Dear Friends,
As we round the corner into 2021, we want to express our gratitude that you're here with us. Amidst the pandemic, surging incidents of racialized violence, challenging financial situations, and more, you showed up in many ways, for many people, including here. Nearly 900 of you came to FBEN's virtual workshops last year, which ranged from conversations on land rematriation and farm summer camp, to a hands-on look inside a chicken egg, to workshops on structural racism in the food system. Recordings from many of our virtual programs can be found here.
This year will bring more programming in partnership with a host of skilled facilitators and farm-based educators, as we explore new frontiers and dig into ourselves and our organizations. We're also embarking on a project to revisit the Network's core values. Stay tuned! Check out our calendar for upcoming programming, and as always, reach out with ideas for future programs.
We also have a request! If you're a farm-based nonprofit organization based in the U.S., we'd like to hear from you for our first ever Farm Education Center Compensation and Benefits Survey, co-sponsored by Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center of East Thetford, VT. We're working with an HR consultant who will ensure confidentiality and produce a report, which we're excited to share with ALL network members. But first we need the data! Please be in touch by Friday 1/15 to learn more about this important survey.
Wishing you health, safety, and peace,
Vera
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Farm-Based Education in Every City and Town:
4 Unique Stories
January 13, 2020 | 12-1 pm EST
Connecting with land through agriculture can be educational, joyful, healing, and empowering. From a Yellow Farmhouse in Connecticut to an apiary in Botswana, and a hillside campus in Vermont to an urban farm school in New York City, four panelists will offer stories from the field of farm-based education during this session. Discover how learning with and about farming catalyzes opportunities for business development, community building, and the creation of thriving local food systems.
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Building an "Adopt-A-Chick" Program
February 5, 2021 | | 12 - 1:15 EST
Last season, Wright Locke Farm's flock of chickens were raised with love by the farmers, and by 30 helpful families who paid to participate in a "Chicken Tenders" program, through which they fostered chicks as they grew, and then returned them to the farm to join the flock. This innovative program accomplishes three goals – it provides meaningful, socially distant educational engagement for some of their Farm Ed families, it adds 60+ new chickens to Wright-Locke Farm's depleted stock, and it generates some revenue for the Farm. Join this workshop with Jack Wright, Youth Programs Manager, and Erika Gorgenyi, Education Director, to learn how it's structured and what they've learned along the way. Participants will leave with the resources and know-how to run a "chicken tenders" program of their own!
Lessons from the Honeybee on Change, Adaptation and Storytelling
February 10, 17, 24, 2021 | 12:30 - 2 pm EST
FBEN invites you to a three-part workshop series to explore the power of nature metaphor as we seek resilience, and connection with one another. Participants will gather virtually three times with Ang Roell, a beekeeper who operates They Keep Bees, a queer & trans led beekeeping business. Roell will open each session with storytelling before small groups convene for reflection and networking. Each session will have more small group time than whole group time, and will offer the chance for participants to build connections with peers across organizations.
Healing the Roots of Racism in Ourselves
March 5, 12, 19, 2021 | Virtual Workshop
This series creates space for healing from white supremacy culture and transforming anti-Blackness through land, food and ecological relationships. In this series participants will practice a creative combination of healing practices ranging from somatic awareness to spoken word inspired writing. Join this series to rediscover, relearn, and reimagine in our current crisis-driven reality. Facilitated by Julia Metzger-Traber and Richael Faithful.
Registration coming soon!
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Service to Justice Virtual Leadership Training
March 29 - April 2 | 2-5 pm ET
This an anti-racism training invites you into a process designed to help further infuse equity, justice, and belonging into your work and the movement. It features a Rooting Out Racism Training designed specifically for people working on and with the land and people connected to farming. Registration coming soon.
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Job Alert: Head of School - Verdi Ecoschool - Melbourne, FL |
Verdi EcoSchool’s Board of Directors, together with the Head of
School and other members of school leadership, are responsible
for preserving and achieving the vision and mission of Verdi
EcoSchool and stewarding the growth and advancement of the only place and project based urban farm school in the southeastern United States. As Lead Educator and Administrator of the school, the Head of School is responsible for the daily life and operations of the school, for implementing the vision and mission of Verdi EcoSchool and for cultivating the positive and
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Did you know FBEN has embarked on a project to examine our core values? Our Network Advisors and communications specialist, Kali Ransom, are hard at work on project design. We hope to connect with you, our members, soon to get insight into your values, what you care about and how you are shaping the field of farm-based ed. (Photo: Matty Ice)
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- 1/13/21: Designing Garden Education to Support English Language Learners
- 2/3/21 Building Community Interest & Investment in Your School Garden
- 3/10/21: Sustaining & Institutionalizing School Garden Programs
- 3/17/21: Finding & Sequencing High Quality Lessons
- 4/7/21: Strengthening Equity & Inclusion in Garden Education
- 4/14/21: Program Assessment - Measuring & Sharing Impact
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Leaning Into Values and Trust Building in (Food) Systems Work |
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We find a lot of inspiration at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, and this blog and full publication, “A Call to Build Trust and Center Values in Food Systems Work,” is no exception. Here authors, Noel Didla, Dr.Sade Anderson, and Kathryn Collasanti offer a collective hope to challenge readers to consider the many ways in which food systems activity is either welcoming or exclusionary and either embodies equitable belonging or perpetuates “othering.”
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GroMore Grant Opportunity |
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The GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant, brought to you by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening, is designed to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to communities across the United States. In 2021, 175 grants worth a collective total of $100,000 will be awarded. The application is open January 4 - February 5, 2021. Learn more...
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