Upcoming
Ridge to Reef Sustainable Farming Pathways: Seasonal Courses
Imagine what you want your home community will look like 5, 10, 50, or 100 years from now. Do you see a vibrant local food culture? Clean water for families & wildlife? An environment marked by safety and peace? Opportunities to make a living in ways that are in line with ethics of fairness, justice, and peace? If so, now is the time to return to learning basic human skills that can lead us through the future. Take the Ridge to Reef Challenge: Start small, in a single watershed, and work outward from there. If you can save your watershed, together we can improve the quality of life on Earth. Join us this year in the Caledonia Watershed at Ridge to Reef Farm for 1 or all 4 seasonal Pathways to create a sustainable future.
Ridge to Reef Sustainable Farming Pathways is an experiential education series for aspiring organic growers, naturalists, community mentors, slow foodies, holistic living system designers, and all those interested in sustainable living. This course is centered around food production but is about much more in the total picture of sustainable living. Become an integral part of St. Croix’s small island food system and learn how to take it home with you. Develop a practical skill set out of inspiring action projects. Experience living systems centered around growing and sharing food with care.
Choose from 4 Seasonal Pathways (see description for each below):
Journey into the Food Forest (9/24 – 10/30, 2012)
Empowering Community (1/22 – 2/25, 2012)
Organic Agroforestry Intensive (5/12 – 5/26, 2012)
Path of the Natural Mentor (6/16 – 8/5, 2012)
Core subjects include organic gardening, sustainable systems design, solar power, natural building, slow food, animal husbandry, community mentoring, agritourism, and farm based education (See program details for seasonal topics). Subjects areas are led by a rotating cast of inspiring instructors and core farm members from academic, professional, and local island ways of life.
Participants are engaged with experiential learning service activities that apply course materials while helping provide the islands’ only local source of certified organic produce. Learn to be a part of the entire process of your food. Take one seasonal course or the entire series. Open to beginners & all levels of experience.
Each week features a progressive theme of hands-on farming activity lessons and off-site nature & culture immersion experiences such as interpretive hiking from mountain ridge to coral reef in the Caledonia watershed and helping establish an urban community garden. Daily core routines include animal and plant care taking, group cooking, and class meeting sessions. Ample free time is provided for self-directed study and island exploration.
Students may earn certificates in Permaculture Design, Ridge to Reef Farmer Training, and may be eligible for up to 7 hours of university credit with home school sponsorship (contact for details). The course location is at the 50 acre organic diversity farm Ridge to Reef Farm (R2R) at the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute located near Frederiksted in the hills along the rural west coast of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
TO REGISTER: Contact info@visfi.org with the subject line “application.”
Fall 2011: JOURNEY IN THE FOOD FOREST Sept 24 to Oct 30 (5 weeks; $2750) Exploring, harvesting, caretaking, and sharing a tropical food forest.Bamboo Building
Organic food production
Tropical fruits
Pruning
Vegetative propagation
Growing Vegetables in difficult conditions
Cover cropping
Market Sales
Permaculture Design
Small scale poultry management
Organic Certification Processes
Community Gardening
Slow Food
Invasive plant control
TO REGISTER: Contact info@visfi.org
Winter 2012: EMPOWERING COMMUNITY Jan 22- February 25 (5 weeks; $3200) Let thy food, energy, and mentoring skills be thy medicine for your home community.
Solar Power
Permaculture Design
Small Farm Agritourism
Art of Mentoring
Annual Organic Vegetables
Animal Husbandry
Deep Ecology
Slow Food
Community Gardening
Primitive Skills
TO REGISTER: Contact info@visfi.org
Spring 2012: ORGANIC AGROFORESTRY INTENSIVE May 12 – 26th (2 weeks; $1650) Cultivate multipurpose life for maximum benefits to ecology & society.
Introduction to Permaculture
Agroforestry
Slow Food
Animal Husbandry
Diversity Cropping
Vertical Agriculture
Community Gardening
Opportunity for College credit if enrolled through University of Georgia as Study
Abroad course (any college student may apply)
TO REGISTER: Contact info@visfi.org
Summer 2012: PATH OF THE NATURAL MENTOR June 16th – August 5th (6 weeks; $2850) Walk the challenging & rewarding path of the Natural Mentor
Natural Mentors was globally recognized by the National Geographic Society in 2010 as a top 10 global program that creates positive community development for “Places on the Edge”
Summer Camp facilitation
Slow Food
Student Farm Management
Mentoring youth
Community Gardening
Master Mentor apprenticeships
Facilitate Career Training for island Youths
Permaculture
TO REGISTER: Contact info@visfi.org
Learn about R2R directly from past students in their blogs!
Have questions? Need help?
Contact Nadja at 340.220.0466, or click on the button:
