Additional Garden Information

Garden Program Education

An important component of our gardens are the many opportunities for learning. We provide and promote Spanish-language workshops and classes about organic and regenerative agricultural practices specific to the Pacific Northwest.

• Hands-on Workshops: Our organization uses a popular education model for workshops. We honor that garden members bring lived experience and generational knowledge around gardening and food related topics. For that reason, our workshops are primarily led by garden program members.

• Agricultural Events: In addition to workshops for garden program members, we offer various workshops, tours, and events to the broader, Spanish-speaking community interested in agricultural topics.

• Siembra la cena or Seed to Supper: A modified version of this class is taught by our gardens staff. The curriculum, developed by Oregon Food Bank and OSU Extension, teaches how to grow food from planting seeds all the way to harvesting and preserving the produce.

• Master Beekeeper Certification: We partner with the Oregon State University Honey Bee Lab to provide a Master Beekeeper course, in Spanish.

Special Projects

Demonstration Gardens: Our community gardens have dedicated teaching and community spaces including: pollinator and medicinal garden beds, plantings of perennial herbs and cactuses for division and propagation, a native plant hedgerow, a blueberry patch, a small orchard, and rainwater harvesting systems.

Community Seed Bank: We collect and re-distribute seeds from plants and varieties that are traditional or culturally important to the members of our Garden Program.The seeds are either contributed by, or requested by, our program members and are representative of the regions and cultures that they come from. Our seed bank currently includes plant varieties from the U.S. Southwest, South and Central America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Greenhouse Grow-Out of Culturally Important Plants: During the spring, Garden Program members, staff, and volunteers collaborate on a mass, greenhouse grow-out of plant starts from our Community Seed Bank.
Leadership Committee: Representatives from different community gardens serve on our Lideres Leadership Committee and give input on program decisions, inform new projects, and help to coordinate community events and workshops.

Farming Technical Assistance and Resource Navigation

There are many promising agricultural resources and services, as well as knowledgeable, farm-support service providers in the Willamette Valley, however it can be challenging to actually access these opportunities for beginning farmers or if you primarily speak a language other than English. We act as connectors and advocates for our clients so that they can feel informed and empowered as they access these resources.

We recognize that already many agricultural workers are Latine, immigrants and/or Spanish-speaking, and so we work to increase their opportunities to take on leadership positions or become farm business owners by providing Spanish-language and culturally responsive technical assistance, as well as educational opportunities and agricultural information.

Farm Support Offered:

• Connecting Spanish-speaking farmers to resources, and educational opportunities to increase their knowledge and capacity.

• Partnering with other agricultural groups and universities to offer workshops and trainings on topics related to sustainable agriculture and production.

• Providing 1:1 Spanish-language technical assistance for organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers.

• Helping navigate USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) services including mentorship opportunities with more established farmers.