Farmworker Fundamentals - July 2021 to Sept 2021

North Island College has the funding to support 8 participants in their Farm Worker Foundation training program, to be held this summer at Shelter Farm in Port Alberni. The funding includes full tuition for 8 students AND accommodation and living expenses for 3-4 coastal community residents.

This fully funded program provides students with the skills they need to be productive agricultural workers in greenhouses and market garden farms. The program is designed to familiarize students with the main theories of organic market garden operations and production techniques. The course covers safety training, planting, transplanting, weeding, pest identification and control, irrigation and fencing. Students will also learn in-greenhouse propagation, pruning, seeding, pest identification and control, irrigation and humidity. 

Individual courses include: 

• Greenhouse Fundamentals (2 week course)
• Market Gardens, Fieldwork and Safety (4 week course)
• Harvesting and Market Sales (2 week course) 

The training program will run July 12 - September 2, 2021. The program is comprised of 240 hours of training delivered over 8 weeks.

The program is presented by several experienced organic farmers and horticulturalists. 

With the cost of produce from California continually increasing and a growing awareness of the environmental costs associated with trucking and transportation, there is a huge opportunity for market gardening to expand in the Alberni Valley and beyond. This expansion will require trained gardeners to work on the farms and to own and operate market gardens. 

Registration Deadline: June 25, 2021 

This program runs 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (times may vary depending on weather) Monday - Friday, July 12 - September 3, 2021