PCC ROCK CREEK LEARNING GARDEN
1 APPRENTICESHIP
PART TIME (14 hours/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: March - November
$15.45/HR
LOCATION: Portland (Portland Chapter)
YEARS IN PRODUCTION: 13
PREVIOUS YEARS HOSTING: 1
PRACTICES: Low-Till, No-Till, Organic Practices (Not Certified)
ACRES IN CULTIVATION: 3/4
Vegetables, Fruit, Culinary Herbs, Medicinal Herbs, Seed Production, Vineyard
ON-FARM HOUSING? No
VEHICLE REQUIRED? No
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English , Spanish
Educational Farm
The PCC Rock Creek Learning Garden is part of a network of 5 gardens across the PCC district designed to create safe, welcoming, educational spaces that were built for and by students. The gardens promote interdisciplinary academic achievement, leadership development, curricular and co-curricular opportunities and model sustainable food systems through dynamic and responsive hands-on education. These living classrooms work to offer equity-centered learning opportunities, cultivate a sense of belonging and promote community on campus in our support of food sovereignty.
https://www.pcc.edu/sustainability/on-campus/rock-creek/rock-creek-learning-garden/
FARM OVERVIEW
Portland Community College is the largest higher education institution in the state of Oregon. The Rock Creek Campus rests on 250 acres of Tualatin Kalapuya land in Washington County, 20-30 minutes outside of downtown Portland. The Learning Garden is nestled near the main buildings on campus and consists of 3.5 acres with 50 fruit trees, 50 blueberries, grapes, brambles and many fruits and vegetables. Our campus is also home to wooded trails, the riparian habitat surrounding Rock Creek, a large recreational public park with sports fields operated by Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, as well as the 5 Oaks Museum.
The Learning Garden produces thousands of pounds of food each season, which are primarily donated to the food pantry on campus. We rely primarily on hand work, but also keep a new BCS walk-behind tractor just in case! We are no-spray, practice extensive cover cropping and are moving towards the production of our own usable compost. Our farm crew is always in flux - we have volunteer hours 10am-1pm Tuesday-Friday and we meet whoever is volunteering where they're at and re-prioritize based on inclusion.
The Learning Garden in its current iteration was established in 2012. Miriam has served as the Rock Creek Campus Learning Garden Coordinator since 2017. She ran her own 8-acre farm from 2011-2016, co-owned/operated a 25-acre production from 2006-2011, and worked on other peoples' farms from 1999-2003. She is interested in seed-saving, seed stories and the dignity of all living creatures.
TRAINING AND EXPECTATIONS
Crop-planning is collaborative. Greenhouse work begins in February. We plant, cultivate, harvest, wash and deliver food together. Efficiency does not dictate here! However, Miriam can offer insights based on her 15 years of production experience.
Our production is highly unpredictable because of our ethic of working in community, where building trust and creating learning opportunities are valued more highly than task completion. That said, because the majority of work is by hand, it is possible and probable that work will be physical and conditions may not always be easy.
The goal is to co-create a schedule that allows for 10-12 hours of labor in partnership, 1-2 hours of solitary labor pursuing a special project, and 45 minutes to an hour a week for check-ins, questions, and reflection.
QUALIFICATIONS
Willingness to learn, honest communication, reliability, and attention to detail
Considerate communication skills
A genuine delight for people and plants
COMPENSATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS
$15.95 per hour. The Apprentice can attend on-farm community education classes for free. Also available is: a share in the harvest, seeds and entry into the PCC hiring system and diverse community of students, staff, faculty and campus neighbors.
The PCC Rock Creek site is located in a semi-urban area of Portland with various options for housing close by. There is low-cost housing in the area, and the campus is served by public transportation.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
As LG coordinator Miriam has been building relationships for years with colleagues in Accessible Education and Disability Resources, the Dreamer Center, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and so many other departments on campus. This has guided the direction of the garden and created a welcoming space for everyone who wants to be in the garden.
Miriam, Learning Garden Coordinator