The DC Parks and Rec (DPR) Communal Farm Leader Certificate program trains community members for FREE on a variety of ways to grow food in urban environments in exchange for helping expand weekend access at DPR Communal Farms during the growing season. This program is a great chance to learn how to grow food, from seed to harvest, while helping feed your community. • From February to October Farm leaders will receive a combination of hands-on and virtual training on various topics including building garden beds and soil prep, propagation and planting, pest, disease, and weed management, food justice, etc. • From April to October each farm leader will help host weekend open farm hours at a DPR Communal Farm of their choice, where participants will learn how to grow and co-manage a communal production farm. Open farm hours are supervised times where community members can visit a communal farm to volunteer, learn, and/or harvest. *No prior growing knowledge is required. Participants will be taught everything they need to know to help grow at communal farms and co-host weekend open farm hours. DPR Communal Farms are urban Ag sites that are organized as communal production farms, managed by DPR staff and community volunteers, with the purpose of providing various ways for community members to receive free food, volunteer, and participate in hands on educational opportunities. Communal farms can produce more food than DPR community gardens but are more communal than DPR partner urban farms. In 2022 DPR Communal Farms grew and gave away 10,000 lbs of produce to 100s of DC community members. More info about DPR Communal Farms at dpr.dc.gov/page/partner-urban-farms Upon completion of this program and all educational requirements participants will receive a DPR Communal Farm Leader Certificate. DPR Communal Farms Locations • Lederer Gardens - 4801 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE (Ward 7) • Edgewood Rooftop Farm - 300 Evarts St NE (Ward 5) • Powell Communal Farm - 3149 16th St NW (Ward 1) Program Schedule *** There will be flexibility for vacation and sick days *** Hands-on Education at DPR Communal Farms • February to March o Most Saturdays 10-12pm o Will learn growing basics while growing in greenhouses and prepping the communal farms for the growing season • April to October o Must attend 1 Wednesday evening 6-8pm training a month to be trained on each month’s farm tasks Co-leading Weekend Open Farm Hours • April – November o Every other Saturday • Each farm leader is required to co-host (2) Saturday open farm hours a month lasting at least 2 hours each o Ideally 4 leaders split into 2 groups of 2 and alternating Saturdays Self-Guided Education •2 hours a week at a time of your choice •Watching pre-recorded webinars from the 2022 DPR Urban Grower Course and completing each class assignment • Upon completion of all assignments participants can earn a DPR Urban Grower Certificate of Completion. Registration To apply for the 2023 DPR Communal Farm Leader Program please fill out the application at the below link below by Friday February 10th, 5pm. We will be selecting 12 applicants (4 per site) for the 2023 cohort. shorturl.at/ajrUY For More Information For questions please email Josh Singer, the DPR Community Garden Specialist, anytime at [email protected]