Urban Agriculture Regional Training Center At Hillsborough's Duke Farms

By Duke Farms

Growing Your Community Food Systems Workshops

Duke Farms is proud to partner with Will Allen and Growing Power to bring the Urban Agriculture Regional Training Center to Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey.

Duke Farms works with CityFood Resources, an L3C organization to reach urban community groups in Northeastern New Jersey to encourage individuals and organizations to apply to the training sessions. Workshops are intensive, hands-on trainings offering diverse groups and individuals the opportunity to learn, plan, and develop community food projects.

Project participants leave the workshop with improved skills that they can take back into their communities and pass on to others.

The Duke Farms Urban Agriculture Regional Training Center is a result of a partnership between Duke Farms, Growing Power, Inc. and CityFood. All three organizations are passionate about building community food resources:

Duke Farms inspires visitors to become informed stewards of the land, through sustainable agricultural practices, renewable energy, ecological restoration and sustainable operations.

Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities.

CityFood Resources is a “triple bottom line” vertically integrated sustainable green business consulting firm and incubator focused on developing urban agricultural facilities, fostering traditional and urban farm relationships, infrastructure and logistics for local food, and economic development in the context of traditional and socially conscious investment.

The workshops cover the following subjects:

• Composting & Vermiculture: Learn how to build compost systems and how to build and maintain a worm bin.
• Micro-green Production: Learn how to mix soil, seed, harvest, wash and package sprouts and proven strategies to sell products.
• Mushrooms: Learn how to raise oyster mushrooms and other profitable varieties.
• Hoop-house Construction: This workshop demonstrates how to erect a hoop house and discuss strategies for utilization.
• Aquaponics: Learn how to build an aquaponics system and use it to fertilize a variety of crops and herbs.
• Community Project Planning: Develop the skills needed to plan your on community agriculture project.

Do you lead a group that is interested in urban agriculture?

We encourage you to bring several members of your group or organization to these workshops if you are interested in multiple topics; this is especially helpful if you are a member of a training or outreach organization. These workshops put organizations, projects, and food producers in touch with each other to help to build collaborations and long-term, sustainable partnerships. Scholarships are available.

Please contact nwagner@dukefarms.org for more details.

2015 Training Sessions:

Workshop #1 June 6-7

Workshop #2 August 22-23

Workshop #3 September 12-13

Each Two-Day Workshop: $150

The workshop price includes continental breakfast, lunch on both days. Lodging is not included.

Email nwagner@dukefarms.org to register.

Directions: Duke Farms is located at 1112 Dukes Parkway West in Hillsborough, between Route 206 and Roycefield Road.

For more information on these workshops please visit: dukefarms.org/rtc