Regenerative Farming Certificate

Reconnect with the land and community to find your purpose. This is no ordinary program. If you’re looking to see how food justice, food security, and climate issues play out in the real world, this program is for you. Put your knowledge to work in the fields of Hayes Farm, a working farm in the heart of Fredericton.

Regenerative agriculture enriches the soil instead of depleting it, respects nature instead of exploiting it, captures carbon instead of releasing it, and supports the interconnectedness of every aspect of our food web and communities.

The Regenerative Farming Certificate is a holistic community-led farm program that provides the skills, expertise and support to practice human-scale agriculture. By demonstrating this model of seasonal food production, we address local food security, financial responsibility, and personal and spiritual fulfillment.

Our Intention

The Hayes Farm aims to inspire and mobilize New Brunswickers toward a resilient and thriving food system. We do this in the spirit of honouring Indigenous culture and food ways, integrative principles of land-based learning, and reconnection.

Program dates:

April 29, 2019 through August 30, 2019

Hours:

35 hours per week, weekdays 8:00am to 4:00pm with half-day Fridays 9:00 am to 1:00pm, plus occasional evenings and weekends.

Mark and our RFC cohort on day 1 of the 2019 program

The application period has now closed. Check back for information about fall programming and the 2020 RFC program application information.

The Program

With a balance of in-field and classroom time (roughly 70:30), program participants will be actively involved in feeding local people through a community farm, gaining practical experience and deepening their knowledge in the following areas:

Crop Production

Beyond the Farm

Agricultural practices and models

Food preservation

Food systems, social systems and health

Foraging and wild edibles

Gleaning

Intro to agroecology

Season extension techniques

Small-scale farming and climate-smart agriculture

The colonized food system

Wabanaki World View

Working with nature

Composting

Crop planning

Fertility management

Greenhouse management

Indigenous plantings and medicinals

Integrated pest management

Irrigation systems

Plant propagation

Pollination sanctuaries

Practical growing skills

Seeds

Working with soil

Farm Economics

Alternative economic models

Managing a prosperous community farm

Marketing and food distribution practises

Solutions for small-scale organic growers

The politics of a “profitable” farm

The state of the family farm

Visiting Greg and Mike at Backyard Mushrooms in Fredericton, NB!

Rotating Farm Roles

Throughout the program, participants will be trained to take on the rotating farm roles of:

Field Manager: weekly task list, crop planning spreadsheets, recording field data, organizing farm crew, post-harvest handling, compost management

Office Manager: recording farm expenses and income, emails, and social media, maintaining market float, managing veggie box subscriber payments

CSA and Market Manager: maintaining market gear, veggie box logistics, communicating with subscribers, managing harvest station, maintaining subscriber list

Farm Maintenance Manager: irrigation management, tool and infrastructure management, wildlife management

Human Resources Manager: crew morale, division of labour, communication between on-farm roles, safety

Community Outreach Manager: organizing volunteers, engaging with community partners, relationship building

Requirements and Qualifications

The farm, used as a tool for critical thinking, democratic citizenship, and skills-building, will be of great life-value for people from diverse backgrounds and motivations.

No farming experience necessary!
Strong work ethic, adaptability and problem-solving skills are necessary on a community farm. Participants must be prepared to work long hours outside in all kinds of weather.
Must be at least 18 years of age or older to apply

Membership

We are able to provide this unique experiential learning opportunity while addressing our community’s food security needs by collecting membership fees.

Though the value of the 18-week program is $3,000, the 2019 RFC program is being offered for $2,000. The fee may be paid in instalments throughout the internship period ($500 deposit upon acceptance, plus $500 due on June 1st, July 1st, and August 1st). Financial assistance may be available upon request.