff & consultant) Continue to research alumni resources/support in farmer education programs, including BFRDP grantees. (Staff) Develop and implement strategies to provide additional support to School alumni, which may include: listserv development, continuing education & networking opportunities. (Staff & Board With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine support strategies implemented.* Staff, Consultant & Board) Outcome #5: Local farm apprentices & junior farm staff participate in the first urban Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program in the Northeast. Output: 60-90 new farmers participate, 10-15 partner sites gain capacity to host high quality CRAFT experiences. Continue to coordinate network of 15-20 NYC-area urban farms that host apprentices. (Staff, project partners) Coordinate & integrate curriculum development with participating farms for 8-10 farmer- & apprentice-led CRAFT events per year. (Staff & partners) Continue to support city-wide beginning farmers with networking & education opportunities. (Staff & partners) Evaluate curriculum, networking & continuing education opportunities using surveys, feedback meetings & other tools suggested by external evaluator. (Program staff, consultant, Board) Outcome #6: 7-17 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program. Output: Improved strategy to recruit low-resource students implemented in the Northeast. Output: 7-17 low-resource certificate students receive support strategies & systems. 7-17 graduate from the program. Survey current & former low-resource students. (Staff & Board) Identify barriers & challenges to low- resource student retention. (Staff) Research & implement strategies to help 10-15 low-resource students complete the certificate. (Staff) Assess the School's communications strategy. Update website. (Staff & Board) Continue to conduct outreach through networks & mailing lists, including the School's (3,000+), Youth Farm (3,000+) & City Parks Community Gardening Division-Green Thumb (20,000+). (Staff, partners, listservs) Continue to identify appropriate community partners, press & social media outlets, & promote the School to reach target audience. (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Refine outreach materials (i.e. flyers, brochures, ads). (Staff) Promote the School at 10-15 community events & conferences annually. (Staff, partners, & Board) With external evaluator, track # of low-resource students in program & other metrics. (Staff, consultant)
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the second year of Farm School NYC's current USDA BFRDP grant, we launched new initiatives, refined existing programming and integrated new perspectives from our students, faculty and community. Our efforts reached more 104 students through courses and additional educational programming, which continue to bring us closer to our ultimate goal - creating leaders who will transform our city and its food system, making them healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable for all. Our objective is to provide high quality learning experiences and support networks for Farm School NYC students and alumni. During this second year of our grant, Farm School NYC and our partners have made significant progress toward the following outcomes: Objective #1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses During this 12-month reporting period, more than 100 students gained knowledge and skills through 18 Farm School NYC courses, explained in more detail in the training and professional development section, and five field trips - including one to Truelove Seeds Farm in Pennsylvania in September 2017 and a weekend immersion at three farms in the Hudson Valley - Mettabee Farm, Hawthorne Valley Farm, Wildseed and Rock Steady Farm. Objective 2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training through a partnership with The Youth Farm The Farm Intensive Certificate Program (FIC), formerly the Advanced Farming Track, is a combination of three core Farm School NYC courses, and a 7-month urban farm training developed by the Youth Farm. We accepted 12 students for our second cohort in November 2017. FIC students collectively harvested approximately 5,000 of vegetables and 6,875 stems of diverse cut flowers, and made a total of 275 bouquets during the reporting period. More detail about the accomplishments on this objective is in the training and professional development section. Objective 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through 140-hour apprenticeships Eight students began apprenticeships in early spring for the 2018 growing season at the following farms: · Rise and Root Farm in Chester, NY · Newark Science and Sustainability in Newark, New Jersey · New Roots Community Farm in Bronx, NY · Kelly Street Community Garden in Bronx NY · Earth Matter, Governors Island, NY · Brooklyn Grange, Brooklyn, NY Apprentices must spend at least 75% of their time on site farming, and a senior farmer must serve as their teacher and mentor throughout the season. Additional apprenticeship responsibilities can include work with low-income populations; food advocacy; teaching others how to grow food; managing markets and/or food-related businesses; and more. The apprenticeship project must include a minimum of 140 hours at the designated site. As of the end date of this report, seven of the eight students apprenticing are on track to exceed their required 140 hours. Several students in our 2016-17 cohort had not completed enough required courses or did not have the flexibility in their schedule to begin an apprenticeship in 2018. We expect that they will begin this part of their program in 2019 growing season, along with many of the 2017-18 cohort. In collaboration with our professional evaluation consultant, we will be conducting an end-of-season assessment of each apprenticeship host site to learn how we can support them in mentoring and immersing our students in their farm operations. Objective 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities During this reporting period, Farm School NYC worked with our professional evaluation consultant to implement a participatory evaluation process in which our current students interviewed Farm School NYC alumni and former students to document their current farm and food system-related activities and learn about their needs and desires for continued education and networking. Findings from this initial process can be found in the publication "Farm School NYC, Year Two Evaluation Report," which is cited in this report and uploaded into RVS. More than 15 alumni participated in a variety of networking and continuing education events conducted during the period, including Farm School NYC's CRAFT programming, a Summer Solstice Food Justice gathering, and an end-of-season gathering and student graduation. We are excited about using information gained through the participatory evaluation process to develop more targeted programming to support our alumni's entry and establishment as farmers and food systems professionals. Farm School NYC will add 10 additional graduates to its alumni roster in December 2018, bringing its total alumni count over 40. Objective 5: 60-90 regional farm apprentices and junior farm staff participate in our urban-based CRAFT program The past year of CRAFT NYC programming improved upon feedback from previous seasons. Farm School NYC implemented more structure to formalize the CRAFT NYC network with a shared Google group, shared Google calendar, and information on the Farm School NYC website. These changes allowed for greater communication amongst participants and more democratic access to CRAFT information. The 2018 season began with a small planning meeting with Farm School NYC welcoming the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and extension agents from Cornell Cooperative Extension. A larger planning meeting was held on March 8 with farm managers to plan and propose workshops. This year saw numerous returning members from the previous season, as well as an influx of new participants. Feedback from 2017 participants demonstrates that there is a desire for more frequent CRAFT programming involving more sites with various growing practices. 60 individual urban growers participated in CRAFT programming from August 16, 2017 to August 15, 2018, and Farm School NYC convened several pivotal members of the growing community to serve on the planning committee, including staff from: Brooklyn Botanic Children's Garden Brooklyn Grange Cornell Cooperative Extension Earth Matter East New York Farms Harlem Grown New Roots Community Farm NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets Randall's Island Urban Farm Square Roots Objective 6: 21-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program Farm School NYC remains committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC refined our outreach strategy; and enrolled a 2017 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet- related health disparities. Our 2017-18 cohort is 72% female, 5% gender nonconforming, 16% African American, 22% Latinx, and 22% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 65% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels (see our tuition level chart in the Student Handbook in the Materials section of this report.) Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Farm School NYC, Year Two Evaluation Report, prepared by Kristin Reynolds, Ph.D. and Michael Harrington, M.S. for Farm School NYC, gauges the educational effectiveness of Farm School NYCs Enhancing Educational Experiences, Resources, and Support for Beginning Urban Farmers project in its second year. (Full text of this report will be uploaded into RVS.) Specifically, this report addresses progress made toward three of the project outcomes from August 15, 2017-August 14, 2018, through an evaluation of courses offered during this period and through assessment of graduates experiences in the field.
The primary outcome addressed in this report is Project Outcome 1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and to develop and manage innovative marketing activities over the course of the project.
The report also addresses aspects of two additional outcomes:
- Project Outcome 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and to develop and manage innovative marketing activities.
- Project Outcome 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farming.
In year two of the project, the evaluation finds that students are learning from the program and, importantly, that they are gaining confidence in their agricultural and food systems knowledge and skills. Students are gaining knowledge about fundamental agricultural concepts and skills, including urban agriculture techniques; creating agricultural and food-related businesses; and specific marketing and community engagement principles that are important for entry into farming and food marketing. Further, students self-report learning through the program. This reflects confidence in agricultural- and food business skills, and, importantly, suggests ability to problem-solve, which is an important part of operating a farm and/or business. Additionally, in year two, students gained knowledge about the connections between social justice and agriculture. This is rare in agricultural training programs and a critically important aspect of what FSNYC brings to the field. These findings suggest progress toward project Outcome 1. Students are also gaining experience through the project (Outcome 3) through both hands-on coursework and cocurricular apprenticeships, which future evaluations will evaluate.
In year two, participants were exposed to a variety of networking opportunities (Outcome 4), including through co-curricular apprenticeships, as well as through interactions with teachers, many of whom are practicing agricultural and food business professionals. This is critical for entry into farming and related food systems work in, and around urban centers, particularly for those who do not come from agricultural backgrounds, and/or who may lack access to agricultural or food enterprise networks. Indeed, we find that graduates of the program have already been using their FSNYC education in agricultural jobs or to address food security and food system-social justice concerns.
Overall, the evaluation finds that FSNYC has made significant progress toward the project outcomes assessed here. Based on the year two evaluation, we recommend two overarching areas of improvement for year three. First, the evaluation observed a disconnection between what students reported learning in a few specific courses, and their knowledge as gauged by performance on respective quizzes. Related to this, though we did assess student self-reported learning for all courses, we did not conduct evaluation of knowledge in every course in year two. The external evaluators are working with FSNYC to review assessment tools for each course to ensure that we have consistent and informative data on all courses in the program for year three.
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Progress 08/15/16 to 08/14/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy; and revised outreach material and conducted outreach to enroll a 2016 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our 2016 cohort is 65% female, 16% gender nonconforming, 30% African American, 24% Latinx, and 11% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 80% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels. Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole. Changes/Problems:Students brought forth excellent constructive criticism of the new Farm Intensive Certificate Program, and we adopted new components mid-program based on their suggestions. These included providing students with garden boxes for individual experimentation with agricultural techniques; adding time for independent learning during the sessions; and providing time for students to harvest products on their own. These changes increased the students' autonomy and agency while providing mentorship and support, an important combination particularly when working with students who come from marginalized communities. Last year, our facilitators on the Youth Farm had little interaction with the Farm Intensive students until they arrived on the farm in April, yet students had been bonding with each other during the prior four months in winter courses. Farm School NYC and The Youth Farm are working on building more of a bridge for Farm Intensive Certificate Program students between winter core Farm School NYC courses and the arrival and beginning of hands on farm work at The Youth Farm based on student feedback. We are creating a clearer conflict resolution plan, and we will add this to our handbook for new students. We will add more time for discussion around food justice and racism in our Orientation, to help build more trust in the group with their farm facilitators. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned above, more than 90 students gained knowledge and skills through 14 Farm School NYC courses and two special short courses -- seed saving and a hands-on greenhouse build -- offered during the period. Thirty-three of these students comprise our 2016 Certificate Programs cohort. This cohort began taking courses in December 2016 with our Training of Trainers course, which introduces them to the popular education model that we integrate into all of our courses and encourage them to use as they share the knowledge they gain with their communities. The Food Justice course began in January and is critical to producing food sustainably and ethically in urban areas where racial and social injustice has caused health and wealth disparities. The cohort then completed our foundational Botany course before splitting in two groups according to their certificate programs -- the Farm Intensive Certificate Program students began their immersive, season-long training program on The Youth Farm in April, while the Citywide Certificate Program students continued with additional courses that combined on-farm, hands-on learning on weekends with weekday evening classes that allow full-time, working adults to attend. Additional courses the cohort completed during this reporting period included: Propagation (direct seeding, transplanting, asexual propagation) Growing Soils (soil science, soil testing, composting, amendments) Irrigation (assessing plant watering needs, building and repairing drip systems) NYC as an Ecosystem (geology, hydrology and history of our region) Crop Management (crop planning, crop rotation, companion planting, intercropping, harvesting) Plant Health (introduction to IPM, recordkeeping, organic solutions to pest and disease) In addition, students in the Farm Intensive Certificate Program attended the following trainings and field trips, totaling of 56.5 hours of training: Propagation, Youth Farm practices: 1.5 hrs Propagation Basics (Parts of a seed, Germination requirements, Soil mixes, Structures and Materials): 2 hrs Soil Physical properties - 2 hrs Bed Preparation: Low Till techniques: 1.5 hrs Irrigation Part 1: Testing Soil Moisture - 1 hr Basic Tool Care and Maintenance: 1 hr Transplanting Annual Crops 101: 2 hrs Irrigation Part 2: Hands on assembly and use of various systems (2 hrs) Irrigation Part 3: Why Water? (Evaporation, Transevaporation, Etc.) (2.5 hrs) Soil Science: Chemical Properties of Soil (2.5 hrs) Parts of a Crop Plan (2 hrs) Agricultural History, Communities to Corporations (2 hrs) Hows and Whys of Compost (2 hrs) LEAN-ing the Farm (2 hrs) CSA History and Models (2.5 hrs) IPM Part 1: About IPM, Common Pests and Diseases (1.5 hrs) Market Training: Common NYC Market Payment systems and Difficult Dynamics (2 hrs) Bouquet Making Basics (1.5 hrs) Post Harvest Handling for Vegetables and Flowers (2 hrs) Farming Along the Political Spectrum (1.5 hrs) IPM Part 2: Field Study - Observation and Identification (1.5 hrs) Dream Farm Planning: Non Profit vs. For Profit Models (2 hrs) Carpentry 101 (2 hrs) Direct Marketing: Choosing a Market (1.5 hrs) Mushroom Cultivation Workshop using Spores (1.5 hrs) Season Extension (1.5 hrs) Dream Farm Planning: Building a Budget that Fits your Life (2.5 hrs) Cover Cropping and Amending (2 hrs) Mushroom Madness: all about Mushrooms, botany, physiological characteristics, etc. (2 hrs) Cut Flower Production + Flower Justice (1.5 hrs) Whys and Hows of Record Keeping + Analysis of YF Record Keeping Systems (2 hrs) Cucumber trellising and pruning (1 hr) Brassicas Kick Assica and Have All the Sassica" (1 hr) Tomato trellising and pruning (2 hrs) All About Garlic! (1.5 hrs) In this program, highly motivated students interested in both sustainable agriculture and social justice take three of Farm School NYC's foundation courses -- Food Justice, Botany and Training of Trainers -- and then spend a full growing season at The Youth Farm. The goal of the Farm Intensive Certificate (FIC) is to provide students with an immersive production farming experience. FIC students are actively involved in every stage of producing an acre of food and flowers for the farm's various markets; a 30-member vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program), a 25-member flower CSA, a weekly farm stand and several restaurant accounts. Students are trained in sustainable/low-till/agro-ecological farming skills through a blend of hands on work, formal workshops, discussion, and field trips. Students also completed a carpentry project on their own.Farm Intensive Certificate students also completed field trips to the following urban and rural farms: BK Rot, Brooklyn, NY New Roots - IRC Farm, Bronx, NY Kelly Street Garden, Bronx, NY Libertad Urban Farm, Queens, NY La Finca del Sur, Bronx, NY Four Winds Farm, Chester, NY Rock Steady Farm and Flowers, Chester, NY Earth Matter, Governor's Island, NY How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Farm School NYC has shared updates with students, faculty and supports through monthly newsletters and our website features. As our CRAFT program and our alumni program evolve during the course of our grant period, we will create best practice guides to share with the larger agricultural education community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Outcome #1:150-240 students gain knowledge & skills through courses to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 90-115 regular & AFT certificate students & 150-225 non-certificate students participate in Farm School NYC courses. With guidance from external evaluator, assess student recruitment & course effectiveness. (Staff, consultant) Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Continue to select new certificate program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach 20 classes at community gardens, urban farms, regional farms, etc.. (Staff/faculty) Outcome #2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training & an expedited certificate through the new Farm Intensive Certificate program in partnership with The Youth Farm. Output: 24-30 students complete 480 hours of fieldwork & 207 hours of classroom learning. Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Select new program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach 5 classes & 30 workshops at Youth Farm. (staff/faculty) With external evaluator, track number of students recruited & skills gained.* (Staff, consultant) Outcome #3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 30-45 students participate in high quality apprenticeship experiences Continue to assess current Farm School NYC apprenticeship programming. (Staff & partners, alumni, Board) Continue to research best practices for apprenticeship management. (Staff) Develop resources to support community partners/apprenticeship hosts in apprenticeship management. Implement & evaluate new resources. (Staff, project partners, & Board) Develop new & manage existing relationships with 20-35 community partners. (Staff & Board) Coordinate Farm School apprenticeship activities for 10-15 second year students each year. (Staff) With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine new apprenticeship strategies. (Staff)a Outcome #4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, & networking opportunities to support their entry into farming. Output: Resources, educational programming & networking opportunities developed for alumni. Survey 15-25 alumni & 30-40 students to assess current & potential School alumni needs in collaboration with external evaluator. (Staff & consultant) Continue to research alumni resources/support in farmer education programs, including BFRDP grantees. (Staff) Begin to develop and implement strategies to provide additional support to School alumni, which may include: listserv development, continuing education & networking opportunities. (Staff & Board) With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine support strategies implemented.* Staff, Consultant & Board) Outcome #5: 60-90 Local farm apprentices & junior farm staff participate in the first urban Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program in the Northeast. Output: 60-90 new farmers participate, 10-15 partner sites gain capacity to host high quality CRAFT experiences. Continue to coordinate network of 15-20 NYC-area urban farms that host apprentices. (Staff, project partners) Coordinate & integrate curriculum development with participating farms for 8-10 farmer- & apprentice-led CRAFT events per year. (Staff & partners) Continue to support city-wide beginning farmers with networking & education opportunities. (Staff & partners) Evaluate curriculum, networking & continuing education opportunities using surveys, feedback meetings & other tools suggested by external evaluator. (Program staff, consultant, Board) Outcome #6: 20-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program. Output: Improved strategy to recruit low-resource students implemented in the Northeast. Output: 20-30 low-resource certificate students receive support strategies & systems. 21-30 graduate from the program. Survey current & former low-resource students. (Staff & Board) Identify barriers & challenges to low- resource student retention. (Staff) Research & implement strategies to help 10-15 low-resource students complete the certificate. (Staff) Assess the School's communications strategy. Update website. (Staff & Board) Continue to conduct outreach through networks & mailing lists, including the School's (3,000+), Youth Farm (3,000+) & City Parks Community Gardening Division-Green Thumb (20,000+). (Staff, partners, listservs) Continue to identify appropriate community partners, press & social media outlets, & promote the School to reach target audience. (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Refine outreach materials (i.e. flyers, brochures, ads). (Staff) Promote the School at 5 community events & conferences. (Staff, partners, & Board) With external evaluator, track # of low-resource students in program & other metrics. (Staff, consultant)
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Farm School NYC had an exciting year since the start of our USDA BFRDP grant in August 15, 2016, laying important foundations to achieve our ultimate goal to create leaders who will transform our city and its food system, making them healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable for all. Our objective is to provide high quality learning experiences and support networks for Farm School NYC students and alumni. During this first year of our grant, Farm School NYC and our partners have made significant progress toward the following outcomes: Objective #1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities More than 90 students gained knowledge and skills through 14 Farm School NYC courses and two special short courses -- seed saving and a hands-on greenhouse build -- offered during the period. Thirty-three of these students comprise our 2016 Certificate Programs cohort. This cohort began taking courses in December 2016 with our Training of Trainers course, which introduces them to the popular education model that we integrate into all of our courses and encourage them to use as they share the knowledge they gain with their communities. The Food Justice course began in January and is critical to producing food sustainably and ethically in urban areas where racial and social injustice has caused health and wealth disparities. The cohort then completed our foundational Botany course before splitting in two groups according to their certificate programs -- the Farm Intensive Certificate Program students began their immersive, season-long training program on The Youth Farm in April, while the Citywide Certificate Program students continued with additional courses that combined on-farm, hands-on learning on weekends with weekday evening classes that allow full-time, working adults to attend. Objective 2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training and an expedited certificate through the new Advanced Farming Track (AFT) in partnership with The Youth Farm We began the period with the creation and launch the new Advanced Farming Track, which we named the Farm Intensive Certificate in Urban Agriculture program, the result of the new partnership between Farm School NYC and The Youth Farm enabled by this grant. The Farm Intensive Certificate Program is a combination of three core Farm School NYC courses, and a 7 month urban farm training developed by the Youth Farm, formerly called the Urban Farm Training Program, which has run each season since 2012. We worked to develop the program after receiving confirmation of funding from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program in May 2016, opened applications for new students on August 1, 2016, and accepted our first cohort of 12 students in November 2016. Our 2016 cohort will be graduating from the program in December 2017. The program is already producing new farm work opportunities for students: 6 students were hired for or offered jobs related to horticulture and farming during the program! Objective 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through 140-hour apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and develop and manage marketing activities Our apprenticeships are offered to second-year students in our Citywide Certificate Program. Our 2016 cohort is now exploring and applying to the 20+ options for apprenticeship sites for the next growing season. During this reporting period, Farm School NYC forged new and enhanced prior relationships with farms in and around New York City to offer a greater diversity of experiences from which our students could choose, including several sites that offer stipends for apprentices. We look forward to working closely with these sites in 2018 to learn how we can support them in mentoring our students and immersing them in their farm operations. Objective 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farming During this reporting period, Farm School NYC began to plan for enhanced alumni programming by adding a comprehensive initiative to contact and gather information from alumni to our evaluation plan. We are working with our external evaluator to implement a participatory evaluation process in which our current students will interview Farm School NYC alumni to document their current farm and food system-related activities and learn about their needs and desires for continued education and networking. Farm School NYC will add 10 additional graduates to its alumni roster in December 2017, bringing its total alumni count over 30. We are excited about using information gained through the participatory evaluation process to develop targeted programming to support our alumni's entry and establishment as farmers and food systems professionals. Objective 5: 60-90 regional farm apprentices and junior farm staff participate in the Northeast's first urban-based Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program CRAFT is a cooperative effort of local organic and biodynamic farms organized to enhance educational opportunities for farm apprentices through a variety of workshops and farm visits. Rural communities across the country have organized CRAFT programs, but training programs have not been conducted in urban areas. Farm School NYC was proud to launch the first urban-based CRAFT program in the 2017 growing season with the support from the BFRDP grant. Initial planning began in early January 2017 with members of the Urban Farm Alliance, a group of growers who have shared resources and trainings in years past. Farm School met with various members and farm managers for an initial meeting on January 24, 2017 to express common interests and goals. Connor Vaughn, Farm School NYC's program coordinator, coordinated outreach, planning, and tracking CRAFT workshops. As of August 14, 2017, six of the 11 total workshops for 2017 had been held with more than 40 participants, 34 of whom were NYC-based junior farm staff and apprentices not enrolled in Farm School NYC's Certificate Programs or courses, extending our reach. Objective 6: 21-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy; and revised outreach material and conducted outreach to enroll a 2016 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our 2016 cohort is 65% female, 16% gender nonconforming, 30% African American, 24% Latinx, and 11% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 80% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels (see our tuition level chart in the Student Handbook in the Materials section of this report.) Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole.
Publications
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