Farm School 2015

18 Reasons and the Bi-Rite Farm are delighted to offer the opportunity to get your hands dirty during this twelve session immersion course, running May through October 2015.

FARM SCHOOL is geared for adults who want to learn about the life, economics, and labor of small scale organic farming. The course includes six lectures at 18 Reasons and six farming days at the Bi-Rite Farm, with additional excursions to surrounding farms and gardens. The Wednesday lectures will take you through the logistics and business of starting a rural or urban farm; the Saturday farm sessions will put you on-site digging, planting, weeding and harvesting - hands-on, experiential learning. While this is not a comprehensive, collegiate-level course, the 18 Reasons Farm School is perfect for folks who are interested in growing food and who desire to gain a deeper understanding of the politics and practicalities of small scale organic farming in the Bay Area.

ADDITIONAL PERKS: a free 18 Reasons membership; a personalized crop plan (for a backyard garden, windowsill, or full-scale farm), bags of produce following harvest on Saturdays; on the final day, a farm to table lunch cooked by Sam Mogannam, owner of Bi-rite Market!

INSTRUCTORS
Simon Richards, Bi-Rite Market's farmer and head produce buyer will co-lead the farming days with Janine Gee, our coordinator and gardening educator. Guest lectures may include Andy Griffin (the inspirational and pioneering owner of Mariquita Farm), Darryl Wong (Farm Site and Research Lands Manager at UC Santa Cruz's Department for Sustainable Ag), educators from Sonoma Garden Park, and more.

PRICE
$600 
Class size capped at 20.
If you are unable to attend all sessions, you must still pay full price. Tickets are not discounted or pro-rated for any reason. *If you would like to set up a payment plan, you can send us three post-dated checks, each made out to 18 Reasons for $200. We will deposit the checks on April 1, July 1, and September 1. If this is the route you’d like to take, please contact Janine at janine@18reasons.org. 

DATES, TIMES, LOCATION
Wednesday lectures are 6:30-9:00pm at 18 Reasons.
Saturday farm days are 8:00am-2:00pm at Bi-Rite Farm (carpools will be organized during the first meeting).

Wednesday, May 6
Saturday, May 9
Wednesday, June 10
Saturday, June 13
Wednesday, July 8
Saturday, July 11
Wednesday, August 12
Saturday, August 15
Wednesday, September 9
Saturday, September 12
Wednesday, October 7
Saturday, October 10

TRANSPORTATION AND FOOD
18 Reasons will help organize carpooling logistics but will not offer transportation to Sonoma. Students are responsible for their own food and water. Snacks and water are provided during Wednesday evening lectures.

This promises to be a extremely fun and in-depth introduction to farming!