BK Farmyards collective members run a variety of educational
programs in New York City and online. We teach people how to be a part of
changing the food system through hands on urban agriculture programs and
workshops, and work to improve the sustainability of small farms through online
conferences and workshops.
Our youth programs are centered at The Youth Farm, a 1 acre
educational and production farm in Crown Heights Brooklyn. The Youth Farms
offers a variety of programs for students, including field trips to the farm,
in class curriculum and after school programs. The Youth Farm also runs a
summer Youth Leadership Program, where youth are paid to learn about being
agents of change in the food system, and leaders in their community.
Our free online conferences bring together experts in the field of
small farm sustainability to share their knowledge and tips. This event is
dedicated to new farmers starting their first farm; WWOOFers
& apprentices transitioning to become Farm Managers; visionaries
contemplating changing their career to farming; and families of
farmers who want to understand the business more.
The Youth Farm offers one of NYC’s only on farm training programs
for beginning farmers. Our program offers adults the chance to experience what
it takes to farm and explore a career in organic agriculture through hands-on
training. Apprentices gain many valuable growing skills necessary for
cultivating a wide variety of vegetables and flowers appropriate to our region.
In 2010 we designed and built a coop for 50 chickens at the Imani
Garden in partnership with New York Restoration Project. Our chicken farm,
lovingly called "Fort Hen", serves as a site for educational
programming on keeping chickens in the city, and all things chicken.
Bk Farmyards offers intensive weekend workshops on how to start
and manage backyard farms. Lean how to work with home owners, plan crops for
harvest all year, and sell the produce to your community. The training includes
hands on horticulture and sit down instruction on writing crop plans and legal
agreements.
Two of our members helped start and teach classes for Farm School
NYC. Farm School NYC'S mission is to train NYC residents in urban
agriculture, in order to build self-reliant communities and inspire positive
local action around food access and social, economic, and racial
justice issues.
