UVM Extension Food Systems Intern

UVM Extension Food Systems Internship, Brattleboro 

This position is part of a cohort of 10 UVM summer interns working with organizations that support the Brattleboro community, including resettled New Americans, in partnership with the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp and the School for International Training (SIT). The UVM Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships will fund a stipend of $4,000 per intern and provide housing at the SIT campus in Brattleboro, Vermont.   Contact Kristen.andrews@uvm.edu with questions about the cohort.

Job Description

Working under UVM Extension Staff, Hans Estrin, Produce Safety Specialist and CAPS Coordinator, and Camille Kauffman, 4-H Educator, and based at the Brattleboro Extension Field Office, the food systems intern will support community-based food systems and agricultural projects. The intern will contribute to ongoing farm and garden-based projects that support education, ecological health, and stewardship. Responsibilities will be split between community-based and farm-to-school food production

Primary Responsibilities

Farm to School Food Production: Cave Garden Steward (50 %)

• Assist Brattleboro Union High School students in 700 sq ft “CAVE (Culinary Agricultural Vocational Education)” garden maintenance tasks such as planting, weeding, harvesting, and irrigation at the Winston Prouty Campus.  
• Help document garden activities/curriculum and develop simple stewardship guidelines as it relates to 4-H principles.
• Collaborate with 4-H Educator to ensure the garden serves as an adequate learning garden.
• Contribute to a participatory research grant about how 4-H can better engage youth from diverse backgrounds utilizing connections from UVM intern cohort.

Community-Based Food Production: Bioswale and Pollinator Steward at Guilford (PI) Meadows Farm and Community Garden (50%)

Food Systems Intern will work with the Guilford Preservation Inc. (“GPI”- land steward) and the Guilford Planning Commission at GPI’s 5-acre “Meadows” Farm.  Primary intern responsibilities will be:

• Establishing green bio-swale and pollinator beds to control runoff and increase habitat for farm pollinators, and predatory insects.
• Establishing Guilford community garden plots at the Meadows.
• Organizing and promoting community volunteer workday(s) for community garden Plot establishment

Additional Opportunities based on intern's career and personal interests:

• Option to collaborate occasionally with UVM’s Perennial Watershed Forestry intern.
• Participate in community workdays at nearby farms such as New Leaf CSA, Scott Farm, Walker Farm, Lilac Ridge Farm, Milkweed Farm, and Susu Collective Farm.
• Assist Families First in installing raised-bed gardens for clients with disabilities.

Most hands-on work will be outdoors (field, farm, or garden), visiting farms, or helping to plan and run youth programs.  Other indoor activities will include planning meetings with Extension Staff and community partners, and light administrative tasks, in addition to Leahy cohort responsibilities.

Intern Qualifications & Requirements

• Interest in community food systems, agriculture, youth education, or related fields.
• Ability to do physical work in various outdoor weather conditions
• Experience and interest in gardening or farm work
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people (high school aged youth, New American, adult volunteers, Extension Staff, farmers)

Preferred (but not required)

• Coursework or experience related to food systems, agriculture, forestry, environmental studies, education, or community outreach and development.
• Experience in small-scale diversified farming or forestry
• Education and outreach around food and farm related topics specifically with youth under 18 

Mission and Values of UVM Extension:

“UVM Extension’s mission is to provide research-based education, outreach, and practical tools to Vermonters, fostering sustainable agriculture, healthy communities, and thriving natural resources. Aligned with Land-Grant university values, it focuses on real-world problem-solving, fostering resilience in families, and building community leadership through trusted, collaborative partnership”

Food System education and outreach:

UVM is committed to improving ecological, economic, and human well-being through food systems research, education and outreach. UVM Extension works off campus, throughout the state, helping Vermonters of all ages put the latest food system research and best practices to work in their communities. The Extension office culture is friendly, professional, and informal.  Faculty and staff develop and run impactful educational programs and build strong relationships and social capital within their target groups, helping to forge dynamic and collaborative networks over decades.  From Ag and youth-based programs such as 4-H, to non-profit associations such as the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Association, or Champlain Valley Crops and Soils, Extension builds strong long-term coalitions, one relationship at a time.