News & Events

Announcing the First-Ever Seeds of Change Urban Permaculture Class

This summer, Seeds of Change will host its first urban permaculture class, co-sponsored by the Permaculture Institute, from June 26-28th, in downtown Washington, D.C.!!

The course, Permaculture Fundamentals: Designing Urban Food Gardens, will be taught by instructor Steve Gabriel, Educator and Program Coordinator for the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, and will be held at the Common Good City Farm, an urban community farm and education center in LeDroit park in downtown D.C.

The weekend will be focused on learning the basics of permaculture design and urban gardening, and students will walk away with a toolbox of ecological design principles to be applied in their own backyard or community.

Discussion on basic theories of permaculture design and ecology will be mixed with hands-on learning of skills including composting, rain gardens and soil improvement.

For additional questions about this program, please contact arina@permaculture.org, or call 505-455-0514.

To register for this course, or for more information, go to this link: https://garden.locker10.com/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=6

Seeds of Change Farm to Host Upward Bound Summer Program

We are excited to announce that the Seeds of Change Farm in El Guique, NM will be one of the sites for the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council high-school summer program, Upward Bound.

The Upward Bound program is intended to provide a hands-on experience in environmental education for high school students from the northern pueblo communities of New Mexico, by connecting these students with existing environmental projects where they can engage in experiential learning: gaining academic knowledge and getting their hands dirty at once.

At our farm, the focus of this experience will be on the importance of sustainable, organic agriculture and of re-connecting with the sources of our food.

We will host a group of 7-10 students for five weeks of hands-on sessions, where they will become part of the farm crew and learn the greater objectives of our farm and business, as well as participate in the small but essential tasks that keep us progressing towards our goals every day.

For the program finale, the entire Upward Bound program will be taking a site tour, visiting all of the host organizations, and allowing those students that worked with each site to share their experiences and learnings with the rest of the group.

We are excited to be involved in this program, and to share our farm as a place for learning and experience, while building valuable relationships within our local community.

Organic Research given Priority in 2010 Budget Proposal

The Obama Administration's USDA budget for fiscal year 2010 has placed research on organics in a place of priority.

Whereas the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative received $3 million in 2008, which was 3% of the total USDA budget then, the program is slated to receive $20 million in 2010, 16% of the total proposed budget, ranking in at second in terms of the level of funding per individual programs.

The program would full under the newly-established National Institute of Food and Agriculture, whose total budget would be $127 million to be shared across thirteen programs.

The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, as stated in the budget summary, was "created to solve critical organic agriculture problems through the integration of research and extension grants."