[Plsugs] FW: Sustainable, Organic Farm Internship opportunities

[Tanya Quist]

From: Ginger Duncan [mailto:wildfree1 at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2012 3:29 PM
Subject: sustainable, organic farm internship opportunities

 

Greetings!

My husband and I were recetly awarded a grant to construct hoophouses at our
remote property on Kodiak Island, Alaska.  While this is a dream come true,
it's also pretty overwhelming!  I have a LOT to learn, and I want this
organic mini-farm to be as successful as possible as soon as possible, and
thought perhaps some of your graduates or undergraduates might be interested
in spending part or all of their summer at a wilderness "lodge" in Alaska,
helping us get off on the right foot.  In the relatively small amount of
research I've done thus far, I have stumbled across numerous farms, colleges
& institutes that offer internship programs wherein interested parties
volunteer their time & elbow grease in return for room & board and the
opportunity to learn/grow, and even earn college credits.   I am writing
today to see if there's some way to get some of your students involved, or
if you might have some information/recommendations to share.....

 

The community of Kodiak is comprised of 6 small native villages, a huge
Coast Guard base (you may have seen them on the Discovery channel!) and the
local government/borough officials & families, along with the mariners that
make us the second largest fishing port in Alaska, and their families...all
told, the population here runs around 10-11,000 people.  At this point,
there is only one farm in the area, and a smattering of gardeners who
present their excess produce at the new seasonal farmers' market.   The
potential for a full-time farm here is enormous, & is desparately needed.

 

I feel we are in an extremely unique position to fill this need, as we are
fortunate enough to have a creek on our property that flows year-round,
providing us with electricity and running water to all eight of our
buildings.  The soon-to-be-built hoophouses can eventually be heated, lit, &
plumbed for irrigation, all courtesy of Mama Nature!  I'd like to take full
advantage of this resource, and would appreciate any/all guidance in getting
this operation up & running.  It would mean a great deal to me to be able to
include people from "Outside" who would enjoy the opportunity to
see/live/work in such an amazing environment & who have a passion for all
things organic & sustainable.  If you think you might have any thoughts to
share, or might be able to get us connected w/folks from your program who'd
be interested in helping with initial start-up or day-to-day functioning of
our new farm, please get in touch with me through this e-mail address, or
call me on my cell at 907-512-7702.  I really, really hope to hear from you!

 

Sincerely,

Ginger Duncan

 

PS  We ran a sportfishing/ eco-lodge at our propertyfor eight years, and the
website is still live, so you may check us out at www.alderwoodretreat.com.

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