HOT Urban Gardening Coalition

Program Description: The UGC’s Urban Training Farm will provide hands-on, experiential education in agriculture and financial literacy through a paid internship program for high school age youth. This program will help teach farming, gardening, and natural science knowledge to youth; improve their financial literacy through marketing and managing an agriculturally based micro-business; and increase access to healthy food in low income neighborhoods in Waco by selling the produce at the Waco Downtown Farmers Market and at a neighborhood farm stand in East Waco.

While this experience provides a unique set of skills for the youth, they will walk away from this program with a broad set of skills that are applicable to a multitude of 21st century jobs. This includes the communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and financial reasoning skills necessary for them to succeed in today’s workforce.  In addition, we believe the program will instill a sense of community ownership and responsibility that will cause the youth to reinvest in their own neighborhoods.  And, if a truly exceptional student comes through our program with the motivation to put what they have learned into practice, our long term vision for this program is to provide the assistance necessary to help  that student take the next steps to establishing their own community garden or agriculturally based enterprise.  See our Urban Training Farm Business Plan for more details.

More Fun Info:

• The UGC is hiring!  The UGC is currently accepting Intern Applications for our high school age interns for the 2013 program!  Click here for a PDF version and here for a Word version of the application.   Application deadline has been extended until MARCH 1st! – with a group interview of the selected applicants on March 9th.  Apply ASAP!
• Training Farm Task Force.  We get regular input from a number of community leaders in agriculture, education, and business to ensure the quality of our Training Farm program.  Learn more by clicking here.
  
• Get Involved!  Our open volunteer work days are 7:30-9:30am Tuesday and Thursday, and 3:00-5:30pm Fridays, excluding holidays and temperatures below 40 degrees.  Also, read our Appeal for Gifts for the Training Farm.
• Extra!  Extra!  See the UGC Training Farm in the news – in the Waco Tribune Herald and on 103.3, Waco’s NPR.

If you would like to assist us at all with this project or have any questions, please contact us at hotugc@gmail.com or call us at 254-227-5380.