Agroecology & Plants Internships

Agroecology Education Internship

Listing also found in the Environmental Education tab.

Contact: programs@pieranch.org or sharif@pieranch.org

Pie Ranch is an educational farm that works to make our local and regional food systems more just through youth education and empowerment, creating farmer pathways, indigenous land stewardship, regional partnerships, and land conservation and ecological restoration. On our 27 acre HomePie site, we have a certified organic farm and outdoor kitchen that serve as a dynamic classroom for creating joyful connection to food and nature in an agricultural ecosystem. We regularly host school groups and other folks throughout the year for field trips and spring breaks.

We also have our Regenerator program on the neighboring 418-acre Cascade Ranch site, which supports new farm business ownership specifically for women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color, including the LGBTQIA community and others who have been historically marginalized from equity-building pathways in agriculture. This site also partners with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and local educational institutions and organizations in developing a climate resilient farm that weaves together traditional ecological knowledge with regenerative agriculture practices including row crops, cover cropping, riparian restoration, and integrated livestock management.

Beauregard Vineyards

Listing also found in the Environmental Education tab. 

Contact: Ryan Beauregard, ryan@beauregardvineyards.com

Beauregard Vineyards is offering interns a chance to work on one of the regions premier vineyards: Bald Mountain Vineyard which is located in Bonny Doon very close to UCSC.  For winter projects, we are now pruning the grape vines.  Interns will assist with this project and will learn the basics of pruning and grape vine disease maintenance.  Projects will be: assistance with pruning, gopher management, owl box monitoring.  We are also amidst a partial repant of the vineyard so interns will assist in removal of old vine trellising.  This job requires that the interns are able bodied because this is a physical farming job.  There will be no work when it is raining.  At Beauregard Vineyards, wine is made in the vineyard.  We look forward to sharing our passion for the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Calabasas Internship

Listing also found in the Environmental Education tab.

Contact: Flora Lu, floralu@ucsc.edu

Only offered in Fall and Spring

This internship affiliated with College 9/10 seeks UCSC students who want the opportunity to work with youth, facilitate agroecological knowledge acquisition, promote locally grown, healthy food, and raise awareness of social and environmental justice issues. Interns will travel to Calabasas Elementary once or twice a week (transportation provided or gas money reimbursed) to undertake the after-school program, helping to design and implement environmental, garden-based curricula with children ranging from first graders to sixth graders. Interns will also assist with the upkeep of the Discovery Garden: weeding, planting, watering, pruning, etc. 

Internship Opportunity

Contact: Alrie Middlebrook, cngf.org@gmail.com 

Interns will work remotely to contribute to data entry and quality control of long-term monitoring plot data collected by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) in redwood forest communities in Santa Cruz Co. Tasks will also include maintaining detailed notes of data errors and data interpretation of burned and unburned habitats in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Co. by comparing detailed vegetation measurements (e.g., diameter at breast height, percent cover by species, burn severity, etc.) as well as research and reporting tasks. Participants will learn about different survey methods used by the CNPS and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to assess patterns across the landscapes

All participants will follow public health instructions issued by local, state, and federal governments including, but not limited to social distancing, wearing masks, frequent hand washing, and avoiding the sharing of equipment. Recommended Faculty Sponsor is Professor Gregory Gilbert, who is a collaborator on this project 

Listing also found in Campus and Summer tabs.

Contact: Damian Parr, dmparr@ucsc.edu 

Organic Landscape Gardening

Contact: Kurt Christiansen, kurtsgarden77@gmail.com (831)458-2005 

Christiansen Associates Gardens and Design is an organic landscape company. We design, install and maintain gardens organically for people to live in and enjoy. We specialize in edible landscapes, Mediterranean-native plants, ponds and waterfalls, organic soil preparation, and pest management. Check out the website! 

Esperanza Community Farm

Contact: Mireya Gomez Contreras, mireya@esperanzacommunityfarms.org

The composition of our Advisory Board and paid work team reflects Esperanza Community Farms members and regional supporters who have demonstrated full-family dedication to the overall health of the Pajaro Valley.

We stand for a holistic and inclusive approach to using our current assets, personal experiences and collective skills to understand the conditions in which we live in order to transform them in the direction of financially- accessible, organic and high-quality produce, as a transformative aspect of living fully healthy lives.

All advisors were CSA box recipients in the first two years of the program. Membership ranges from very-low income to middle income, from monolingual Spanish-speaking to Native English & bilingual, and from formally educated to primary school education completion.

We are intentional in our search for members who are diverse in the many different aspects that our program addresses, including diagnosis of diabetes, parenthood, professional roles in positions of power/authority and race. 

Everett Family Farm

Contact: everettfamilyfarm@gmail.com

Minimum 2 Quarter Commitment

Welcome to Everett Family Farm! We appreciate your hard work and want to have clear policies so that everyone can understand each other and mutually benefit.

Everett Family Farm is a 45 acre organic farm with approximately 5 acres in cultivation of  vegetables and the rest in apple and persimmon orchards. Jobs that the interns will be doing are diverse, ranging from greenhouse production, field crop planting, weeding and harvesting, to building and repairing farm infrastructure, working with chickens and goats and marketing. Interns are often called upon to do different and sometimes tedious jobs in all kinds of weather. Be prepared for hard physical labor. Efficient production is critical to the success of the farm. Job training will be done by Emily Parsons. There is no formal curriculum and interns will be expected to take control of their own education, using David and anyone else on the farm as a resource. We are cooperatively minded and strive for a harmonious workplace. For more information, please check out Everett Family Farm's website. 

Listing also found in Environmental Education tab.

Contact: Leah Stern, leahstern512@gmail.com

Lexington Elementary School sits at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains, on the banks of Lexington Reservoir, and about 30 minutes from the UCSC campus. Our Life Lab program engages students in ecological and environmental learning through activities in our edible garden and natural areas. We have 16 raised garden beds, 8x4 feet each, as well as about ¼ acre native garden, a row of fruit trees, and some natural areas under oak and redwood trees. The goals of our garden food production include educating children on where food comes from, how to grow food ecologically, understanding the soil food web, nutrition education, environmental literacy, and providing some organically grown produce for our school lunches.

The intern will be responsible for assisting the Life Lab teacher in developing seasonally appropriate plans for garden planting, irrigation, integrated pest management, nursery management, and fertility management. While the tasks will vary by season, they will often encompass several of these subject areas in a single quarter. Because our school is small (only 150 children), we have a lot of flexibility to expand and change our program to meet our current, and any new goals. Suggestions and ideas from interns are welcome and encouraged.

Weekly tasks may include, but are not limited to: seeding, planting, weeding, fertilizer application, harvesting, grafting fruit trees, irrigation, tending compost and vermicompost, preparing new planting areas, pruning, and greenhouse and tool organization. Though engagement in teaching students is not required, we welcome interns who are interested in some time assisting with our Life Lab classes. Interns who are interested in helping with students will have the opportunity to learn best practices in classroom and lesson management in an outdoor setting. 

Qualified applicants will:

• Be comfortable working around or with children aged 3-11
• Have experience with ecological gardening methods and best practices
• Be comfortable working in most weather conditions
• Have transportation to the school, located at 19700 Old Santa Cruz Hwy, Los Gatos CA
• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Be comfortable working with Google docs and sheets, or be willing to learn
• Be available to work on weekdays (schedule is flexible, but no weekend availability)

Educational Docent / Agroecology Internship

Listing also found in Environmental Education tab.

Contact:Stephanie Spross, education@farmdiscovery.org

Farm Discovery at Live Earth is a nonprofit organization working in to empower youth and families in the Pajaro Valley community to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social and natural systems. Our home, Live Earth Farm, is a 150-acre patchwork of working organic farm, riparian corridor, oak and redwood forest. Farm Discovery offers educational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their relationship to food, farming and nature.

We are looking for interns that can help engage children and lead them in our curriculum during farm experiences. During the Spring and Fall, we host a variety of educational programs approximately 3x a week, with grades kindergarten-5^th. Interns must be available in the morning. If interested in agroecology, fieldwork is available in addition to becoming an educational farm docent.

All interns must be reliable for the duration of the quarter and have transportation, as we are located remotely!

Internship

Listing also found in Public Policy tab.

Contact: Michael Olson; mo@ksco.com; (831)566-4209

Food Chain Radio, for those who are interested in environmental journalism, is a nationally-syndicated newstalk program that brings the issues of agriculture, food and environment to the table for discussion.  Having broadcast over 750 shows, the Food Chain has established a dedicated audience of interested listeners throughout the world. For more information please visit the website.

Pop Up Produce Internship

Listing also found in Campus tab.

Contact: Francis Ge fmge@ucsc.edu

Produce Pop-up is looking for two interns to assist with our low-cost organic farmstand, which takes place Wednesdays at Quarry Plaza and Fridays at Science Hill during the academic year. As part of the campus Basic Needs program, Produce Pop-Up provides access to affordable, fresh produce from the UCSC farm and other local farmers to the entire UCSC community. You'll get to learn about the farm, campus and community food system, season produce and recipes, and how to run a market stand! For more information, see @ucscproducepopup on Instagram or the Basic Needs website. 

Looking for intern for Summer AND Fall

Listing also found in Summer Internships tabs.

Contact: Anders@heartlandcollective.org 

Website

Instagram

Heartland is an off-grid, 25-acre, regenerative learning center in Northern California, providing experiences
in four pillars - OuterWork, InnerWork, Celebration, and Transformation. Heartland Collective offers
opportunities to co-create its vision, including through the Cultural Exchange program.
Heartland Collective is looking for Farm Intern(s) to support the management of the 2-acre farm. Interns
will have weekly support via the Farm Lead, as well as volunteer support hours via the Cultural Exchange
program. Ideally, the Intern(s) will live at Heartland, working 25-30 hours per week and participating in the
co-living experience. Housing and meals are available, as well as access to unlimited outdoor recreation,
amenities, and creative experiences. This is an unpaid role.

Homeless Garden Project Internship

Listing also found in Environmental Justice tab.

Contact: Omar Guzman, omarg@homelessgardenproject.org           

The Homeless Garden Project provides job training on a 2.5 acre organic farm and its enterprises, to homeless individuals in the Santa Cruz area.  We run a 60 member CSA (May through October) and have a retail store near downtown.  Interns are encouraged to set their own goals and create a project that will leave a lasting impression on the organization, with unlimited access to the knowledge of the farm workers and agency staff as well as other agencies we work closely with.  Tasks can include, but are not limited to: everyday farm maintenance activities – bed clearing, planting out, greenhouse propagation, irrigation, etc.; planning and teaching a workshop to crew and public participants; fundraising/grant writing; administrative assistance; cooking.

For more information, please visit the Homeless Garden Project website. 

CSA Intern

Listing also found under Agroecology and Plants

Contact: Omar Guzman, Volunteer Coordinator - omarg@homelessgardenproject.org

CSA members provide crucial support to HGP by investing in the farm by making a commitment to buy produce from HGP each week during the harvest season and paying in advance for the produce. Their commitment to sustainable agriculture and transitional jobs enhances HGP's planning and financial stability and creates a community of people who are deeply committed to HGP's success. In return, we seek to provide CSA members with quality and diverse organic produce, tips and recipes for using the produce, and news and stories about the farm, trainees and our programs that enhance their community experience. HGP also operates its Feed 2 Birds program which donates CSA shares to local agencies serving individuals who may not otherwise have access to fresh organic produce.

Schedule: 20 hours per week, from May 20, 2023 to October 21, 2023 Salary: This is a volunteer, unpaid internship. If you are using this internship to gain course credit or seek out grants with your college, please include this information in your cover letter. To apply: Along with your resume, please send us a brief cover letter highlighting why you’re interested in the program. Send your materials to omarg@homelessgardenproject.org and include the internship position you’re applying for in the subject line. Applications accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

For more information, please visit the Homeless Garden Project website. 

Kresge Garden Internship

Listing also found in Campus tab.

Available for Spring Quarters Only!

Contact:garden-coop-core@googlegroups.com and/or Natasha Janowski, njanowsk@ucsc.edu 

Agroecology Internship

Listing also found under the Environmental Education and Conservation tabs

Contact: Dominic “Buzz” Renda buzz@medicinebuddha.org 

Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB), a center for healing and developing a good heart, is an active Buddhist community, a local registered non-profit, an environmental conscious meditation and retreat center located on 108 acres of coastal redwood foothills in Soquel. Our mission, values, teachings and practices devoted to increasing the wellbeing for all. We offer a wide range of secular and non-secular offerings including teaching, meditation, retreat and community.

4 2 or 5 unit internships are available. Internship participants will be instrumental in planning, developing and actualizing 1 of 2 priority LMB projects; Regenerative Garden and Nature Walk. 

For more information please visit our website!

Winery Internship

Contact: Cole Thomas madsonwines@gmail.com 

Madson Wines is a small winery based in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We farm a variety of vineyards around the county using both organic and biodynamic practices. We vinify our wines using only natural methods. We are looking for 1-2 interns per quarter to help farm vineyards, make and bottle wine, manage business operations and create social media content. We are looking for someone with good communication skills with a desire to work hard and learn about wine and farming. Interns must be 21+ years of age, able to lift 50 lbs, operate a camera and use Microsoft Excel.

For more information check out their website!

Listing also found in Private Business tab.

Contact: Megan Bell megan@marginswine.com

Website: Marginswine.com  Address: 2487 Freedom Blvd. Watsonville, CA 95076

Margins Wine, one of only two woman-owned wineries in Santa Cruz County, seeks 1-2 UCSC student interns per quarter for help with vineyard and/or winery work, depending on the season. Interns can expect to get hands-on experience making natural wine (August-Oct) or helping with management tasks in our organic vineyard (Spring-Summer). Interns may also participate in prepping wine for bottling, bottling days, and order fulfillment. Interns will have a unique opportunity to work directly with Megan Bell, the founder of Margins. 

Spring & Summer: 1-2 interns/ 12/wk (1), 6/wk (2)
Fall: 2 interns/ 12/wk

Prerequisites: 
- 21+ years of age
- Lift 50 pounds
- Desire to learn about organic viticulture and natural wine production
- OK with getting dirty/wet while working
- OK with physical labor
- Problem-solving attitude
- Clear and positive communication style

Popelouchum Farm

Contact: Randall Grahm; randall.grahm@gmail.com; (831) 901-7386; Website

Randall Grahm is the former owner of Bonny Doon Vyd. in Santa Cruz, where he established himself as one of California's most innovative winemakers and viticulturists. Popelouchum Farm is his new project in San Juan Bautista, where he is attempting to grow grapes consistent with the intention of producing a "wine of place." In addition to grapevines, olives and sundry fruit trees are cultivated, along with row crops. Interns would be involved in almost every aspect of vineyard management, from vine training and establishment, cultivation, pest control, pruning, harvest, nursery work, vine propagation, observation of clonal trials etc.

Listing can also be found under the Agroecology and Plants  tab.   

Contact: Matt Hodel Cell: (831) 251 - 2946 Email: Poststreetfarm@gmail.com

Address: 122 Post Street

Available for 2-Unit or 5-Unit interns

Students will learn to grow Dahlias, Peonies, Heirbom Tomatoes, Eggplants, Peppers, Beans, Cucumbers, Micro-green and so much more!!! You will learn to harvest honey and provide for our yearly pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm.

Students will be able to grasp and learn weed maintenance, irrigation installation/maintenance, flower growing and harvesting, seed saving, produce harvesting, plant starting, bee-hive maintenance, and candle making.

No Previous Skills are Required; we will teach you as each season comes and goes.

RCC Garden Internship

Listing also found in the Campus tab.

Contact Frances Ge: fmge@ucsc.edu

Rachel Carson Garden

The Rachel Carson College Garden, a program within the Food Systems Working Group, provides 2 unit internship opportunities centered around basic garden care and stewardship from seed to fruit. This internship will also focus on the intersections of society, green spaces and food justice through engaging with CRSN 90 and other hands-on experience. Interested students will need to complete a casual interview before participating. Looking for students to intern for 2 quarters to develop experience with multiple seasons. Paid student staff positions will be available in the fall for students who previously committed to 2 quarters at the garden

Rooster Ridge Farm Internship

Contact: Nancy / Curt Abramson; roosterridge@cruzio.com

Interns will participate in all aspects of farm production operations to include:

• propagation of plant material from seeds, cuttings and rootstocks
• site preparation, planting and cultivation of annual row crops as well as perennials, shrubs and trees
• monitoring for crop pests including invertebrate and vertebrate, diseases and other pathogens, as well as performing corrective measures using integrated pest management best practices
• harvest, post-harvest handling, and processing of products where appropriate
• pruning and other maintenance tasks
• installation and maintenance of farm infrastructure including irrigation, trellising, fencing, etc.

Rhizos Vitaculture

Rhizos Viticulture, Ken Swegles, rhizosviticulture@gmail.com

Rhizos Viticulture is a vineyard consulting and management business based in the Santa Cruz Mountains since 2017. We focus on organic and sustainable viticulture. We'd like to host student interns who are interested in organic farming, biodynamics, sustainability, and rejunvinative agriculture. My wife, Abbey, also has a lovely organic farm (garden) and also raises chickens. We live and manage a 30-acre property on Skyline Blvd. and also manage organic vineyards from Gilroy to Woodside including the Santa Cruz Mountains all the way to the Corralitos area. We partner with Madison Wines as well. Please email me about the internship.

rhizosviticulture@gmail.com

SCCFM Internship

Listing also found in Public Policy tab.

Contact: Nicole Zahm, education@santacruzfarmersmarket.org

The Santa Cruz Community Farmers' Markets internship positions require 6 – 10 hours of work per week. The focus of these internships is to learn the basic mechanics of running farmers’ markets and to support SCCFM’s educational and community outreach projects. There are also opportunities for students with special interests and skills such as photography, research, graphic design, event planning, etc.

Interns learn on the ground and with support from market managers and the Communication and Programs Manager. Work responsibilities include set-up and breakdown of farmers' markets and running the information table. The information table is the market hub for the CalFresh Program (EBT/foodstamps) and other food access programs. Interns also assist with the organization and production of The Foodshed Project (FSP) and other educational event series at the markets.

Summer interns have the opportunity to work with teen staff - graduates of the youth empowerment program “Food What?!”. Spring and summer interns may also have the opportunity to support event planning and production for the Pop-Up Breakfast Series at the Westside and Scotts Valley markets between June and August.

Fall Internship

Contact: Jeff Emery, jeff@santacruzmountainvineyard.com

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard has been making hand-crafted wines since 1975. We source grapes from our estate vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and a few other locations around the central coast and central valley. Many of our grapes are grown organically with minimal offsite inputs and minimal water usage. We are looking for 1 intern for the fall quarter who would be able to start the internship prior to beginning of the fall quarter (i.e. asap). This is because grape season also titled “Vintage,” or “Harvest Season,” is upon us and a vast majority of experiential learning/ work will begin mid-August.

As a fall intern at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, you will learn how grapes are crushed, destemmed and then fermented. You will learn how to inoculate grape ferments and learn how to manage the ferment as to produce the highest quality and quantity of wine. You will learn the chemical reactions occurring with yeast fermentation and why we utilize certain yeast and not others. You will learn how we manage barrel aging and Malolactic fermentation. You will learn how wine is moved from tanks to barrels and how we get it into its final bottled form. You will learn all of this by working side by side with the proprietor and winemaker, Jeff Emery and the assistant winemaker, JP Ditkowsky.

Permaculture Farm Internship

Listing also found in Private Business tab

Contact Person: Leah Stern, info.santacruzpermaculture@gmail.com 

Contact Person: Dave Shaw, santacruzpermaculture@gmail.com

Santa Cruz Permaculture supports a thriving, just, and sustainable world through courses, consulting, and farming. We have a 26-acre organic and regenerative farm 20 minutes north of Santa Cruz on the coast, which has openings for 2-unit and 5-unit interns this spring. Apply here. Please see the attached flyer for more information and share with your students.

This internship is a very fun, community-building, and holistic experience. Work ranges from composting, planting, harvesting, pest and disease management, irrigation, food processing, herbalism and other farm+garden experience to forest management, watershed regeneration, and animal husbandry.

2-unit interns = 6 hours wk

5-unit interns = 12 hours/wk

We love working with senior interns & field studies!

Stevenson Garden Internship

Listing can also be found under the Campus tab.       

Contact: Labris Willendorf, anneflwillend@ucsc.edu

The Stevenson Garden aims to create a safe space for all people to explore, grow, and learn as well as to educate our community about the role food systems play into sustainability, food justice, and nutrition. 

The role of the intern will have two parts: 1. to assist the garden crew in general maintenance of the garden on a weekly basis: attend weekly workday hours, do independent garden shifts.

2. to independently facilitate a garden project that a) enhances the garden and

b) educates community members on social justice and sustainability concepts; e.g. plant a strawberry bed & do a workshop on environmental justice issues in the strawberry industry.

.........................................................................................................................................................

Contact: Mark (he, him) and Kristin (she, her) Sullivan

Cell: (831) 295-0005, Email: kjsullivan@protonmail.com

We have been immersed in sustainability, environmental/social justice for 35+ years, as educators and through community and NGO work, climate/biodiversity preservation, activism, and life choices.  We are inspired by all things good on beautiful Planet Earth. We especially love people who do incredible and inspiring things to make this world a better place and stand up for justice, truth, liberty, happiness, and beauty for all.  We lived in our sustainable, solar, strawbale home for 20 years; worked actively with thousands of students; have an NGO/projects in Rwanda, Nicaragua, with the Lakota people, and in Watsonville with farmworkers. We would love to partner with you, as well as to continue our life’s work and further our mission to share the land and “be the change we wish to see in the world.”

Interns would partner and collaborate with us on our sustainable Mother Earth project to assist in stewardship and restoration of our land by assisting in planting native plants, including indigenous sacred beauties of cultural significance.  Project work and physical, hands-on activities may include the following: planting, maintenance, ground preparation, garden work, and invasive plant control. 

• Student interns would work in teams and learn about how private landowners can and ought to be part of the solution to increase biodiversity on their lands. 
• Stipend paid in spring quarter with possible summer work
• We are hoping that this internship will be fun, inspiring, and that it will help to spur similar actions in others. We would love to have you be a part of our collective vision to create a more healthy Earth for all people, our plant brethren, the winged, the finned, and the four-legged. We are open to any guidance, thoughts or suggestions from interns.
• ENVS Restoration 160 a plus!
• Bipoc peoples strongly urged to apply.

Sustainable Mother Earth Project 

Listing can also be found under the Conservation tab.       

Contact: Edith Gonzales Cell: 760-619-4322 Email: edmagonz@ucsc.edu if interested or stop by NS2 # 487  

Interns please reach out to Stacy Philpott to be your faculty sponsor!!!

• Open call for insect ecology-social connections research internship

  Winter and Spring 2024, ENVS 

  Are you interested in learning about how diverse lived experiences can contribute to a gardener’s ecological knowledge and management preferences? The Biodiversity in Urban Garden Systems (BUGS) research group is searching for passionate and committed research project interns to support the research process by conducting a literature review. We can support you with internship credits and welcome interest in co-authorship. 

  
  

  Credit: Fernando Martí, “Futuros Fugaces: Armory Chinampas”, accessed via justseeds.org

  No previous experience is required, you will be guided through the process. A general interest in agroecology is encouraged :) 

  Research project background: Gardeners from garden sites across the central coast of California were invited to participate in a survey in the summer of 2023. This survey prompted respondents with several insect ID questions for pollinators, herbivores, and natural enemies and asked about preferred garden management design and gardening goals. Additionally, a series of demographic questions were presented. 

• What type of work will the research intern conduct? 

  1. summarize journal articles
  2. Synthesize findings and themes 
  
  

  What is the time commitment for this role? 

  1. 4  hours per week 
  2. Weekly meetings via zoom or in-person. 

Contact Jose Rodriguez, Gondwanan Horticulturist & Garden Steward, for more information and to set up an interview. (831) 502-2306; jrodri22@ucsc.edu

Listing can also be found under the Campus, Environmental Education, and the Research tab.

Contact: Cate Luna and Kayden Bryant  

Email: sssinfo-group@ucsc.edu , or village-gardens-leadership-group@ucsc.edu 

Address: 7044 Village Rd, Santa Cruz, CA

Available for Fall, Winter, Spring