|
|
Job Training at reVision House Urban Farm
 This internship has shown me that there is a bigger
picture in life. It lets me know that I am not the only person living on this
earth, and in order to accomplish my goals, I must work hard and educate
myself on the world around me.
-- Cookie, Former Intern
At
reVision Urban Farm, we integrate agriculture, aquaculture, and enterprise to
help teach young, homeless mothers transferable and practical job
skills. Up to four shelter residents
work as paid interns on our urban farm.
In 2004, our farm employed 10 shelter residents throughout the year
and five local high school students as summer agriculture interns.
 For
many, the internship is a first job.
Beyond teaching basic job skills, our training program provides
experience in small-scale organic farming, aquaculture, greenhouse
management, seedling production, marketing, and community outreach.
Interns
also serve as teachers and mentors to local youth who visit the farm from
after-school, community, and childcare programs. For instance, in December 2003, three of
our interns, Jasmine, Melinda, and Elizabeth,
helped to launch our Preschool Education Initiative with Lena Park Community Development Center in
Dorchester.
Our SPROUTS program developed age-appropriate gardening curriculum for
preschoolers, teaching young children about fruits and vegetables, while
reinforcing basic cognitive skills. Past interns have worked with the New
England Aquarium and the Boston
Nature Center
to enrich their education and training experience.
Farm Interns:
|
 Melinda, age 22, employed since October 2003
Hello! My name is Melinda, and I am
an intern for Re-Vision Urban Farm and live at Re-Vision House. I've lived
here since September. I have a two-year-old girl named Amaya. Working at
the farm was a new step I took because I would never see myself doing work
like growing, planting, and taking care of fish. But most of all, I like my
job because it's fun and the people I work with are very out-going and nice
to be around.
|
|
Barbara, age 25, employed since February 2004
My name is Barbara and I’ve been working at the farm since
February. Working in the greenhouse
is a great experience for all the interns here at Re-Vision House. We not only plant, grow, and harvest
vegetables, but also have the privilege of eating the fruits of our labor.
We’re a great team and have learned a lot in the past months and
learning is what the Re-Vision Urban Farm Internship program is all about.
Summer Youth Internship:
Every
summer, reVision House Urban Farm hires five high school students to work
as agriculture interns for six weeks.
Here are their thoughts about the experience:
 By Shatya Spriggs,
Alaina Kinds, Rosemary Brown, Christina Deburgo, and Erin Guertin
 We believe this job
helped us connect with our community and environment. We have learned to grow sustainably to
ensure that families get the best produce. Through this job, we’ve
learned how to distinguish plants from weeds. Every Tuesday morning, we harvest fresh
vegetables to prepare food for the community lunch on Wednesday. All the
food is made with our produce, with help from kids working at The Food
Project. On Thursday, we go to the
Farmer’s Market to sell our  produce. We have also had an aquaculture workshop
which taught us how to test water quality, pH, and dissolved oxygen content
in the fish tanks.
Throughout this job, we have made great friendships with the staff and
each other which we won’t forget.
|
|
