Organic gardening, farming apprenticeship at UC Santa Cruz

An “Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture,” a six-month training course in organic gardening and small-scale farming, is being offered at the Center for Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz. From April to October each year, apprentices take classes and work with instructors in the Center’s 25-acre farm and two-acre Alan Chadwick Garden. The course awards 20 units of UC Extension credit for the approximately 300 hours of formal instruction and 700 hours of in-field training and experience in the greenhouses, gardens, orchards and fields. The 35 to 40 apprentices each year come from throughout the U.S. and abroad. Most choose to live on the farm in their own tents, sharing cooking in a common kitchen/dining room. Several full and partial tuition waivers are available for minorities and low-income individuals. Tuition for the 2003 program is $3,250. Dates for the 2003 program are April 14-Oct. 17, 2003. Application deadlines are November 1, 2002 for U.S. and Canadian citizens, and September 1, 2002 for international applicants. For more information, contact the program at Apprenticeship Information, CFAFS, UCSC, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064; Tel: (831) 459-3240; Web: www.ucsc.edu/casfs; Email: apprenticeship@cats.ucsc.edu.